0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are the symbols used in the decimal system.
The adjective decimal can be applied with reference to that which is one of the ten identical parts into which something is divided. The term is frequently used in the field of mathematics .
The decimal system is called one that is made up of units that are divisors or multiples of ten with respect to the main unit of the class. The decimal number system , in this framework, is based on the use of quantities represented by powers of the number ten as a base.
The symbols used in the decimal number system are 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 and 9 . This system is positional : the value of the digit is linked to the position it occupies in the figure.
Decimal system numbers
Let's see below how we should interpret the position of each of its figures in a number belonging to the decimal system. First of all, we must remember that we learn to name the numbers mentioned in the previous paragraph as independent elements of a number, and from our basic education we focus on the decimal system; We call the symbol 4 "four," for example, without thinking that the number 421 is no longer read this way, but rather "four hundred."
Continuing in the decimal system, if we begin to analyze a whole number from its right end, we will find the following positions or columns: units, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, the million units and so on.
As explained in a previous paragraph, to find each of these values it is necessary to multiply a number by ten raised to a different power; In the units column , this power is zero , and it increases by one unit as we move to the left (the units of a thousand, for example, are obtained by multiplying the corresponding number by ten to the power of three ).
The classification of figures
The need to classify the figures of numbers greater than or equal to ten into different categories, so to speak, is far from being an arbitrary or merely aesthetic issue: thanks to this division into groups, the resolution of arithmetic operations becomes much easier. , both the simplest and the most complex.
Just by observing the steps we take when solving a simple sum we can appreciate the comfort that the recognition of different positions or columns within the decimal system offers us. If we add 4 plus 7 , for example, since the result is greater than 9 we must decompose it in the units column (where we will place a 1 ) and in the tens column (where another 1 will go).
Decimal numbers have an integer part and a fractional part.
decimal numbers
A decimal number is one that has an integer part and a fractional part, separated from each other by a comma ( , ) or a period ( . ). The number 5.8 , for example, has an integer part ( 5 ) and a fraction or decimal part ( 0.8 ).
It should be noted that the symbol used to mark the separation between the fractional part and the integer part is known as the decimal separator . In some countries, the decimal symbol is the comma, while in others the period is used. Thus, the number 5.8 may be written 5.8 in some regions.
Decimal numbers also have their own nomenclature system, which gives a different name to each position. With respect to the figures to the left of the comma (or the corresponding decimal separator, depending on the region), the same labels mentioned above are used; The positions that are located to the right, on the other hand, are called tenths, hundredths, thousandths, and so on.
The decimal metric system , on the other hand, is a system of measurements and weights, with the kilogram and the meter as base units, whose units are divisors or multiples of ten.