When multiplying two decimals treat the _______ as _____
When multiplying two decimals, treat the decimal point as a placeholder.
To multiply decimals, follow these steps:
Step 1: Multiply the numbers as if they were whole numbers, ignoring the decimal point.
Step 2: Count the total number of digits after the decimal point in both numbers.
Step 3: Insert the decimal point in the product so that it has the same number of digits after the decimal point as the sum of the decimal places in the original numbers.
For example, let's say we need to multiply 2.5 and 0.3.
Step 1: Multiply 25 and 3, which gives us 75.
Step 2: There is one digit after the decimal point in 2.5 and one digit after the decimal point in 0.3, so the sum is 2 digits.
Step 3: Place the decimal point two digits from the right in the product, resulting in 0.75.
Therefore, when multiplying two decimals, you treat the decimal point as a placeholder and position it in the product based on the total number of decimal places in the original numbers.