A decimal mark is a symbol used to separate the whole part from the fractional part of a number written in decimal form.
Different cultures use different symbols for the decimal mark. The choice of symbol for the decimal mark also affects the choice of symbol for the thousands separator used in digit grouping, so the latter is also treated in this article.
In mathematics the decimal mark is a type of radix point, a term that also applies to number systems with bases other than ten.
Read more about Decimal Mark: History, Digit Grouping, Influence of Calculators and Computers, Other Numeral Systems, Examples of Use
Famous quotes containing the words decimal and/or mark:
“It makes little sense to spend a month teaching decimal fractions to fourth-grade pupils when they can be taught in a week, and better understood and retained, by sixth-grade students. Child-centeredness does not mean lack of rigor or standards; it does mean finding the best match between curricula and children’s developing interests and abilities.”
—David Elkind (20th century)
“It is the mark of an educated man to look for precision in each class of things just so far as the nature of the subject admits; it is evidently equally foolish to accept probable reasoning from a mathematician and to demand from a rhetorician demonstrative proofs.”
—Aristotle (384–323 B.C.)