Multiplying Decimals Examples

What's the product of 0.06 and 0.2?

Welp, 0.06 and 0.2 represent fractions with denominators of 100 and 10, respectively (). The product of these fractions will have a denominator of 1000 (100 × 10). This means that the product of the decimals will have 3 decimal places. Whew! We haven't moved this many dots since we worked in the gum drop factory.

Now that the denominator is taken care of, let's have a look-see at the numerator: 0.06 and 0.2 represent fractions with numerators of 6 and 2, respectively. Multiply 0.06 and 0.2, ignoring the decimal points, to get 12.

But 12 isn't our final answer, since we still haven't applied our denominator. Since we know the product of 0.06 and 0.2 will have 3 decimal places, we move the decimal point 3 places to the left to get our solution: 0.012. Now towel that decimal place off and get him some Gatorade. That was a workout!

What is 0.004 × 0.73?

We know the product will have 5 decimal places. Multiply 0.004 and 0.73, ignoring the decimal points. In other words, just multiply 4 and 73 to get 292. Then move the decimal point left 5 places to the left to get 0.00292. Remember, we only move the decimal place to the right during multiplication when we're multiplying by a power of 10. No power of 10 here. We're looking pretty powerless.