GRE exam question asks what is greater
$.\overline{717}$
or
$.\overline{71}$
I believe both are equal, but GRE says that $.\overline{717}$ is greater.
But why?
If they repeat for infinity, isn't the value the same, i.e.
$.71717171717171717171717171717171717171...$
$\endgroup$ 21 Answer
$\begingroup$The first one is $0.717,717,717\dots$ while the second is $0.717,171,717\dots$. They differ in the fourth place. Alternately, $0.\overline{717}=\frac {717}{999}$ while $0.\overline {71}=\frac {71}{99}$. You can cross multiply to find which is larger.
$\endgroup$ 4
