Levels of Accuracy

Method

Rounding to Decimal Places

Rounding a decimal number to n decimal places means to rewrite the number in a simpler and shorter form with exactly n decimals. The final result will be an approximation to the given number.

The number 27.6495183 rounded to two decimal places is 27.65.

The following steps should be followed to round a number to n decimal places.

1
Look For the nth Digit to the Right of the Decimal Point
expand_more
Consider the number 27.64951. In each column, the corresponding decimal place is highlighted.

Round to One Decimal Place Round to Two Decimal Places Round to Three Decimal Places
27. 64951 27.6 4951 27.64 951

2
Draw a Vertical Bar to the Right of This Digit
expand_more
Round to One Decimal Place Round to Two Decimal Places Round to Three Decimal Places
27. 6|4951 27.6 4|951 27.64 9|51

3
Look at the Digit to the Right of the Bar
expand_more
  • If it is less than 5, keep the nth digit the same.
  • If it is equal to 5 or more, increase the nth digit by 1.
    • If the nth digit becomes 10, write 0 instead and increase the preceding digit by 1. Repeat this as many times as needed.
Round to One Decimal Place Round to Two Decimal Places Round to Three Decimal Places
27. 6| 4951 ↓ 27. 6| 4951 27.6 4| 951 ↓ 27.6 5| 951 27.64 9| 51 ↓ 27.6410| 51 ↓ 27.6 5 0| 51

4
Remove the Bar and Any Digits to Its Right
expand_more
The following table shows the results of rounding 27.64951 to one, two, and three decimal places.

Round to One Decimal Place Round to Two Decimal Places Round to Three Decimal Places
27.6 27.65 27.650

Exercises
Edit Lesson