In decimal multiplication, after multiplying as normal, what must you do next?

In decimal multiplication, once you have completed the multiplication of the two numbers as if they were whole numbers, the next step involves determining the placement of the decimal point in the final product. To do this, you must count the total number of decimal places in both of the original factors. This count will indicate where the decimal point should go in the product.

For example, if you are multiplying 1.2 (which has one decimal place) by 0.35 (which has two decimal places), you would count a total of three decimal places. After obtaining a product from the multiplication of the whole numbers (in this case, 12 multiplied by 35 equals 420), you would then place the decimal point three places from the right in the product, resulting in 4.20, which can also be expressed as 4.2.

This method ensures that the precision of the decimal numbers is accurately reflected in the final result of the multiplication.