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Last updated on March 13th, 2025
It is a simple question on decimal conversion. Firstly, we have to learn fractions and decimals. A fraction represents a part from the whole. It has two parts: the numerator (number on the top), here 21, representing how many parts out of the whole are being considered. The denominator (number below) shows how many parts make the whole, here it is 16. A decimal is a way to represent the 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.
21/16 in decimals can be written as 1.3125. It is a terminating decimal, meaning it ends after a certain number of decimal places.
To convert 21/16 to a decimal, we will use the division method. Here, since 21 is greater than 16, we can directly proceed with the division method. Let's see the step-by-step breakdown of the process:
Step 1: Identify the numerator and denominator, because the numerator (21) will be taken as the dividend and the denominator (16) will be taken as the divisor.
Step 2: Since 21 is greater than 16, we can directly divide. 21 divided by 16 gives 1 with a remainder of 5.
Step 3: Add a decimal point and bring down a zero to make the remainder 50.
Step 4: Divide 50 by 16, giving 3. 16 multiplied by 3 equals 48. Subtract 48 from 50, leaving a remainder of 2.
Step 5: Bring down another zero to make it 20, then divide 20 by 16, giving 1. 16 multiplied by 1 equals 16. Subtract 16 from 20, leaving a remainder of 4.
Step 6: Bring down another zero, making it 40. Divide 40 by 16, getting 2. 16 multiplied by 2 equals 32. Subtract 32 from 40, leaving a remainder of 8.
Step 7: Bring down another zero to make 80. Divide 80 by 16, giving 5. 16 multiplied by 5 equals 80, leaving no remainder. The division process stops here as we have no remainder, indicating a terminating decimal.
Therefore, 21/16 as a decimal is 1.3125.