Decimals

Compare Decimals

Compare 0.6 and 0.58 by padding the shorter decimal with a zero (0.6 → 0.60) so both have the same number of decimal places, then compare digit by digit: 0.60 > 0.58.

Example

Compare 0.6 and 0.58 by padding and comparing digits.

highlighted = computed this step

Step 1 — Set up

Set up the decimal board.

0.6x0.58\begin{array}{cccc}0&.&6&\phantom{x}\\0&.&5&8\end{array}
Line up 0.6 and 0.58 by placetopbottomonespointtenthshundredths0.6 0.58

Step 2 — Pad zeros

Pad 0.6 to 0.60: append 0 in the hundredths place.

0.600.58\begin{array}{cccc}0&.&6&\hl{0}\\0&.&5&8\end{array}
Pad 0.6 to 0.60 so places matchtopbottomonespointtenthshundredths0.600.58extra zero keeps the value the same

Step 3 — Compare digits

Compare digit by digit: 0.6 > 0.58.

0.600.58\begin{array}{cccc}0&.&6&0\\0&.&5&8\end{array}
First different place decides: 0.60 > 0.58topbottomonespointtenthshundredths0.600.58first different place

Step 4 — Result

Read the comparison: 0.6 > 0.58.

0.600.58\begin{array}{cccc}0&.&6&0\\0&.&5&8\end{array}
0.6 > 0.58topbottomonespointtenthshundredths0.600.58first different place
compare-decimals To compare decimals, first pad the shorter one with trailing zeros so both have the same number of decimal places. Then compare the digits from left to right as you would for whole numbers.