
77
Chapter 10
Decimal Fractions
and Logarithms
10.1 APPEARANCE OF DECIMAL FRACTIONS
A decimal fraction is a decimal representation of a real number in the
form of a series written as a sum:
r = a
0
+ a
1
/10 + a
2
/10
2
+ a
3
/10
3
+ … if r ≥ 0
r = –a
0
– a
1
/10 – a
2
/10
2
– a
3
/10
3
– … if r < 0,
where a
0
is a nonnegative integer, and a
1
, a
2
, … are integers satisfying
0≤a
i
≤ 9 for each i ≥ 1.
Although there is no clear evidence, it is believed that decimal frac-
tions may have rst been developed and used in China in around the rst
century BC, from there spreading to the Middle East [2, 3]. e textbook
Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections (1247 AD), by Chi ...