Comparing decimals worksheets
Twenty decimal pairs with an empty circle between — and more than half are deliberate traps.
Best fit: 4th–5th grade · Answer key included · Free, no sign-up
Answer key
The same sheet with every answer shown in blue — print it for marking, or hand it over for self-checking.
About these worksheets
The classic decimal misconception is “longer means bigger”: 3.09 looks longer than 3.4, but 3.4 is greater. This sheet is engineered around exactly that trap — most pairs put a two-decimal number against a one-decimal number so the misconception gets confronted twenty times in a row. The fix is place value: compare tenths with tenths before even looking at hundredths, or mentally pad 3.4 to 3.40.
Grade level: this sheet is part of our4th grade math worksheets collection.
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Frequently asked questions
Why does 3.4 beat 3.09?
Compare tenths first: 4 tenths versus 0 tenths — done. Padding helps too: 3.4 is 3.40, and 40 hundredths beats 9 hundredths.
Why so many trap pairs?
Because “longer is bigger” survives gentle worksheets. Confronting the misconception repeatedly, with the answer key confirming each time, is what breaks it.
What grade is this for?
Decimal comparison to hundredths is 4th grade core and a 5th grade warm-up staple.