What does the decimal 0.5 convert to as a fraction?

The decimal 0.5 is equivalent to the fraction 1/2 because it represents half of a whole. To convert a decimal to a fraction, you can express the decimal as a fraction over 1, which would be 0.5/1. By multiplying the numerator and denominator by 10 to eliminate the decimal point, you can rewrite it as 5/10. This fraction can then be simplified by dividing both the numerator and the denominator by their greatest common factor, which is 5, resulting in 1/2. Thus, the correct answer is derived from the fundamental understanding that 0.5 signifies a value that is exactly halfway, or one half, of a whole.