Decimal arithmetic exercises
These pages are available in English and Italian; the application itself is currently in English.
The Decimals exercise type covers arithmetic with a decimal point. You can practise one or more operations — addition, subtraction, multiplication, division — or answer a random mix of all four.
Answers are entered on a decimal keypad, or chosen from several options when that mode is active.
Parameters
- One or more operations, as you choose.
- The number of digits in the whole part of each operand, from 1 to 3 or random.
- The number of digits in the decimal part of each operand, from 0 to 2 or random.
- The test length, from 1 to 15 questions.
- The time limit, set in minutes and seconds.
- Answers typed on the keypad, or chosen from several options.
Where decimals fit
Decimal arithmetic usually comes after confidence with whole numbers: the operations are already familiar, and what the child is really practising is place value and where the point belongs in the answer.
Point or comma, as the learner writes it
MathButFun stores a decimal separator preference for each registered account. A learner taught to write three and a half as 3,5 can enter it that way; one who uses the point writes 3.5.
The child can therefore apply the conventions learned at school, and equally practise with conventions other than those of their own country.
Who it is for
Decimal exercises suit those already confident with whole numbers, who are discovering new ways of representing the numbers around them.
Are decimal exercises separate from integer ones?
Yes. Decimals are an exercise type of their own, with their own settings: configuring them does not change the Integers configuration.
Can a comma be used instead of a point?
Yes. Each registered account keeps a decimal separator preference, so answers can be entered with either a comma or a point.
Can decimals and whole numbers be mixed?
Not within the same test. A test uses one exercise type, and within it the four operations can be mixed.