1Cademy - Procedure for Converting a Decimal to a Proper Fraction

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Decimal Place Values

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Procedure for Converting a Decimal to a Proper Fraction

To rewrite a decimal (with no whole-number part) as a fraction, use a two-step process that relies on decimal place values:

Identify the place value of the rightmost digit. This place value becomes the denominator of the fraction. For instance, if the last digit sits in the hundredths place, the denominator is $100$ ; if it sits in the thousandths place, the denominator is $1{,}000$ .
Form the fraction. The numerator is the number formed by all the digits to the right of the decimal point (read as a whole number), and the denominator is the place value found in Step 1.

After writing the fraction, simplify it by dividing the numerator and denominator by their greatest common factor. A useful pattern to notice: the number of zeros in the denominator always equals the number of decimal places in the original decimal. For example, $0.03$ has two decimal places, and its fraction form is $\frac{3}{100}$ — a denominator with two zeros.

Updated 2026-05-02

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