Grade by Grade
B. Number · Number Sense: Numbers to 100 000, Fractions, Decimals and Percents

Decimal Hundredths: Reading, Writing and Showing

B1.5About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can read and write decimal numbers to hundredths, like 0.37 and 2.05.
  • I can show hundredths on a hundred grid, with money and with a metre stick.
  • I can tell the value of each digit in a decimal number.
  • I can explain why 0.4 and 0.40 are the same amount.

Words to know

hundredth
One of 100 equal parts of a whole. It is written 1/100 or 0.01.
tenth
One of 10 equal parts of a whole. It is written 1/10 or 0.1. One tenth = 10 hundredths.
decimal point
The dot that separates the wholes (on the left) from the parts of a whole (on the right).
hundredths place
The second place to the right of the decimal point. In 0.37, the 7 is in the hundredths place.

Remember from Grade 4

In Grade 4 you learned decimal tenths. You cut a whole into 10 equal parts. 3 of those parts is 3/10, written 0.3. The decimal point separates the wholes from the parts. You used a metre stick: every 10 cm is 0.1 m.

Let's start with money

A box of crackers costs $3.45. We say "three dollars and forty-five cents".

There are 100 cents in a dollar. So each cent is one hundredth of a dollar. 45 cents is 45 hundredths of a dollar. Canada doesn't make pennies anymore, but prices are still written in cents.

Cutting into hundredths

If you cut a whole into 100 equal parts, each part is a hundredth: 1/100 = 0.01.

On a hundred grid, the whole square is 1. Each column is 1 tenth (10 small squares). Each small square is 1 hundredth.

0.37
A hundred grid with 3 full columns (3 tenths) and 7 more small squares (7 hundredths) shaded: 37 hundredths, or 0.37.
Ones.TenthsHundredths
0.37
2.05
4.60
Place value for decimals. 0.37 = 3 tenths and 7 hundredths. 2.05 = 2 ones, 0 tenths and 5 hundredths. 4.60 = 4 ones and 6 tenths.

How to read decimals

  • Say the whole number, then "and" for the decimal point, then the decimal part with the name of the last place.
  • 0.37 → "thirty-seven hundredths"
  • 2.05 → "two and five hundredths"
  • 4.6 → "four and six tenths". You can also write it 4.60: "four and sixty hundredths". It's the same amount!

Expanded form

3.72 = 3 + 0.7 + 0.02 (3 ones, 7 tenths, 2 hundredths).

10.25
One full grid (1 whole) and one grid with 2 columns and 5 more squares shaded (0.25). Together they show 1.25.
Worked example

Example 1: Fraction to decimal

Write 58/100 as a decimal and in words.

  1. 58 hundredths = 5 tenths and 8 hundredths.
  2. There are no wholes, so write 0 before the decimal point.

0.58, fifty-eight hundredths

Worked example

Example 2: A zero in the tenths place

How do you read 6.09?

  1. 6 is the whole number: "six and..."
  2. The 0 is in the tenths place. The 9 is in the hundredths place.
  3. So the decimal part is 9 hundredths.

six and nine hundredths. (Not "six and nine tenths". That would be 6.9.)

Worked example

Example 3: Metres and centimetres

Write 1 m 7 cm in metres.

  1. 1 cm is 1 hundredth of a metre (100 cm = 1 m).
  2. 7 cm = 7 hundredths of a metre = 0.07 m.
  3. 1 m + 0.07 m.

1.07 m

Worked example

Example 4: Same amount, two names

Are 0.3 and 0.30 the same?

  1. 0.3 is 3 tenths: 3 full columns of the grid.
  2. 0.30 is 30 hundredths: 30 small squares. That's the same 3 columns!

Yes. 0.3 = 0.30. Adding a zero at the end of a decimal doesn't change its value.

Hundredths all around you

  • 1 cent = $0.01 and 1 dime = $0.10
  • 1 cm = 0.01 m and 10 cm = 0.10 m

Money and metre sticks are hundredths tools you already have at home!

Just for fun

What did 0.3 say to 0.30?

"Nice extra zero! But we're still the same amount."

Hands-on activity

Coins and centimetres

You need: some coins (nickels, dimes, quarters and loonies), a measuring tape or metre stick, paper and a pencil.

  1. Your grown-up makes an amount with coins, like 1 loonie, 1 quarter and 2 dimes. Count it and write it as a decimal: $1.45. Read it out loud.
  2. Switch: you make an amount for your grown-up to write.
  3. Use the measuring tape to measure 5 things at home in centimetres, like a book, a table, a door handle's height, a shoe and your arm.
  4. Write each length in metres with two decimal places. For example, 85 cm = 0.85 m; 132 cm = 1.32 m.
  5. Which of your lengths has a 0 in the tenths place? (Something between 100 cm and 110 cm, like 104 cm = 1.04 m, would.)

Your turn

1

Write 23 hundredths as a decimal.

2

How do you read 0.81?

3

Write four and six hundredths as a decimal.

4

What is the value of the 7 in 2.57?

5

Write 5.38 in expanded form.

6

Write 2 m 45 cm in metres.

7

Is 0.5 equal to 0.50?

More practice: warm-up

1

Write 1 cent as a decimal of a dollar.

2

Write 9/100 as a decimal.

3

How many hundredths make 1 whole?

4

What is the value of the 4 in 0.47?

5

How much money is 3 dimes?

More practice: on your own

1

Write 1 75/100 as a decimal and in words.

2

Sam writes three and five hundredths as 3.5. Is he right?

3

How many hundredths are in 0.6?

4

Which one is different: 0.70, 0.7, 0.07?

5

A hundred grid has 4 full columns and 3 more squares shaded. What decimal does it show?

Challenge

1

Write as decimals: 2 + 0.4 + 0.09 and 2 + 0.09.

2

Count by hundredths: 1.97, 1.98, 1.99, ___, ___

3

Use the digits 3, 0, 5 once each to fill □.□□. Make the greatest and the least numbers you can.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which decimal is 47 hundredths?

2.

How do you read 3.08?

3.

What is the value of the 6 in 0.16?

4.

1 m 25 cm = ?

5.

Which is equal to 0.9?

6.

How many hundredths make one tenth?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: B1.5 asks Grade 5 students to read, represent, compare and order decimal numbers up to hundredths in various contexts. This lesson covers reading, writing and representing; the next lesson covers comparing and ordering.

Common difficulties:

  • Missing placeholder zeros: writing 3.5 for "three and five hundredths" (it should be 3.05).
  • Reading decimals digit by digit ("zero point three seven"). This is common in everyday speech and isn't wrong, but encourage "thirty-seven hundredths" because it shows understanding.
  • Thinking 0.40 is bigger than 0.4. Shade both on a hundred grid.

How to help: Money is the best hundredths model: count coins and write the total as a decimal. A measuring tape is another: 100 cm = 1 m, so 132 cm = 1.32 m.