decimal place
A decimal place of a number (a real number) is the position of a digit in its decimal expansion relative to the decimal point. Let us write as a decimal number:
where each of the and is a digit in the decimal system (one of ). In this decimal expansion,
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the -th decimal place to the left of the decimal point is the position of , and
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the -th decimal place to the right of the decimal place is the position of .
The digits and are called the decimal place values. is the decimal place value corresponding to the -th decimal place to the left of the decimal point, while is the decimal place value corresponding to the -th decimal place to the right of the decimal point.
For decimal places closer to the decimal point, specific names are used. Below are some of the most commonly used names:
name | position from | direction from | example |
---|---|---|---|
the decimal point | the decimal point | (position of 7) | |
ones | 1st | left | |
tens | 2nd | left | |
hundreds | 3rd | left | |
thousands | 4th | left | |
tenths | 1st | right | |
hundredths | 2nd | right | |
thousandths | 3rd | right | |
ten thousandths | 4th | right |
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