What is 1/50 expressed as a decimal? Show your work.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
To express 1/50 as a decimal, we need to perform the division of 1 by 50. Here’s the step-by-step process:
Step 1: Division Setup
We want to divide 1 by 50. This is written as:
[
1 \div 50
]
Step 2: Long Division
To divide 1 by 50, we perform long division. Since 1 is smaller than 50, the division cannot be performed directly in whole numbers. So, we start by adding a decimal point to the dividend (1), turning it into 1.00. This allows us to continue the division with decimal places.
- 50 goes into 100 (after adding two zeros to 1) 2 times (50 × 2 = 100).
- After subtracting 100 from 100, there’s no remainder, and the division is complete.
Thus, the result of 1 divided by 50 is:
[
0.02
]
Step 3: Conclusion
The decimal form of 1/50 is 0.02.
Explanation
The reason we perform this division is that fractions and decimals are two different ways of expressing the same number. A fraction represents a part of a whole, and when expressed as a decimal, it shows that part in terms of powers of ten. The denominator, 50, means we are dividing the whole into 50 equal parts. Dividing 1 by 50 tells us how much one part is in decimal form. In this case, 1/50 equals 0.02, which means each of the 50 equal parts is 0.02 of the whole.
This decimal is useful because it allows us to work with more familiar number formats, especially in real-world scenarios such as financial transactions, measurements, and calculations that require decimal precision. In fact, the process of converting fractions to decimals is an essential skill in mathematics that helps us understand relationships between numbers in various contexts.