Decimals on a Number Line

u03_l1_t2_we3 Decimals on a Number Line

Use a number line to compare 11.5 and 11.7.

So let's draw a number line here.

And I am going to focus between 11 and 12

because that's where our two numbers are sitting.

They are 11 and then something else, some number of tenths.

So this right here is 11. This right here would be 12.

And then let me draw the tenths.

So this would be, smack-dab in between,

so that would be eleven and five tenths, or that would be 11.5.

Well, I've already done the first part.

I've figured out where 11.5 is. It's smack-dab in between 11 and 12.

It's eleven and five tenths.

But let me find everything else. Let me mark everything else on this number line.

So that's 1 tenth, 2 tenths, 3 tenths, 4 tenths, 5 tenths,

6 tenths, 7 tenths, 8 tenths, 9 tenths and then 10 tenths right on the 12.

It's not completely drawn to scale. I'm hand-drawing it as good as I can.

So where is 11.7 going to be? Well this is 11.5.

This is 11.6. This is 11.7.

Eleven and seven tenths.

1 tenth, 2 tenths, 3 tenths, 4 tenths, 5 tenths, 6 tenths, 7 tenths.

This is 11.7.

And the way we've drawn our number line, we are increasing as we go

to the right. 11.7 is to the right of 11.5.

It's clearly greater than 11.5. 11.7 > 11.5

And really, seriously, you didn't have to draw a number line to figure that out.

They're both 11 and something else. This is 11 and 5 tenths. This is 11 and 7 tenths.

So, clearly, this one is going to be greater.

Both have 11, but this has 7 tenths as opposed to 5 tenths.