If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

Main content

Writing decimal numbers shown in grids

Sal uses grid diagrams to determine what decimal is represented by a shaded area.

Want to join the conversation?

Video transcript

- [Voiceover] We're told that each square below represents one whole. So this square is a whole, this is another whole, so together that's two. And then we have something less than whole. And they say what decimal is represented by the shaded area? So it's going to be two and then something. So it's going to be two point something. And let's think about what we have over here. This is one whole, two wholes. And then over here, we've taken a whole and we've divided it into one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten equal sections. So we've divided it into tenths. Each of these bars is equal to a tenth and we have seven of them shaded in. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. So this right over here is seven tenths. So this is going to be one, two, and seven tenths. So, if we wanted to write it as mixed number we'd write it as two and seven tenths, but they say what decimal is represented by the shaded area? So instead of writing two and seven tenths, we could write 2.7. Because the space immediately to the right of the decimal points, that's the tenths place. So we have two ones, two wholes right over here. And then we have seven tenths, this is the tenths place. And we could check out answer. We got it right. Let's do another one of these. So the same thing. What decimal is represented by the shaded area? So we have three wholes, and then this whole is divided into tenths, now it's divided into these vertical bars. We have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten vertical bars. They're equal, so they're divided into tenths, and we've shaded in five of them. So this one over here is five tenths. So it is three wholes and five tenths. So it's going to be three wholes and in the tenths place we would put five. 3.5, three wholes and five tenths. We can check our answer. Got it right. Let's do a few more of these. What decimal is being represented by the shaded area? So over here, let's see, I have a hundred squares. You see I have 10 columns and each of them has 10 squares in it, so 10 times 10 is 100. So I have 100 squares here, equal squares, so I've divided it into hundredths, and I've shaded in one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine of the hundredths. Hundredths. So how do I represent that? So zero, that's the ones place. That's the tenths place. And now I'm in the hundredths place. And so we have nine of the hundredths shaded in. So this right over here would be nine hundredths, which is exactly what we have there. Alright, let's do, let's do one more of these. Alright, well it's the same thing. We have two of the hundredths filled in. So I'll write zero point, if I did that that would be two tenths. That's not what we have filled in. We have two hundredths. Hundredths filled in. So this is 0.02 and we're done.