Introduction to Operations on Decimals

A display showing many different kinds of candy and gum

How many candy bars can Greg buy with the change in his piggy bank?

Greg is hosting a movie night for his friends, and he's buying candy to share. Candy bars cost $0.79 each, and Greg plans to buy as many as possible with the change from his piggy bank. If he has $5.53, how many candy bars can he buy? To maximize his candy-buying power, Greg will need to use mathematical operations on decimals. In this section, you'll learn how to perform familiar operations including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division when working with decimals.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Add and subtract decimals
Multiply decimals
Divide decimals
Use decimals in money applications

readiness quiz

Before you get started, take this readiness quiz.

Simplify [latex]\frac{70}{100}[/latex].If you missed this problem, review [link].
Multiply [latex]\frac{3}{10}\cdot \frac{9}{10}[/latex].If you missed this problem, review [link].
Divide [latex]-36\div \left(-9\right)[/latex].If you missed this problem, review [link].

Licenses & Attributions

CC licensed content, Shared previously

Candy bars. Provided by: SweetFixNY Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetfixnyc/4239741844. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike.

CC licensed content, Specific attribution

Prealgebra. Provided by: OpenStax License: CC BY: Attribution. License terms: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/[email protected].

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