ORDERING

OF

FRACTION AND DECIMAL NUMBERS

Concept: When ordering numbers, compare numbers to determine which is larger and which is smaller, and place in ascending or descending order. (To compare numbers, we must convert all numbers to like terms (all fractions, all percents, or all decimals). For simplicity’s sake, we will only present the steps to convert numbers to decimals.)

Steps for Ordering Fraction and Decimal Numbers

Step 1 | Convert all numbers to decimals. Fractions are converted to decimals by dividing the numerator (or top number) by the denominator (or bottom number). For example:
Step 2 | To order in descending order, list decimals from largest to smallest.
Step 3 | To order in ascending order, list decimals from smallest to largest.

Example 1 Arrange the following values into ASCENDING or DESCENDING order:

Step 1 | Convert all numbers to decimals. Fractions are converted to decimals by dividing the numerator (or top number) by the denominator (or bottom number). For example: |
Step 2 | To order in descending order, list decimals from largest to smallest. |
| Listed in descending order, our numbers are: 2, 1.33, 0.8, 0.29, and 0 |
Step 3 | To order in ascending order, list decimals from smallest to largest. |
1.33
0.8
0.29
0
2.0
| Listed in ascending order, our numbers are: O, 0.29, 0.8, 1.33, and 2.0 |

Example 2 Arrange the following values into ASCENDING or DESCENDING order:

Step 1 | Convert all numbers to decimals. Fractions are converted to decimals by dividing the numerator (or top number) by the denominator (or bottom number). For example: |
Step 2 | To order in descending order, list decimals from largest to smallest. |
-0.7
-0.1
0
0.1
-0.6
-0.5
-0.4
-0.3
-0.2
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
| Listed in descending order, our numbers are: 0.8, 0.29, 0, - 0.25, and - 0.75 |
Step 3 | To order in ascending order, list decimals from smallest to largest. |
| Listed in ascending order, our numbers are: - 0.75, - 0.25, 0, 0.29, and 0.8 |