How to see it
After the decimal point, the columns are tenths, hundredths, thousandths. Each is ten times smaller than the one before. Pad with zeros to compare. 0.5 is 0.50. Fifty hundredths against forty-five. So 0.5 is bigger.
A worked example
Put these in order, smallest first: 0.6, 0.57, 0.605, 0.065. Give each three decimal places: 0.600, 0.570, 0.605, 0.065. Now compare. Smallest is 0.065, then 0.570, then 0.600, then 0.605.
The common mistake: thinking a longer decimal is bigger
The trap is "more digits, bigger number". 0.45 looks bigger than 0.5 because 45 beats 5. Padding with zeros stops it.
Try one
Which is largest: 0.7, 0.68, 0.072 or 0.699?
- A0.7
- B0.68
- C0.072
- D0.699
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Right: A, 0.7
7. Written as 0.700 it beats 0.699.