Exercise 38 Page 20

When comparing numbers, it is best to first ensure that they are as similar as possible. In this exercise, we are given a decimal number and a fraction. - 3. 1, - 165To compare them, we will convert - 165 to decimal.

- 16/5

WriteDec

Write as a decimal

- 3.2

Finally, we can make our comparison. Notice that both values are negative. This means the number closer to zero is always greater. Since the tenths place is larger for - 165, we know that the second value is less than the first value. - 3. 1> - 3. 2 ⇔ - 3.1 > - 16/5