Writing decimals only requires ten numbers and a decimal point. Unlike fractions, decimals can be added and subtracted without finding first a common denominator. To read more on how decimals are similar to fractions, see How To Convert Fractions.
Background
Decimals have been used in China from the beginning of writing in China. Written records in China go back to the Shang Dynasty, which began in 1766 BC. The symbolic writing used in China lent itself to place-based values from the beginning. It was easier to give a value to the placement of ten different symbols than it would have been to go on inventing a different symbol for every number into infinity. For example: a written account of 547 days in thirteenth century China notes 547 in symbols as five of hundreds, 4 of decades, and seven of days. Arabic and Hindu traders brought decimals from China to the Mediterranean world in 976 AD. http://www.endlesssearch.co.uk/philo_enneagram_dec.htm
Uses
Notation and Calculation of Money
Statistics
Engineering
Manufacturing
Real Estate
Shipping
Computer Technology Converts to Binary
