The first step to changing 1 78/42 into a decimal is to change it to an improper fraction. To do that, we need to multiply 1 by 42 and add its product to 78 in the numerator to get: 120/42. Now we will attempt to convert 120/42 to a decimal using the following method.
A fraction is written in terms of two parts: the number on top is called the numerator and the number on the bottom is called the denominator. We can use the division method to solve this question. To get a decimal, simply divide the numerator 120 by the denominator 42:
120 (numerator) ÷ 42 (denominator) = 2.86
As a result, you get 2.86 as your answer when you convert 1 78/42 (or 120/42) to a decimal.
Practice some more problems on converting fractions to decimals:
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