Decimal column addition 4.35 + 1.27 — free printable diagram

How the columns give 4.35 + 1.27 = 5.62

Column addition with decimals works exactly as it does with whole numbers, as long as the decimal points are lined up underneath each other. Adding 4.35 and 1.27 column by column from the right gives 5.62.

Calculation

4.35 + 1.27

Answer

5.62

Columns used

Ones · Tenths · Hundredths

Hundredths column

5 + 7 = 12 — write 2, carry 1

Tenths column

3 + 2 + 1 = 6 — write 6

Ones column

4 + 1 = 5

• Line the decimal points up and every digit lands in its own place-value column, so hundredths are added to hundredths and tenths to tenths. The decimal point in the answer goes straight down below the others — it does not move.
• Carrying works the same way as with whole numbers because the columns have the same ten-times relationship. 5 hundredths plus 7 hundredths is 12 hundredths, and 12 hundredths is 1 tenth and 2 hundredths — so 2 is written and 1 is carried into the tenths column.
• Estimating first is the check that catches a misplaced point: 4.35 is about 4 and 1.27 is about 1, so the answer should be near 5. 5.62 is; 56.2 or 0.562 would not be.
• If one number has fewer decimal places than the other, write zeros in the empty columns before adding — 4.3 + 1.27 is added as 4.30 + 1.27. A zero on the end of a decimal does not change its value.