Maths Year 5 Fractions, decimals & %
Year 5 maths: thousandths, worked example and two common mistakes
Thousandths is a Year 5 maths topic. In the national curriculum’s words: Recognise and use thousandths, relating to tenths, hundredths and decimal equivalents.
The explanation, example and questions are the ones Remelia uses in the app; the questions are not taken from any test paper.
Thousandths: the idea
A thousandth is a tenth of a hundredth: the third column after the decimal point.
How to do it
- Columns after the point: tenths, hundredths, thousandths.
- 10 thousandths = 1 hundredth. 100 thousandths = 1 tenth.
- 0.007 is seven thousandths.
A worked example
0.256 = 2 tenths, 5 hundredths, 6 thousandths = 256/1000.
Watch for
0.07 and 0.007 are ten times apart. Count the columns carefully.
Four questions on thousandths
-
Write 261 hundredths as a decimal.
Show the answer to question 1
Answer: 2.61
Why:
100 hundredths make one whole, so 261 hundredths = 261 ÷ 100 = 2.61.
The last digit of 261 goes in the hundredths column, the second place after the point.
-
Write 684 thousandths as a decimal.
Show the answer to question 2
Answer: 0.684 (also accept .684)
Why:
1,000 thousandths make one whole, so 684 thousandths = 684 ÷ 1,000 = 0.684.
The last digit of 684 goes in the thousandths column, the third place after the point.
-
In 2.475, what is the value of the digit 5?
Write it as a decimal.
Show the answer to question 3
Answer: 0.005
Why:
After the decimal point come tenths, hundredths, then thousandths. The 5 is in the thousandths column, so it is worth 5/1000 = 0.005.
-
3.78 − 0.499 = ?
Show the answer to question 4
Answer: 3.281
Why:
Line up the decimal points and fill any gaps with zeros:
3.780 − 0.499 = 3.281.
Answers
- 1. 2.61
- 2. 0.684 (also accept .684)
- 3. 0.005
- 4. 3.281
Two common mistakes in thousandths
When a wrong answer to a question like these matches one of these mistakes, the app says what the child seems to have done before they try again.
- Question 1, the answer 26.1: Your digits are right, but in the wrong columns: your answer is 10 times too big.
- Question 1, the answer 0.261: Your digits are right, but in the wrong columns: your answer is 10 times too small.
More Year 5 maths
Remelia starts from what your child’s class has been taught. It practises maths for your child’s own year group, in short sessions, and brings back on later days what they got wrong.
Year 5 fractions, decimals & %, every objective with a question, and six fractions questions with the common mistakes.