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Multiplying Decimals Worksheets

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Multiply decimals by whole numbers and by decimals: area models, basic facts, the written method with counting decimal places, and word problems.

Download the multiplying decimals worksheets

Learn how

Multiply as whole numbers, count decimal places, place the point.

Multiply decimals

Facts, the written method by 1-digit numbers, and 2-digit factors.

Word problems

Prices, distances and amounts.

Multiply by powers of 10

Moving digits for 10, 100 and 1,000.

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these multiplying decimals worksheets

To multiply decimals, multiply as if there were no decimal points, then place the point. The product has as many decimal places as both factors together: 2.35 × 4 has two decimal places, so 235 × 4 = 940 becomes 9.40.

An area model shows why. On a hundredths grid, 0.3 × 0.4 is 3 tenths of the columns and 4 tenths of the rows, and the overlap is 12 squares out of 100, or 0.12. That is why tenths times tenths gives hundredths.

These pages start with a how-to page and area models, then basic facts with decimals, the written method by 1-digit numbers and by 2-digit factors, and word problems. A small line under each column problem asks children to count the decimal places. Every page has an answer key on page 2.

Standards

  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.7Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used.
  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.A.2Explain patterns in the number of zeros of the product when multiplying a number by powers of 10, and explain patterns in the placement of the decimal point when a decimal is multiplied or divided by a power of 10. Use whole-number exponents to denote powers of 10.

How to use them

  1. Start with the area model page so the size of the product makes sense.
  2. Use How to Multiply Decimals for the three steps.
  3. Practice facts like 0.3 × 4 and 0.6 × 0.8 before the written method.
  4. Finish with the 2-digit factor page and the word problems.

Teaching tips

  • Do not line up the points to multiply. Line the numbers up on the right, multiply, then count places.
  • Count decimal places in both factors: 1.25 × 0.4 has 2 + 1 = 3 places.
  • Estimate to check: 3.8 × 4 is about 4 × 4 = 16, so 15.2 makes sense.
  • Multiplying by a number less than 1 makes a smaller product: 0.5 × 8 = 4.

Questions teachers and parents ask

How do you multiply decimals?

Multiply as whole numbers, count the decimal places in both factors, and give the product that many decimal places.

Do you line up the decimal points when multiplying?

No. That is only for adding and subtracting. For multiplying, line the numbers up on the right.

Why is 0.3 × 0.4 equal to 0.12?

3 tenths of 4 tenths is 12 hundredths. On a hundredths grid, the overlap of 3 columns and 4 rows is 12 squares out of 100.