Chapter 3
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Modern methods of writing decimals were invented less than 500 years ago. However, the use of decimals in various forms can be traced back thousands of years.
The Babylonians used a number system based on 60 and extended it to deal with numbers less than 1. Some use of decimals was also made in ancient China, medieval Arabia and in Renaissance Europe.
Research the internet for current uses of the decimal system and discuss with your classmates.
We use decimals in our daily lives, most often without even realizing it! When shopping, sales tax is calculated not as 8-1/2% or 9-1/4%, but as 8.5% or 9.25% or whatever the rate is where we are shopping. Prices that are not even dollar amounts, use decimals to indicate the cents portion of the price, i.e. $10.50 not
