Decimal operations worksheets
Aligned with Common Core 5.NBT.B.7
Printable fifth-grade decimal worksheets and how-to teaching pages: reading decimals to thousandths, comparing and ordering, rounding, adding and subtracting with the decimal points lined up, multiplying and dividing decimals, and decimal word problems.
The worksheets
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How to Read Decimals to Thousandths
2.345 in a place value chart with word form, expanded form and fraction form, plus more examples and why 0.4 = 0.40 = 0.400.
Compare and Order Thousandths
Pairs of decimals to compare, including tricky ones like 0.47 and 0.407 and equal ones like 6.70 and 6.7. Fewer has 10 pairs, Standard has 12 pairs and 2 sets to order, and More has 12 pairs and 4 sets. Includes an answer key.
Round Decimals
Decimals to thousandths to round to the nearest whole, tenth and hundredth, including some where rounding carries, like 16.997. Fewer has 6, Standard has 8 and More has 10. Includes an answer key.
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How to Add and Subtract Decimals
4.6 + 2.35 and 7 − 2.48 worked on graph paper, with the decimal points lined up and zeros filled in.
Add and Subtract Decimals
Decimal problems written across, to line up on graph paper with a red line for the decimal point. Fewer has 6 addition problems, Standard has 9 and More has 12 with bigger numbers, mixing addition and subtraction. The answer key shows the lined-up numbers, zeros and answers.
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How to Multiply Decimals
0.3 × 0.4 shaded on a hundredths grid, 2.4 × 1.3 worked without the points and checked with an estimate, and a whole number times a decimal.
Multiply Decimals
Decimal multiplication problems with boxes for the whole-number product, the number of decimal places and the answer. Fewer has 6 problems with a decimal times a whole number, Standard has 8 that add tenths times tenths and hundredths, and More has 10 that add tenths times hundredths. Includes an answer key.
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How to Divide Decimals
7.68 ÷ 4 worked on a long division grid with the decimal point carried straight up, and 3.6 ÷ 0.4 and 1.5 ÷ 0.05 turned into whole-number divisors.
Divide Decimals
Decimals divided by a whole number on long division grids, plus problems that divide by a decimal. Fewer has 4 grids, Standard has 3 grids and 4 divide-by-a-decimal problems, and More has 3 grids and 6. Every problem divides evenly. The answer key shows every step.
Where Does the Decimal Point Go
Multiplication and division problems with the digits of each answer given and the decimal point missing. Students estimate, then place the point. Fewer has 6 multiplication problems, Standard has 8 and More has 10, mixing multiplication and division. The answer key includes sample estimates.
Decimal Word Problems
Money and measurement word problems that use all four operations with decimals, like making change, sharing a cost, and finding a distance. Fewer has 3 problems, Standard has 4 and More has 5. Includes an answer key.
Print the whole packet
One copy of every sheet above, in order. Tap + for more copies (up to 10).
For the parent or teacher
What it is
Fifth graders extend decimals to thousandths, the third place after the decimal point. They read and write decimals in word and expanded form, compare and order them, and round them to the nearest whole, tenth or hundredth. Then they add and subtract decimals by lining up the decimal points, so each digit lands in the right place, and filling empty places with zeros. Last, they multiply and divide decimals to hundredths, working like whole numbers and using place value and estimates to place the decimal point.
What comes next
Adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.
How to teach it
- Teach in order or jump to whatever your student needs. A student may compare decimals well and still be building the habit of lining up decimal points.
- Use a place value chart so your student can see why 0.47 is bigger than 0.407.
- Say decimals the long way, like "four and six hundredths," instead of "four point oh six." It builds number sense.
- Before adding or subtracting, have your student write any missing zeros so both numbers have the same number of places.
- Estimate first with whole numbers, then check that the answer is close.
- When dividing by a decimal, show that multiplying both numbers by 10 or 100 doesn't change the answer, like 3.6 ÷ 0.4 = 36 ÷ 4.
Common mistakes
- Thinking a decimal with more digits is always bigger, like 0.407 > 0.47.
- Lining up the last digits instead of the decimal points.
- Forgetting that a whole number like 7 has a decimal point at the end (7.00).
- Rounding by looking at the wrong digit, or forgetting to carry when rounding a 9 up.
- Lining up the decimal points when multiplying, instead of counting decimal places.
- Leaving out the decimal point in the quotient, or putting it in the wrong place.