You have learned that each digit in a number has value based on its place in the number. You can calculate the value of a given digit by multiplying the number shown by the place value. Place value is also used to name and represent numbers. Numbers can be represented in a variety of ways, including using word names and grids.
Represent the number 2.14 using words and grids.
Read through the tabs below to learn how to represent numbers using words as well as grids. Make sure you answer the questions you find along the way.
Expressing a number using words simply means to write out the words you would say if you were reading the number aloud. You name the digits first, then name the last place value that contains a digit. The word “and” is used to indicate the decimal point.
For example, to represent the number 908.45 using words, you would write “nine hundred eight and forty-five hundredths.”
Use this process to write 2.14 using words.
Two and fourteen hundredths.
The only whole number is 2. Use the word “and” to represent the decimal point. The last digit of the number, 4, is in the hundredths place.
Grids are an excellent tool for visualizing numbers. A grid is a table with a certain number of small squares. Grids can be 10 by 10 with 100 small squares, or they can be drawn to show 1,000 small squares.
Look at the numbers represented on the grids below. Each grid has 100 small squares.
| Hundredths | Tenths | Whole |
|---|---|---|
| To represent 0.01, shade in one square. 
|
To represent 0.1, shade one column. 
|
To represent 1 whole, shade all the squares. 
|
Question
Describe the grid that represents 0.001.
This grid would have 1,000 squares, with 1 square shaded in.
Showing a number using grids requires shading so that the shaded parts represent the number.
To represent the number 2.14, you need:
| Two wholes because 2 × 1 = 2. 
|
One tenth because 1 × 0.1 = 0.1. 
|
Four hundredths because 4 × 0.01 = 0.04. 
|
Altogether the grid representation of 2.14 is:
You try! Create the grid representation of the number 1.28.
If you need graph paper, click below to open a PDF of graph paper that can be downloaded.
For the number 1.28, you need 1 whole, 2 tenths, and 8 hundredths.
Think you got it?
How well do you understand representing numbers using words and grids? Try the activity below to practice. Answer the question on the front of each card. Then click the card to check your work.
If you need graph paper, click below to open a PDF of graph paper that can be downloaded.
Represent the number 1.71 using grids.
For this number you need 1 whole, 7 tenths, and 1 hundredth.
Represent the number 4.19 using words.
In words, 4.19 is “four and nineteen hundredths.”
Represent the number 5.05 using grids.
For this number, you need 5 wholes, 0 tenths, and 5 hundredths.
Represent the number 435.08 using words.
In words, the number 435.08 is “four hundred thirty-five and eight hundredths.”
