Use a Calculator to Multiply by Decimal Numbers Between 0 and 1

When you multiply any number by 1 it remains the same.

For example, 24 × 1 = 24      79 × 1 = 79     38.97 × 1 = 38.97 

When you multiply a number by a decimal between 0 and 1 something surprising happens.

79 x 0.1 = 7.9

24 x 0.7 = 16.8

Multiplying by 0.1 is the same as dividing by 10.

Your answer is smaller than the number you are multiplying.

This is a useful thing to know because otherwise you might think you've got the wrong answer!

For this activity, we are going to use a calculator to answer the following questions.