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Last updated on March 16th, 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: the numerator (the number on the top) here, -3 represents how many parts out of the whole. The denominator (the number below) shows how many parts make the whole, here it is 20. 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.
-3/20 in decimals can be written as -0.15. It is a terminating decimal, meaning it does not repeat infinitely.
To get -3/20 in decimal, we will use the division method. Here, since 3 is smaller than 20, we will proceed with the division using decimals. Let's see the step-by-step breakdown of the process:
Step 1: Identify the numerator and denominator because the numerator (-3) will be taken as the dividend and the denominator (20) will be taken as the divisor.
Step 2: As 3 is smaller than 20, it can't be divided directly. We will use decimals to proceed. We will add 0 to the dividend, which will make 3 as 30 and add a decimal point in the quotient place.
Step 3: Now that it is 30, we can divide it by 20. Let's see how many times 20 makes 30.
Step 4: 20 fits into 30 once (1 × 20 = 20), so we write 1 in the quotient place and subtract 20 from 30, which gives us 10.
Step 5: Bring down another 0 in the dividend place, making 10 into 100, and then divide again. 20 fits into 100 five times (5 × 20 = 100), so we write 5 in the quotient place.
The division process stops here without a remainder, indicating that -3/20 as a decimal is -0.15.