Rounding always works the same way. Only the place you round to changes.
Step 1: Let's Learn
Read it, or press Listen and follow the words.
Three steps
Find the two numbers either side at that place. Find halfway. See which side you are on.
An example
4,672 to the nearest hundred sits between 4,600 and 4,700. Halfway is 4,650, and 4,672 is past it.
Different places, different answers
4,672 rounds to 4,670 to the nearest ten, 4,700 to the nearest hundred, and 5,000 to the nearest thousand.
One method, any place
Rounding always asks the same question: which of the two nearest landmarks is this number closer to? To round 47,382 to the nearest thousand, the landmarks are 47,000 and 48,000. 47,382 is below the halfway point of 47,500, so the answer is 47,000.
The deciding digit
Look at the digit immediately to the right of the place you are rounding to. If it is 5 or more, round up; if it is 4 or less, round down. Everything further right is already accounted for by that digit — this is why you do not need to inspect the whole tail.
Everything to the right becomes zero
Rounding 47,382 to the nearest thousand gives 47,000, not 47. The zeros hold the places open so the number keeps its size. Dropping them changes the answer by a factor of a thousand — a mistake that is easy to make and very easy to spot if you check.
When rounding up cascades
Round 39,700 to the nearest thousand and the 39 becomes 40: the answer is 40,000. Rounding up can fill a column and push a bundle further left, just as carrying does. Expect it whenever the digits before the deciding one are 9s.
Step 2: Try It Yourself
Tap and try it out.
672 sits past halfway, so it rounds to 700.
Step 3: Watch an Example
One step at a time.
Watch Leo Round the Same Number Three Ways
Leo rounds 4,672 to the nearest ten, hundred, and thousand.
- Step 1
To the nearest ten: between 4,670 and 4,680, halfway is 4,675, so it rounds down.
Step 4: Your Turn
Practice makes it stick.
The Crowd
Problem 1 of 2
Round 3,482 to the nearest hundred.
To the Thousand
Problem 2 of 2
Round 3,482 to the nearest thousand.
Round to the Place Asked
1 of 4
Round 2,748 to the nearest ten.
2 of 4
Round 2,748 to the nearest hundred.
3 of 4
Round 2,748 to the nearest thousand.
4 of 4
Round 15,600 to the nearest thousand.
Step 5: Quick Check
Show what you know.
Question 1 of 2
Round 6,349 to the nearest hundred.
Question 2 of 2
Does one number always round to the same answer?
What You Learned
- Rounding works the same way at any place.
- Find the two neighbours, find halfway, pick a side.
- The same number rounds differently at different places.