Final answer:
To eliminate decimals in the equation 3.4x – 1.02 = 0.23, multiply the entire equation by 100. This moves each decimal two places to the right, converting all terms into whole numbers: 340x – 102 = 23.
Step-by-step explanation:
To eliminate the decimals in the equation 3.4x – 1.02 = 0.23, you would need to multiply each term by a power of ten that moves the decimal point far enough to the right so there are no more decimal points in any of the numbers. Looking at the decimals, the smallest place value is in the hundredths (the 1.02). Therefore, to remove all decimals, we can multiply the entire equation by 100. This moves the decimal two places to the right in each number.
Here's the step-by-step multiplication:
Multiply 3.4 (which has one decimal place) by 100 to get 340.Multiply –1.02 (which has two decimal places) by 100 to get –102.Multiply 0.23 (which has two decimal places) by 100 to get 23.
The equation after multiplying by 100 will be:
340x – 102 = 23