To convert a decimal with tenths place to a fraction, which is the correct method?

To convert a decimal with tenths place to a fraction, which is the correct method?

• A. Move the decimal two places to the left and write as a fraction over 100.
• B. Remove the decimal, divide by ten, and simplify.
• C. Write as a fraction over ten and keep it unreduced.
• D. Add ten to the numerator and denominator.

Answer: (B)

When a decimal has one digit after the decimal point, that digit represents tenths. To turn it into a fraction, remove the decimal point to form an integer and place that number over ten, then simplify. This directly ties the tenths place to the denominator 10. For example, 3.4 becomes 34/10, which simplifies to 17/5. This method works because the decimal’s value is the whole number plus that tenths part, so moving the decimal out and using a denominator of ten captures that relationship, and then simplifying gives the fraction in lowest terms. Other approaches miss this relationship: moving the decimal two places left would imply hundredths, which isn’t correct for a tenths value; keeping the fraction over ten but not reducing leaves the fraction in an incomplete form; and adding ten to the numerator and denominator doesn’t reflect the decimal's meaning.

When a decimal has one digit after the decimal point, that digit represents tenths. To turn it into a fraction, remove the decimal point to form an integer and place that number over ten, then simplify. This directly ties the tenths place to the denominator 10. For example, 3.4 becomes 34/10, which simplifies to 17/5.

This method works because the decimal’s value is the whole number plus that tenths part, so moving the decimal out and using a denominator of ten captures that relationship, and then simplifying gives the fraction in lowest terms.

Other approaches miss this relationship: moving the decimal two places left would imply hundredths, which isn’t correct for a tenths value; keeping the fraction over ten but not reducing leaves the fraction in an incomplete form; and adding ten to the numerator and denominator doesn’t reflect the decimal's meaning.