Compare decimals on number lines

key notes :

🔢 What is a Decimal Number Line?

A number line that shows numbers between whole numbers using decimal points.
Example: 0 ➖ 0.1 ➖ 0.2 ➖ … ➖ 1.0

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🎯 Identify Place Value First

• Tenths (0.1) 🟠
• Hundredths (0.01) 🟡
  ➡️ A number line can be divided into 10 equal parts (tenths) or 100 equal parts (hundredths).

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📍 Plot the Decimal on the Line

Find where the decimal lies between two whole numbers.
Example: 0.6 lies between 0 and 1, 6 steps after 0.

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🔼🔽 Compare Using Position

• The number to the right 👉 is greater
• The number to the left 👈 is smaller
  Example: On a number line, 0.7 > 0.5 because 0.7 is to the right.

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🧠 Use Benchmarks to Compare

Use known decimals like:

• 0.5 = half 🟪
• 0.25 = quarter 🔷
  They help in quick comparison!

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➗ Equal Intervals Matter

Always check that the number line is evenly divided.
If divided into 10 equal parts = tenths
If into 100 equal parts = hundredths

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🧩 If Needed, Rewrite Decimals

Add a zero to compare easily:
0.6 = 0.60
0.60 > 0.58

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🥇 Rules to Remember

Symbol	Meaning	Example
>	Greater than	0.9 > 0.4
<	Less than	0.3 < 0.8
=	Equal to	0.50 = 0.5

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✅ Quick Comparing Trick

Look at the tenths first, if same, then compare hundredths.

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🌈 Example

Number line:
0 — 0.1 — 0.2 — 0.3 — 0.4 — 0.5 — 0.6 — 0.7 — 0.8 — 0.9 — 1.0

Compare 0.4 and 0.6
👉 0.4 is left, 0.6 is right → 0.6 is greater

Learn with an example

Let’s practice!