Functional Skills: Rounding and Estimating

Entry Level 3FS Level 1FS Level 2AQACity & GuildsEdexcelHighfield QualificationsNCFEOpen Awards

Functional Skills: Rounding and Estimating Revision

Rounding Numbers

Rounding is a way of changing a number to make it easier to write and work with, even though it may be less exact. Rounding can be done to a number of decimal places (d.p.) or to the nearest whole number, or nearest 10, etc.

If you round numbers too early during a calculation, then the final answer may be wrong, so only round at the end of a calculation, unless the question specifically asks you to round before.

There are 5 skills you need to learn in this topic.

Make sure you are happy with the following topics before continuing.

Would you pass functional skills maths level 2?

Why not test your knowledge now and see if you would pass. A score of around 60% means you would probably pass your functional skills maths level 2.

CTA Icon
FS Level 1FS Level 2Entry Level 3AQAEdexcelCity & GuildsNCFEOpen AwardsHighfield Qualifications

Skill 1: Rounding to a Number of Decimal Places

Example: Round 17.268 to 2 decimal places.

Step 1: Find the digit you are rounding to. In this case it is the 2nd digit after the decimal point.

17.2\textcolor{red}{6} 8

Step 2: If the number to the right is below 5, we round down and it stays the same. If it is 5 or more, we round up and increase it by 1.

8 is bigger than 5, so the 6 increases by 1 to 7

Step 3: Don’t write down and digits after this. What it remaining is the final answer, which is

17.2\textcolor{red}{7}

FS Level 1FS Level 2AQAEdexcelCity & GuildsNCFEOpen AwardsHighfield Qualifications

Follow Our Socials

Social BG
Facebook

Follow our Facebook for community support

Social BG

Follow our Instagram & TikTok for revision help

Our Facebook page can put you in touch with other students of your course for revision and community support. Alternatively, you can find us on Instagram or TikTok where we're always sharing revision tips for all our courses.

Follow our socials for revision tips and community support

  • facebook
  • instagram
  • tiktok

Skill 2: Rounding to the Nearest Whole Number

Example: Round 53.182 to the nearest whole number.

Step 1: Find the digit you are rounding to. In this case it is the first digit before the decimal point, since we are rounding to the nearest whole number.

5\textcolor{orange}{3}.182

Step 2: If the number to the right is below 5, we round down and it stays the same. If it is 5 or more, we round up and increase it by 1.

1 is smaller than 5, so the 3 stays the same.

Step 3: Don’t write down any digits after this, including the decimal point. What it remaining is the final answer, which is

5\textcolor{orange}{3}

FS Level 1FS Level 2AQAEdexcelCity & GuildsNCFEOpen AwardsHighfield Qualifications

Skill 3: Rounding to the Nearest 10

Example: Round 365 to the nearest ten.

Step 1: The first digit, 3, is in the hundreds column, but the second digit, 6, is in the tens column, so this is the digit we are rounding to.

3\textcolor{orange}{6}5

Step 2: If the number to the right is below 5, we round down and it stays the same. If it is 5 or more, we round up and increase it by 1.

5 is 5 or more, so the 6 is increased by 1 to 7.

Step 3: Finally, change all of the digits after this to \textcolor{limegreen}{0}‘s. What it remaining is the final answer, which is

3\textcolor{orange}{7}\textcolor{limegreen}{0}

FS Level 1FS Level 2Entry Level 3AQAEdexcelCity & GuildsNCFEOpen AwardsHighfield Qualifications

Skill 4: Rounding to the Nearest 100

Example: Round 4179 to the nearest hundred.

Step 1: The first digit, 4, is in the thousands column, but the second digit, 1, is in the hundreds column, so this is the digit we are rounding to.

4\textcolor{orange}{1}79

Step 2: If the number to the right is below 5, we round down and it stays the same. If it is 5 or more, we round up and increase it by 1.

7 is 5 or more, so the 1 is increased by 1 to 2.

Step 3: Finally, change all of the digits after this to \textcolor{limegreen}{0}‘s. What it remaining is the final answer, which is

4\textcolor{orange}{2}\textcolor{limegreen}{00}

Note: We use similar techniques to round to the nearest 1000, 10000, etc.

FS Level 1FS Level 2Entry Level 3AQAEdexcelCity & GuildsNCFEOpen AwardsHighfield Qualifications
FS Level 1FS Level 2Entry Level 3AQAEdexcelCity & GuildsNCFEOpen AwardsHighfield Qualifications

See what level 2 maths topics you need support with.

The pre-assessment tests your skills on a number of topics that will come up in the actual exam. You then get feedback on what you need to revise.

CTA Icon

Skill 5: Estimating

Answers to calculations can be estimated by rounding the numbers in them to the nearest whole number, or nearest 10, etc. This can be used to check your calculations are correct or estimate the answer without a calculator.

Example: Stevie sells some items on an auction website.

She sells a TV for £178.50, a microwave for £32.85 and a hairdryer for £27.10

Estimate how much money Stevie makes from selling these items.

 

Since the value of the items are all in the tens or hundreds, it would be better to round them all to the nearest 10.

£178.50 rounds to \textcolor{purple}{£180}

£32.85 rounds to \textcolor{purple}{£30}

£27.10 rounds to \textcolor{purple}{£30}

So, in total she makes

\textcolor{purple}{£180} + \textcolor{purple}{£30}+ \textcolor{purple}{£30} = \textcolor{purple}{£240}

FS Level 1FS Level 2Entry Level 3AQAEdexcelCity & GuildsNCFEOpen AwardsHighfield Qualifications

Notes:

  • If the digit you are rounding is a \textcolor{blue}{9}, you have to round it up to 0 and add 1 to the digit to the left.
  • Usually, you will not be told what to round the numbers to when you are estimating – you just need to use your common sense. However, there is normally not a right or wrong answer when estimating – you will be given leeway.

Functional Skills: Rounding and Estimating Example Questions

Here, we are rounding to 3 decimal places, so look at the 3rd digit after the decimal point, which is the first 9.

 

44.10\overset{\downarrow}{9}9

 

9 (the second one) is bigger than 5, so the first 9 is rounded up and 1 is added.

However, this makes 10, so we need to change this to 0 and carry the 1 to the left and add it to that column.

Don’t write down any digits after this.

So,

 

44.1099 rounded to 3 decimal places is 44.110

Here, we are rounding to the nearest thousand, so look at the 3rd digit, which is the 0.

 

57\overset{\downarrow}{0}182

 

1 is smaller than 5, so we round down and the 0 stays the same.

Make the rest of the digits after this zero.

So,

 

570182 rounded to the nearest thousand is 570000

Here, we are rounding to the nearest whole number, so look at the 1st digit before the decimal point, which is the 3.

 

91\overset{\downarrow}{3}.78

 

7 is bigger than 5, so we round up and the 3 increases by 1 to 4.

Do not write down any digits after this, including the decimal point.

So,

913.78 rounded to the nearest whole number is 914

Since the times of each section are all in the tens, it would be better to round them all to the nearest 10.

 

48 rounds to 50

82 rounds to 80

59 rounds to 60

So, in total he completes the triathlon in

50 + 80 + 60 = 190 minutes

Since the numbers are in the units, we should round them both to the nearest whole number.

 

3.14 rounds to 3

4.92 rounds to 5

So, the surface area of the sphere is

4 \times 3 \times 5^2 = 4 \times 3 \times 25 = 300 cm^2

Additional Resources

PFS

Exam Tips Cheat Sheet

FS Level 2
PFS

Formula Booklet

FS Level 2

Functional Skills: Rounding and Estimating Worksheet and Example Questions

Site Logo

Rounding and Estimating EL3

Entry Level 3NewOfficial PFS
Site Logo

Rounding and Estimating L1, L2

FS Level 1FS Level 2NewOfficial PFS

[responsive-flipbook id=”pfs_pocket_revision_guide_-_sample”]

You May Also Like...

Functional Skills Maths Level 2 Pocket Revision Guide

Revise and practice for your functional skills maths level 2 exam. All topics covered in this compact revision guide.

View Product

Functional Skills Maths Level 2 Mini Tests

Practice for your functional skills Maths level 2, questions from every topic included.

View Product
Sale!

Functional Skills Maths Level 2 Revision Cards

Revise for functional skills maths level 2 easily and whenever and wherever you need. Covering all the topics, with revision, questions and answers for every topic.

£8.99
View Product

Functional Skills Maths Level 2 Practice Papers

This 5 set of Functional Skills Maths Level 2 practice papers are a great way to revise for your Functional Skills Maths Level 2 exam. These practice papers have been specially tailored to match the format, structure, and question types used by each of the main exam boards for functional skills Maths. Each of the 5 papers also comes with a comprehensive mark scheme, so you can see how well you did, and identify areas to improve on.

From: £29.99
View Product

Functional Skills Maths Level 2 Practice Papers & Revision Cards

This great value bundle enables you to get 5 functional skills maths level 2 practice papers along with the increasingly popular flashcard set that covers the level 2 content in quick fire format.

From: £37.99
View Product

Related Topics

PFS

Number Basics

Entry Level 3
PFS

Numbers and Place Value

FS Level 1FS Level 2
PFS

Decimals

FS Level 1FS Level 2