decimal system

views updated Jun 08 2018

decimal system Commonly used system of writing numbers using a base ten and the Arabic numerals 0 to 9. It is a positional number system, each position to the left representing an extra power of ten. Thus 6741 is (6 × 103) + (7 × 102) + (4 × 101) + (1 × 100): note that 100 = 1. Decimal fractions are represented by negative powers of ten placed to the right of a decimal point.