Comparing Decimals Practice
20 questions · 60 seconds · traps like 0.9 vs 0.85
Free · no login · instant feedback on every answer
Take on the most famous decimal trap head-on: every question pairs decimals of different lengths — 0.9 versus 0.85 — and asks which is greater or smaller. The other decimal is always among the tiles, so the length shortcut ("more digits means bigger") gets punished immediately.
This misconception is worth targeting because it is place value itself being tested: 0.9 is nine tenths, 0.85 is eight tenths and a bit, and the tenths place outranks everything after it. Students who can compare decimals place by place are showing exactly the understanding that decimal addition alignment, rounding, and money math all depend on.
Tips That Make It Stick
- Compare place by place from the left. Line both numbers up at the decimal point and walk right: the first place where the digits differ decides. Tenths beat everything that comes after them.
- Pad with zeros to equal length. Rewrite 0.9 as 0.90, and the comparison becomes 90 hundredths versus 85 hundredths — suddenly obvious. Trailing zeros after the decimal point change nothing about the value.
- Length is not size. 0.85 has more digits than 0.9 but is smaller. If a longer decimal ever "looks bigger," say both numbers as hundredths out loud before answering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is greater, 0.9 or 0.85?
0.9 — it equals 0.90, and 90 hundredths beats 85 hundredths. Students who answer 0.85 are counting digits instead of comparing place values, which is the exact habit this drill breaks.
How do you compare two decimals?
Line them up at the decimal point, pad the shorter one with trailing zeros, and compare digit by digit from the left. The first position where the digits differ determines which number is greater.
What grade compares decimals?
Comparing decimals to hundredths is a 4th grade standard and extends to thousandths in 5th grade. It is a core place-value skill that resurfaces in rounding, measurement, and ordering data.
📝 Matching Printable Worksheets
Prefer paper practice? These free PDF worksheets cover the same skill — each includes an answer key: