Example 1: Decimals

Calculate 2.41 + 17.2

The important thing for your child to remember when adding decimals is to correctly line up the decimal points. In this example there are a different number of decimal places after the decimal points, so it’s easy to get confused!

It is also helpful to add a decimal point to the answer line underneath the other decimal points so it’s not forgotten later on.

In this example 17.2 only has 1 number after the decimal point but 2.41 has 2 numbers after the decimal point. To ensure everything is lined up correctly a \textcolor{red}{0} can be added to make 17.2\textcolor{red}{0} which doesn’t change the value of the number but makes it easier to line up.

So,

2.41 + 17.2 = 19.61