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How to Use Estimation to Place the Decimal Point

Estimation is a way to simplify the expression of a complex number that may involve a large number of digits. Estimation is useful when you need to do some quick calculation to get a general idea of what the outcome will be. You can also use it to find out whether you have enough money to make a purchase. The technique used for estimating the placement of a decimal point is called rounding off.

Instructions

    • 1

      Choose the rounding digit -- the digit after the decimal point to which you want to round off the value. For instance, if the value is "16.8346" and you want to round if off to hundredths, then the rounding digit is "3." If you want to round the value off to thousandths, then the rounding digit is "4."

    • 2

      Keep the rounding digit as is and replace all the digits to its right with zero if the digit to the right of the rounding digit is less than 5.

    • 3

      Increase the rounding digit by 1 and replace all the digits to its right with zero if the digit to the right of the rounding digit is 5 or greater.

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