5.NBT.3: Read, Write and Compare Decimals
Also written as 5.NBT.A.3 and CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.3 · Cluster: Understand the place value system.
The Official Wording
Read, write, and compare decimals to thousandths.
Common Core State Standards, Grade 5, Number & Operations in Base Ten · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What 5.NBT.3 Means in Plain English
Fifth graders read 52.608 as “fifty-two and six hundred eight thousandths” and write it in expanded form, with a 0 holding the hundredths (part a). Then they compare: 0.7 > 0.68 because 7 tenths beats 6 tenths, however many digits the other number has (part b).
The expanded form with fractions, 6 × (1/10), is how students see that a decimal is fractions in disguise, extending 4.NF.7 (comparing decimals to hundredths). Comparing to thousandths sets up rounding (5.NBT.4), and in 6th grade students order decimals and negatives on a number line (6.NS.7).
5.NBT.3 I Can Statements
- I can read and write a decimal to thousandths in words.
- I can write a decimal in expanded form with fractions like 1/100.
- I can compare two decimals with >, = or < using place value.
5.NBT.3 Worked Example
One decimal taken apart place by place, then a comparison that counting digits gets wrong and place value gets right.
Write 52.608 in words and in expanded form. Then compare 0.7 and 0.68 with <, = or >.
- Name each place. Left of the point: tens and ones. Right of the point: tenths, hundredths, thousandths.5 tens, 2 ones . 6 tenths, 0 hundredths, 8 thousandths
- Read the whole part, say “and” for the point, then read the decimal part as one number named by its last place.fifty-two and six hundred eight thousandths
- Expanded form multiplies each digit by its place. The hundredths digit is 0, so that term is 0 and can be left out.5 × 10 + 2 × 1 + 6 × (1/10) + 8 × (1/1000)
- To compare 0.7 and 0.68, line up the decimal points and start at the largest place, the tenths.0.7 has 7 tenths, 0.68 has 6 tenths
- 7 tenths is more than 6 tenths, so the comparison is settled there. The 8 hundredths cannot catch up.0.7 > 0.68
Check it: Rewrite 0.7 as 0.70 so both have hundredths: 70 hundredths against 68 hundredths, and 70 > 68. Adding the expanded form back gives 50 + 2 + 0.6 + 0.008 = 52.608.
Common Mistakes with 5.NBT.3
Longer means bigger
0.68 > 0.7 because 68 is more than 7
Try this: Pad the shorter decimal with a zero so both have the same number of places, then compare 70 hundredths with 68 hundredths.
Reading the decimal part by its first place
0.608 read as “six hundred eight tenths” or “six hundred eight hundredths”
Try this: Point to the last digit and name its column before reading. The last digit sits in thousandths, so the whole decimal part is thousandths.
Losing the zero in expanded form
52.608 expanded as 5 × 10 + 2 × 1 + 6 × (1/10) + 8 × (1/100)
Try this: Write every place in a chart, including the 0 hundredths, so the 8 is seen landing in thousandths and not sliding over to hundredths.
Where 5.NBT.3 Fits
Practice 5.NBT.3
Quick Check
- Write 4.035 in words.
- Write 207.49 in expanded form.
- Compare 3.405 and 3.45 with <, = or >.