AI Tutor
In the Olympics, a swimmer can win gold by just five thousandths of a second. But how do we take words, pictures, or math clues and write that exact number using regular digits?
Writing a number using everyday digits and a decimal point is called standard form.

The Decimal Place Value Map

Every spot to the right of the decimal point gets ten times smaller. The first spot is tenths, the second is hundredths, and the third is thousandths.
How do we take a picture of base-ten blocks and translate it into standard form?

Writing Decimals from Models

When working with decimals, a large cube represents 11 whole. A flat square is 110\frac{1}{10} (tenth), a rod is 1100\frac{1}{100} (hundredth), and a tiny unit cube is 11000\frac{1}{1000} (thousandth).
Count each type of block and place that digit into its matching spot on the place value chart.
Notice how there were zero rods? We must write a zero placeholder in the hundredths place to keep the thousandths in the correct third spot: 1.3041.304.
What if someone says a decimal out loud in words instead of showing us blocks?

Writing Decimals from Word Form