Decimal Numerator?

Date: 04/08/2003 at 11:46:06
From: Dyan
Subject: Math

Is there such a thing as .8/1 ?

I am not sure if a decimal can be a numerator or denominator.

If I start with 80/100 and divide by 100, would an equivalent fraction 
be .8/1?

Date: 04/08/2003 at 23:05:56
From: Doctor Peterson
Subject: Re: Math

Hi, Dyan.

This is perfectly valid, except that ".8/1" is not a "common 
fraction," which always consists of whole numbers. So if you were 
asked to write the answer as a fraction, you would want to simplify 
it to 8/10, and then to 4/5. But if you are in the process of working 
out an answer to a problem, you can write ".8/1" with no trouble. 

The next step, most likely, would be to say that dividing by 1 doesn't 
change the number, so your value is simply .8.

If you have any further questions, feel free to write back.

- Doctor Peterson, The Math Forum
  http://mathforum.org/dr.math/