LESSON: Ordering Decimals

READ: Order Decimals

Order Decimals

Now that we know how to compare decimals, we can order them. Ordering means that we list a series of decimals according to size. We can write them from least to greatest or greatest to least. How can we order decimals? Ordering decimals involves comparing more than one decimal at a time. We need to compare them so that we can list them.

Example

.45, .32, .76

If we wanted to write these decimals in order from least to greatest, we can start by comparing them. The greater a decimal is the closer it is to one whole. The smaller a decimal is the further it is from one whole. Just like when we compared decimals, the first thing we need to look at is the digit number in each decimal. These each have two digits in them, so we can compare them right away. Next, we can look at each number without the decimal and write them in order from the smallest to the greatest.

.32, .45, .76

32 is smaller than 45, 45 is greater than 32 but smaller than 76, 76 is the largest number

Our answer is .32, .45, .76

What about if we had decimals with different numbers of digits in them?

Example

Write these in order from greatest to least:

.45, .678, .23

Here we have two decimals with two digits and one decimal with three. We are going to need to create the same number of digits in all three decimals. We can do this by adding zeros.

.450, .678, .230

Now we can write them in order from greatest to least.

Our answer is .23, .45, .678