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)
“The things that were coming to be talked about
Have come and gone and are still remembered
As being recent. There is a grain of curiosity
At the base of some new thing, that unrolls
Its question mark like a new wave on the shore.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)