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Prealgebra 2e

Introduction to Decimals

Prealgebra 2eIntroduction to Decimals

Figure 5.1 The price of a gallon of gasoline is written as a decimal number. (credit: Mark Turnauckus, Flickr)

Introduction to Decimals

Gasoline price changes all the time. They might go down for a period of time, but then they usually rise again. One thing that stays the same is that the price is not usually a whole number. Instead, it is shown using a decimal point to describe the cost in dollars and cents. We use decimal numbers all the time, especially when dealing with money. In this chapter, we will explore decimal numbers and how to perform operations using them.

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