Fraction and decimal drill
Convert between fractions of an inch and their decimals, both directions, to the nearest sixteenth. Pick the answer and keep your streak alive.
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The method, both ways
Fraction to decimal: divide the top by the bottom. 5/16 = 5 ÷ 16 = 0.3125. Decimal to fraction: multiply by sixteen and reduce. 0.75 × 16 = 12, so 12/16, which reduces to 3/4. The whole of it is division one way and multiplication the other, plus the habit of reducing the fraction to its simplest form.
Questions people ask
How do I turn a fraction of an inch into a decimal?
Divide the top by the bottom. 3/8 is 3 ÷ 8 = 0.375. 7/16 is 7 ÷ 16 = 0.4375. That is all a fraction is — a division waiting to happen — so any fraction of an inch becomes a decimal the same way.
And a decimal back into a fraction?
Multiply by 16 to get sixteenths, then reduce. 0.625 × 16 = 10, so 10/16, which reduces to 5/8. If it does not land on a whole number of sixteenths, it is between marks on the tape.
Why bother when the tape shows fractions?
Because calculators, drawings and specs speak decimals, and your tape speaks sixteenths. Being able to move between the two in your head is what keeps you from stacking rounding errors when you transfer a measurement.
Related
- Tape measure test — read the sixteenths in the first place.
- Conversion drill — inches to millimetres and back.
- All drills
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