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Welcome to our Math lesson on What is Rounding, this is the first lesson of our suite of math lessons covering the topic of Rounding and Significant Figures, you can find links to the other lessons within this tutorial and access additional Math learning resources below this lesson.
Rounding means replacing a number with an approximate value that has a shorter and simpler representation. Numbers are rounded when the accuracy is not very relevant but there is room for approximate values to express a quantity so that it can be more easily understood.
For example, we more frequently say "I will be there in about half an hour" rather than saying "I will be there in 30 minutes". This is because 30 minutes is quite exact where are half an hour is quite approximate, this allows us to have a few minutes of delay and still be considered on time.
The value of a rounded number is slightly different from the original number. A rounded integer always ends with zero. We use the symbol (≈) to represent rounding in expressions.
There are two types of rounding: (1) rounding up, and (2) rounding down. When a number is rounded up, its value increases to become the nearest number ending with zero to the original number. On the other hand, when a number is rounded down, its value decreases to become the nearest number ending with zero to the original number."
Rule: "A number is rounded down when the digit that becomes zero in the original number was 1, 2, 3 and 4, while a number is rounded up when the digit that becomes zero after rounding was previously 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
For example, when 78 is rounded to the nearest ten, we obtain 80 because this number is the nearest ten to the original number.
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