No, Alex was not correct in writing the expanded form for the number 165.038 as "100 + 60 + 5 + 30 + 8."
To write the correct expanded form, we need to break down the number into its individual place values. Let's examine each digit in the number:
1. The digit 1 is in the hundreds place, so its value is 100.
2. The digit 6 is in the tens place, so its value is 60.
3. The digit 5 is in the ones place, so its value is 5.
4. The digit 0 is in the tenths place, so its value is 0.
5. The digit 3 is in the hundredths place, so its value is 0.03.
6. The digit 8 is in the thousandths place, so its value is 0.008.
Putting it all together, the correct expanded form for the number 165.038 is:
100 + 60 + 5 + 0 + 0.03 + 0.008.
Therefore, the correct expanded form is "100 + 60 + 5 + 0 + 0.03 + 0.008."