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Last updated on March 15th, 2025
It is a simple question on decimal conversion. Firstly, we have to learn fractions and decimals. A fraction represents a part of the whole. It has two parts: numerator (number on the top), here -1, which represents how many parts out of the whole. The denominator (number below) shows how many parts make up the whole, here it is 5. A decimal is a way to represent a number that is not whole, using a (.) or a decimal to separate the whole part from the fraction part. The numbers to the left of the decimal point represent the whole, and those to the right represent the fractional part.
-1/5 in decimals can be written as -0.2. It is a terminating decimal, meaning it ends and does not repeat infinitely.
To get -1/5 in decimal, we will use the division method. Here, as 1 is smaller than 5, we will take the help of the decimal method, which will give us -0.2. Let's see the step-by-step breakdown of the process:
Step 1: Identify the numerator and denominator because numerator (-1) will be taken as the dividend and denominator (5) will be taken as the divisor.
Step 2: As -1 is smaller than 5, it can't be divided directly; here, we will take the help of decimals. We will add 0 to the dividend, which will make -1 as -10 and add a decimal point in the quotient place.
Step 3: Now that it is -10, we can divide it by 5. Let's see how many times 5 makes -10.
Step 4: -10 is not a multiple of 5, so we will look for the nearest number that 5 × 2 = 10. We will write -2 in the quotient place, and subtracting 10 from -10 gives 0. The division process ends with a remainder of 0, indicating a terminating decimal.
The answer for -1/5 as a decimal will be -0.2.