The Power of Ten Pattern
Did you know multiplying by powers of ten is super easy with
decimals?
When you multiply a decimal by 10, 100, 1000, etc., you're simply moving the decimal point to the right!
The number of places you move it matches the number of zeros in the power of ten.
How It Works
1️⃣ Count the zeros in your power of ten (10 has 1 zero, 100 has 2 zeros, etc.)
2️⃣ Move the decimal point that many places to the right
3️⃣ Fill in any empty spaces with zeros if needed
Let's Practice Together!
Example 1: 3.75 × 100
How many zeros does 100 have? ___
Final answer: 375 (we don't need the decimal point at the end)
Example 2: 0.6 × 1000
Try this one yourself! How many places should we move the decimal?
1000 has 3 zeros, so we move the decimal point 3 places to the right!
0.6 becomes 600 (we added two zeros to fill the spaces)
Great job! You're getting the hang of this!
Parent Tips 🌟
- Money makes it real: Use dollar amounts to practice ($4.25 × 10 = $42.50). Kids understand money moves!
- Create a decimal dance: Have your child physically move (to the right for multiplication) to represent the decimal point moving.
- Kitchen conversions: When cooking, ask questions like "If this recipe uses 0.75 cups of flour and we're making 10 batches, how much flour do we need?"