Asking
Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

What causes 1/3 to repeat?

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
DrWatson · 70-79, M
The fact that 3 is not a divisor of ten.

The terminating decimals can all be written as fractions whose denominators are powers of ten. So if a fraction in simplest form has a denominator with a prime factor other than 2 or 5, the decimal repeats.
@DrWatson BEST ANSWER !
Tennessee · 46-50, F
@DrWatson repeating numbers are also found in all number bases.
@Tennessee Sure, given a fraction in lowest terms, whenever the denominator of the fraction contains a factor that is relatively prime (AKA coprime) with the base, there will be repeats. But all the technical language makes it harder to follow.
DrWatson · 70-79, M
@Tennessee Yes indeed! And for exactly the same reason: denominators which contain prime factors which are not divisors of the base.