Many students quake at the sight of a fraction. Oh, no! We like to work with whole numbers the best-and whole numbers with decimal points second best. Anything to avoid working with the enemy, fractions. So, many people decide to convert fractions into decimal points to make it easier for them to work with the numbers. It’s more calculator friendly, too. But, watch out!

By converting one or more fractions into decimals, you are adding one or more steps to your problem. Any time you add steps to a problem, you have increased the possibility of making a mistake. Use the fewest number of steps possible-don’t make work for yourself.

Source: Stressed Out About Drug Math, HCPro Inc., 2006. For more information on our series of Stressed Out books, visit www.stressedoutnurses.com