Suppose an elementary school student asked you why uniting zeros to the right of a whole number increases the value of the number, but when zeros are written to the right of a decimal point the value of the number does not increase. Write a response that would make sense to this student.
Dear elementary school student,
That's a great question! Let's talk about the difference between whole numbers and decimals.
When we unite zeros to the right of a whole number, it increases the value because the number becomes bigger. For example, if we have the whole number 5 and add two zeros to it, we get 500. The zeros in this case represent "nothing," so adding more of them doesn't really change the important digit, which is 5.
On the other hand, when we write zeros to the right of a decimal point, the situation is a bit different. The zeros in this case actually do represent something, which is the level of precision or accuracy in the number. Adding more zeros to the right of a decimal point doesn't change the value because it doesn't add more information or make the number more precise.
For example, if we have 2.0 and we add another zero, it becomes 2.00. Both represent the same value of 2, but with the second version, we are just showing that we know the value to two decimal places, instead of one. It doesn't make the number bigger or more significant, but it provides more details about the accuracy.
So, you see, adding zeros to the right of a whole number increases its value because it makes it bigger, but when zeros are written to the right of a decimal point, they don't increase the value as they represent the precision or accuracy of the number.
I hope this explanation clarifies your question. Keep up the curiosity and keep asking great questions!
Best regards,
[Your Name]