Mathematics

Entry 3

Learning Resource 4
Rounding and Estimation

N1/E3.7 N1/E3.8
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ROUNDING AND ESTIMATION
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Contents

Rounding to the nearest 10 N1/E3.7 Page 2

Rounding to the nearest 100 N1/E3.7 Page 3

Practical Rounding N1/E3.8 Pages 4 - 5

Using Estimation N1/E3.8 Pages 6 - 9

Estimating Answers N1/E3.8 Pages 10 - 12

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Information Rounding to the Nearest 10

To round a number to the nearest 10 you only need to look at the tens and units.

If the unit number is less than 5, round down to the nearest 10. If the unit number is 5 or
higher, round up to the nearest 10.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Examples

132 32 is nearer to 30 than 40

32 rounds down to 30 and the number becomes 130

758 58 is nearer to 60 than to 50

58 rounds up to 60 so the number becomes 760.

Exercise 1

1) Underline the tens digit in these numbers:

567 475 509 540 235 789 320 505

2) Round these numbers to the nearest 10:

a) 561 _____ b) 345 _____ c) 784 _____

d) 256 _____ e) 981 _____ f) 144 _____

3) 126 people attend a wedding. The newspaper would like to know how many
people attended to the nearest 10.
_________ people

4) The protest meeting had 555 people. The police estimated how many to the
nearest 10?
_________ people

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Information Rounding to the Nearest 100

To round a number to the nearest 100 you only need to look at the hundreds and tens.

If the tens number is less than 50, round down to the nearest 100. If the tens number is 50
or higher, round up to the nearest 100.

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
You only need to look at the hundreds and tens. Ignore the units.

Examples

832 83 is nearer to 80 than 90

83 rounds down to 80, so the number becomes 800.

258 25 is nearer to 30 than 20

25 rounds up to 30, so the number becomes 300.

Exercise 2

1) Underline the hundreds digit in these numbers:

376 890 245 546 628 124 681 481

2) Round these numbers to the nearest hundred:

a) 340 _______ b) 569 _______ c) 217 _______

d) 349 _______ e) 650 _______ f) 390 _______

3) Jo has worked out that she needs a 284 cm length of material to make covers for
her children’s beds. What is this measurement to the nearest 100 cm?

4) Tim is stocktaking. He has already counted the following items when his manager
tells him to round the numbers to the nearest 100. Round each of these figures to
the nearest 100.

a) 175 screws _______ b) 326 nails _______

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Information Practical Rounding

Rounding to the nearest £ is the same as rounding to the nearest 100.

Examples

£2.35 will be rounded down to £2.00 because it is nearer to £2 than £3.

50p or more will be rounded up. So £2.50 will be rounded up to £3.00.

Exercise 3
Round these amounts to the nearest pound.

1) £6.40 _______

2) £6.70 _______

3) £10.98 _______

4) £4.35 _______

5) £3.50 _______

6) £0.89 _______

7) £5.50 _______

8) £3.75 _______

9) £7.51 _______

10) £8.01 _______

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Information Practical Rounding

Mileage charts are used to calculate the distance between two places. It is useful to round
these distances when calculating journeys. The distance between two places can be
found where the places meet on the mileage chart.

Example

Edinburgh to Glasgow is 48 miles. This is rounded to 50 miles.

Exercise 4

Read the chart and round the distance to the nearest 10 miles.

1) Cambridge to Edinburgh _____ 2) Birmingham to Exeter _____

3) Carlisle to Gloucester _____ 4) Cambridge to Dover _____

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Information Using Estimation

It is very useful to be able to make rough estimates of amounts or quantities to perhaps

check a bill or a calculation.

Examples

I have £5.00. Do I have enough money to buy the 3 items above?

Round £2.49 to £2.00; round 65p to £1.00; round 99p to £1.00

£2.00 + £1.00 + £1.00 = £4.00 so you will have enough money. Yes / No

Exercise 5
1) 35p + 99p + £1.45 and I have £3.00. Do I have enough money? Yes / No

2) £1.55 + 65p + 99p and I have £3.00. Do I have enough money? Yes / No

3) £1.55 + 45p + £2.00 and I have £5.00. Do I have enough money? Yes / No

4) 95p + £2.50 + £3.00 + 99p and I have £10.00. Do I have enough Yes / No
money?

