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Definition

Terminating Decimal

A terminating decimal is a decimal number whose digits come to a definite end after a finite number of decimal places — equivalently, the long-division process eventually produces a remainder of 00. Examples include 7.37.3, 1.2684-1.2684, and 8.0-8.0. Every terminating decimal is a rational number because it can be rewritten as a fraction whose denominator is a power of ten. For instance, 7.37.3 means 73107\frac{3}{10}, which equals the improper fraction 7310\frac{73}{10} — a ratio of two integers. More generally, any decimal that stops after a fixed number of digits can be converted to a mixed number or improper fraction, confirming that it satisfies the definition of a rational number.

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Updated 2026-05-02

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