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Decimal fractions (sometimes called decimal numbers, especially in contexts involving explicit fractions) are the rational numbers that may be expressed as a fraction ...
The choice between fraction and decimal notation is often a matter of taste and context. Fractions are used most often when the denominator is relatively small. By mental calculation, it is easier to multiply 16 by 3 ⁄ 16 than to do the same calculation using the fraction
Every terminating decimal representation can be written as a decimal fraction, a fraction whose denominator is a power of 10 (e.g. 1.585 = 1585 / 1000 ); it may also be written as a ratio of the form k / 2 n ·5 m (e.g. 1.585 = 317 / 2 3 ·5 2 ).
Also the converse is true: The decimal expansion of a rational number is either finite, or endlessly repeating. Finite decimal representations can also be seen as a special case of infinite repeating decimal representations. For example, 36 ⁄ 25 = 1.44 = 1.4400000...; the endlessly repeated sequence is the one-digit sequence "0".
Decimal: The standard Hindu–Arabic numeral system using base ten. Binary: The base-two numeral system used by computers, with digits 0 and 1. Ternary: The base-three numeral system with 0, 1, and 2 as digits. Quaternary: The base-four numeral system with 0, 1, 2, and 3 as digits.
Decimal fractions were first developed and used by the Chinese in the form of rod calculus in the 1st century BC, and then spread to the rest of the world. [6] [7] J. Lennart Berggren notes that positional decimal fractions were first used in the Arab by mathematician Abu'l-Hasan al-Uqlidisi as early as the 10th century. [8]
Any such symbol can be called a decimal mark, decimal marker, or decimal sign. Symbol-specific names are also used; decimal point and decimal comma refer to a dot (either baseline or middle ) and comma respectively, when it is used as a decimal separator; these are the usual terms used in English, [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] with the aforementioned ...
The concept of decimal fractions is closely linked with decimal place-value notation; the two seem to have developed in tandem. For example, it is common for the Jain math sutra to include calculations of decimal-fraction approximations to pi or the square root of 2 .