Question

Which is a bigger number, 405.16 or 405.132, remembering the decimal point?

A. 405.16
B. 405.132
C. They are equal.
D. It depends on the context.

Answer 1

405.16 is the bigger number because if we compare the hundredths place, the digit 6 in 405.16 is greater than the digit 3 in 405.132.

Step-by-step explanation:

When comparing two decimal numbers, 405.16 and 405.132, it's important to compare the values place by place after the decimal point. Looking at the tenths place, both numbers have a 0, so we move on to the hundredths place. Here we find that 405.16 has a 6 in the hundredths place while 405.132 has a 3 in the hundredths place. Since 6 is greater than 3, 405.16 is the bigger number.

The number of places that the decimal point moves is the same as the number of zeros in the power of ten, but that concept does not apply directly here, as we're not moving the decimal point, but rather comparing two fixed decimal numbers. The rules about rounding and significant figures come into play with mathematical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, but again, they are not directly relevant to simply comparing two given decimal numbers.