Math Misconception Test

No, 9.11 is not greater than 9.9.

In fact, 9.11 is less than 9.9.

Here's why: When comparing decimals, you look at the place values from left to right. Both numbers have the same value in the ones place (9). However, in the tenths place, 9.11 has a 1 while 9.9 has a 9. Since 1 < 9, 9.11 is the smaller number.

To make the comparison clearer, you can also write them with the same number of decimal places:

• 9.11
• 9.90 (which is the same as 9.9)

Now it's easier to see that 11 hundredths is less than 90 hundredths.