Decimal Worksheets

Adding, subtracting and multiplying decimals, laid out in columns with the decimal points aligned. Where one number is drawn shorter than the other it is written out to the same width - 4.6 next to 12.35 prints as 4.60 - so the columns line up and the padding is visible rather than assumed. Seeing 4.60 written down is how the idea that 4.6 and 4.60 are the same number stops being something a student has to take on trust.

Numbers run to two decimal places and twenty by default, and the sheet mixes one-, two- and three-place problems as it goes. Set Decimal places to 1 for a first pass, or untick operations above to spend a page on just one.

Frequently asked questions

What grade are decimals taught in?

Decimal notation starts in fourth grade; adding and subtracting decimals is fourth and fifth, multiplying and dividing them fifth and sixth.

Why is a number like 4.6 written as 4.60?

So both numbers in a problem have the same number of decimal places and the columns line up. 4.60 and 4.6 are the same value - the zero holds an empty hundredths column rather than adding anything.

Are the answers exact?

Yes. Every value is held as a whole number of thousandths and the arithmetic is done on integers, so no answer key ever shows 0.30000000000000004.

Is there an answer key?

Turn on Include Answer Pages and a matching key prints behind each worksheet page, with the problems in the same order and the decimal points aligned.