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Examples Using Estimation

Estimate how many chocolate bars you can buy for £5.00.
Round 49p to 50p.
10 x 50p = £5
I estimate you can buy 10 chocolate bars for £5.

Exercise 6

1) Ice creams cost 99p each. How many can I buy with £10.00? _____

2) Coffee is £1.85. How many can I buy with £5.00? _____

3) A drink costs £1.95. Can I buy 5 drinks with £10.00? _____

4) Crisps are 48p each. How many packets can I buy with £5.00? _____

5) Tickets for the cinema cost £3.50 each. Is £10.00 enough for 3? _____

6) A children’s party costs £4.99 per child. How many children can be invited for
£40.00?
_____

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Exercise 7 Using Estimation

1) Luigi and Maria go to the Pitta Tree for lunch. Luigi decides to have chicken and
Maria chooses curry.

a) Estimate the cost of the two meals.

b) Luigi pays with a ten pound note. Estimate the change he should get.

2) It is Ian’s 5th birthday. He goes to the toy shop to spend some birthday money.

a) Estimate the total cost of the three items above.

b) Ian has £30 to spend. Can he buy the scooter and the building blocks?

Yes / No

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Exercise 8 Using Estimation

1) Abigail goes to her local supermarket to buy a few items. Her receipt shows the
items she buys.
a) Estimate the total cost of the items on her receipt.

b) Check your total using a calculator.

2) The following week Abigail notices some special offers. She has £30 in her purse
and wonders if it is enough to pay for all of the items.
a) Make an estimate of all the items on offer.

b) Can Abigail afford to buy all the items?

Yes / No

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Information Estimating Answers

Even when you use a calculator, you still need to check that your answer is sensible. You
can sometimes estimate an answer quickly by rounding to the nearest 10.

Examples

12 x 18 rounded to the nearest 10 becomes 10 x 20 = 200. When you actually calculate

12 x 18 the answer is 216. This shows that your answer is sensible.

Exercise 9

Circle the answer you think is correct.

1) 20 x 100 = a) 200 b) 2000 c) 20,000

2) 10 x 25 = a) 250 b) 2500 c) 2.50

3) 30 x 10 = a) 30 b) 3 c) 300

4) 18 x 20 = a) 230 b) 150 c) 360

5) 30 x 12 = a) 200 b) 360 c) 430

6) 105 + 250 = a) 265 b) 2505 c) 355

7) 300 -18 = a) 112 b) 282 c) 312

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Exercise 10 Estimating Answers

Multiply by the nearest 10 or 100 to estimate your answers quickly.

Circle the answer you think is correct.

1) 100 x 10 = a) 10,000 b) 1000 c) 100

2) 10 x 1 = a) 1 b) 1000 c) 10

3) 10 x 10 = a) 100 b) 1000 c) 10,000

4) 23 x 10 = a) 2300 b) 23 c) 230

5) 26 x 12 = a) 312 b) 52 c) 2472

6) 19 x 9 = a) 91 b) 971 c) 171

7) £279.78 x 10 = a) £2797.80 b) £27,978.00 c) £27.98

8) 112 m x 62 m = a) 6944 m 2 b) 694 m 2 c) 69,440 m 2

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Exercise 11 Estimating Answers

1) Chloe has been asked to buy a new calculator for each person in the office. There
are 28 people and each calculator costs £8.99. Chloe wants an estimate of the
cost.

The calculation would be 28 x £8.99

Which of the following gives the best estimate of the cost?

a) 9 x 30 b) 8 x 30

c) 9 x 20 d) 8 x 20

2) Chloe checks the prices for packs of paper for the printer. She decides to buy 19
packs at £4.49 per pack.

a) Estimate the cost for the paper.

b) Use a calculator to work out the exact cost.

c) Was your estimate higher or lower?

3) Chloe decides to restock the stationery

cupboard. She orders 4 staplers costing
£12.99 each, 5 diaries at £3.65 each and 3
packs of envelopes at £10.99 each.

a) Estimate the cost of these items.

b) Use a calculator to check your answer.

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