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Lesson 1 of 15

5 min

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One weighing slip shows 2.5 kg of rice. Ten bags like that weigh 25 kg.

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2.5 sits in the ones and tenths columns.
Step 1 of 4
  1. 2.5 sits in the ones and tenths columns.
  2. Multiply by 10.
  3. Every digit moves one column left.
  4. The digits now read 25.

The rule

Multiplying by 10, 100 or 1000 moves every digit left. Each digit moves one column for each zero.

A digit one column left is worth ten times as much.

Write a zero in any column left empty. The zero keeps the other digits in their columns.

0.64 × 1000 has three zeros, so three moves. The 6 starts in the tenths and the 4 in the hundredths. The 6 moves to the hundreds. The 4 moves to the tens. The ones column is empty, so write 0. The answer is 640.

Watch out!

2.5 × 10 is not 2.50. A zero at the end changes nothing. The digits must move.

Try the lab to finish this lesson.