Is 17/85 a terminating decimal?

Here we will show you how to determine if 17/85 is a terminating decimal or a non-terminating decimal.

A terminating decimal is a decimal number that has a finite number of decimals and does not go on indefinitely. We want to know if the decimal number you get when you divide the fraction 17/85 (17 ÷ 85) is terminating or non-terminating.

Here are the steps to determine if 17/85 is a terminating decimal number:

1) Find the denominator of 17/85 in its lowest form.
The greatest common factor (GCF) of 17 and 85 is 17. Convert 17/85 to its simplest form by dividing the numerator and denominator by its GCF:

		17 ÷ 17
		85 ÷ 17

		1
		5

Thus, the denominator of 17/85 in its lowest form is 5.

2) Find the prime factors of the answer in Step 1.
The prime factors of 5 are all the prime numbers that you multiply together to get 5. The prime factors of 5 are:

5

3) Determine if 17/85 is terminating
A fraction is a terminating decimal if the prime factors of the denominator of the fraction in its lowest form only contain 2s and/or 5s or no prime factors at all. This is the case here, which means that our answer is as follows:

17/85
= terminating

Terminating Decimal Calculator
Enter another fraction to determine if it is a terminating decimal.

Is 17/86 a terminating decimal?
Is the next fraction on our list a terminating decimal? Go here to find out!