- How do you convert a decimal to a fraction by hand?
- Count the digits after the decimal point, and write the number without its point over 1 followed by that many zeros. 0.625 has three decimal places, so it's 625/1000. Then find the greatest common divisor of the top and bottom and divide both by it. For 625 and 1000 that's 125, which leaves 5/8. If you can't spot the GCD, keep dividing both by small primes (2, 5, 3) until nothing goes into both.
- What is 0.333 as a fraction?
- Exactly, 0.333 is 333/1000 — that's what those three digits say. But 0.333 is usually 1/3 written down with the decimal cut short, and 1/3 is 0.333… with the 3s going on forever. The converter shows both: the exact 333/1000 in the main card and a note that 0.3333… repeating is 1/3. Use 333/1000 if the number really stops there, like a measurement to three places. Use 1/3 if it came from dividing something into thirds.
- How do I turn a repeating decimal into a fraction?
- Call the decimal x and multiply to line up the repeats. For 0.333…, 10x = 3.333…, and subtracting x removes the tail: 9x = 3, so x = 1/3. When some digits come before the repeat, shift those out first. For 0.1666…, 10x = 1.666… and 100x = 16.666…; subtract to get 90x = 15, so x = 15/90 = 1/6. Here, typing enough digits (0.167 or 0.1667) is enough — the converter finds the repeating fraction for you.
- How do I write a decimal bigger than 1 as a mixed number?
- Convert the whole thing to a fraction, then pull out the whole part. 2.375 is 2375/1000, which reduces by 125 to 19/8. 8 goes into 19 twice with 3 left over, so 19/8 = 2 3/8. The shortcut gives the same answer: keep the 2 in front and convert only the .375, which is 3/8. The converter shows the improper fraction and the mixed number side by side.
- What are common decimal inches as fractions?
- Sixteenths cover most tape measures: 0.0625 = 1/16, 0.125 = 1/8, 0.1875 = 3/16, 0.25 = 1/4, 0.3125 = 5/16, 0.375 = 3/8, 0.4375 = 7/16, 0.5 = 1/2, 0.625 = 5/8, 0.75 = 3/4, and 0.875 = 7/8. If a decimal like 0.3 doesn't land on a sixteenth, the exact fraction (3/10) won't be on your tape either — round to the nearest mark instead. 0.3 is closest to 5/16 (0.3125).
- Why doesn't 3.14 come out as 22/7?
- Because 3.14 isn't 22/7. 22/7 is 3.142857142857…, which rounds to 3.14 but so do plenty of other fractions, and pi itself isn't a fraction at all. The converter gives the exact 157/50 and only suggests a repeating fraction when your digits reach into the second round of the repeat — 0.333 for 1/3, or 0.14285714 for 1/7. Two or three matching digits aren't enough evidence, so you won't see 0.143 turned into 1/7.
- Does 0.999… really equal 1?
- Yes, when the 9s never stop. Using the same trick as other repeating decimals: x = 0.999…, 10x = 9.999…, subtract to get 9x = 9, so x = 1. Another way to see it: 1/3 = 0.333…, and three times that is 0.999… and also 3/3 = 1. If you type 0.999, though, you get 999/1000, because a number that stops after three 9s is a little less than 1.
- Which decimals stop and which ones repeat forever?
- Reduce the fraction, then look at the denominator. If its only prime factors are 2 and 5, the decimal stops: 3/8 is 0.375 because 8 = 2 × 2 × 2, and 7/20 is 0.35 because 20 = 2 × 2 × 5. Any other prime in the denominator makes it repeat: 1/6 = 0.1666… because of the 3, and 1/7 = 0.142857… because of the 7. That's because our number system is base 10, and 10 = 2 × 5.
- How big or precise a number can I enter?
- Up to 15 digits before the decimal point and 18 after it. That covers everything from 0.000000000000000001 (1/1,000,000,000,000,000,000) up to 999,999,999,999,999.999999999999999999. Past that the fraction is too long to be useful, and the converter says which limit you hit. Every digit inside the range is kept exactly, even beyond what a normal calculator holds.
- Is what I type saved or sent anywhere?
- No. The conversion runs in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server or stored, and closing the tab clears it.
