Everyday Maths 2
◄Previous: 2.1 Rounding up or down after division

2.2 Rounding to approximate an answer

You might round in order to approximate an answer. At the coffee shop, you might want to buy a latte for £2.85, a cappuccino for £1.99 and a tea for £0.99. It is natural to round these amounts up to £3, £2 and £1 in order to arrive at an approximate cost of £6 for all three drinks.

Activity 4: Approximation

Find an approximate answer to each of the following.

  1. Cost of 3 kg of bananas at 79p per kg.

  2. The total cost of 3 books at £1.99, £2.85 and £4.90.

  3. Change from a £20 note when £3.84 has been spent.

  4. Approximate cost of one carton of fruit juice when a pack of 4 are sold together for 99p.

Answer

  1. Approximate cost: 3 × 80p = 240p = £2.40

  2. Approximate cost: £2 + £3 + £5 = £10

  3. Approximate change: £20 − £4 = £16

  4. Approximate cost of one carton: 100p ÷ 4 = 25p

◄Contents►Next: 2.3 Rounding to a degree of accuracy

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