How To Round To The Underlined Place Value Position

In mathematics, it is often difficult to work with large or complex numbers. When you don't need an accurate answer but just an estimation, rounding is a useful practice. Rounding makes numbers easier to work with by reducing the digits in the number while keeping the value similar to the original number. You can round a number to any place value depending on how much you want to change the original value of the number. You can use the rounded number in a math problem to get an approximate answer.

1. Underline the digit you plan to round

Determine which place value you are going to round the number to. Underline the digit in that place value position. For example, if you want to round to the nearest hundred, underline the digit in the hundreds place. When rounding the number 2,365 to the nearest hundred, underline the 3 because it is in the hundreds place.

2. Consult the digit to the right of the underlined digit

Look at the digit to the right of your underlined numeral. Determine if it is greater than or equal to 5. If so, you will round your underlined digit up. If the digit to the right of your underlined numeral is less than 5, you will round your number down. In the example 2,365, look at the digit to the right of the hundreds place, which is 6. Since this is greater than 5, you will round up.

3. Round up when the digit to the right is 5 or greater

When rounding up, add 1 to your underlined numeral and then change all of the digits to the right of the underlined numeral to zeros. In the example 2,365, you will change the 3 to a 4 and change the 6 and 5 to zeros, so your rounded number would be 2,400.

4. Round down when the digit to the right is less than 5

When rounding down, the underlined numeral stays the same and all of the digits to the right of it change to zeros. For example, to round the number 4,623 to the nearest hundred, your result will be 4,600 because the digit to the right of the hundreds place is less than 5.