Skill: Read decimals to thousandths

To read a decimal through the thousandths place:

• The first digit to the right of the decimal is the tenths place.
• The second digit is the hundredths place.
• The third digit is the thousandths place.

Read the digits after the decimal as a number of thousandths. Any zero in the middle is a meaningful placeholder.

Example: Read $3.405$.

1. Look at the digits after the decimal point: $405$.
2. There are three digits, so the last digit is in the thousandths place.
3. Read the number in standard form: three point four zero five.
4. Read it as a fraction: $405$ thousandths, or three and four hundred five thousandths.

So,

$$3.405 = 3+\frac{405}{1000}$$

The zero is important because it shows that there are zero hundredths. Without it, $3.45$ would mean three and forty-five hundredths, which is a different number.