We want to order the numbers from least to greatest. Let's start by looking at the given numbers!
- 7/2, - 2.8, - 5/4 , 4/3 , 1.3
Before we compare the numbers, let's rewrite the fractions - 72, - 54, and 43 as decimals, one fraction at a time.
Rewrite - 72 as a Decimal
We want to rewrite the fraction - 72 as a decimal number. Let's ignore the negative sign for just a moment. Recall that 7 2 means 7÷ 2. Let's divide the numerator by the denominator!
We found that 72 written as a decimal is 3.5, so - 72 written as a decimal is - 3.5.
Rewrite - 54 as a Decimal
We want to rewrite the fraction - 54 as a decimal number. Let's ignore the negative sign for just a moment. Recall that 5 4 means 5÷ 4. Let's divide the numerator by the denominator.
We found that 54 written as a decimal is 1.25, so - 54 written as a decimal is - 1.25.
Rewrite 43 as a Decimal
We want to rewrite the fraction 43 as a decimal number. To do so, recall that 4 3 means 4÷ 3. Therefore, we will divide the numerator by the denominator. Let's do it!
We can see that the pattern starts to repeat itself after a few steps. The decimal is a repeating decimal, so we can write it using bar notation by drawing a bar over the repeating digits in the decimal.
1.333... = 1.3
We found that 43 written as a decimal is 1.3.
Order the Numbers from Least to Greatest
First, we will rewrite the numbers in their decimal forms.
- 7/2, - 2.8, - 5/4 , 4/3 , 1.3
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- 3.5, - 2.8, - 1.25 , 1.3 , 1.3
Now, we can compare the given numbers. Let's graph each decimal on the number line!
Looking at the diagram, we can see that the least number is equal to - 3.5. We read the numbers from left to right to rearrange them in order from least to greatest.
- 3.5 , - 2.8 , - 1.25, 1.3 , 1.3
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- 7/2 , - 2.8 , - 5/4, 1.3 , 4/3
