Year 6 Maths Decimals

Round decimals - to 2 decimal places

Q: How do I round money?

To two decimal places, the nearest cent: $2.4875 ≈ $2.49.

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Theory

To round to two decimal places (the nearest hundredth), look at the thousandths digit. $5$ or more: round the hundredths up; $4$ or less: keep it. This Year 6 maths page shows the rule, rounding money to the nearest cent, and carrying through $9$s.

Two decimal places means two digits after the point: hundredths. Money is usually rounded to two decimal places (the nearest cent).

Only the thousandths digit decides: $6.5049$ rounds to $6.50$ because its thousandths digit is $4$.

Carrying can pass through several places: $1.996$ rounds to $2.00$.

Keep the zeros: $4.00$ and $2.00$ show two decimal places.

$2.718$ is past $2.715$: it rounds to $2.72$.

Thousandths digit $6$: add one hundredth. $1.99 + 0.01 = 2.00$.

The rule:

\[ \text{thousandths } 0\text{-}4 \Rightarrow \text{keep the hundredths} \]

thousandths 0 to 4 keep

\[ \text{thousandths } 5\text{-}9 \Rightarrow \text{add 1 hundredth} \]

thousandths 5 to 9 add one hundredth

\[ 1.99 + 0.01 = 2.00 \]

1.99 + 0.01 = 2.00

Nearest cent. $\$2.4875$ is $\$2.49$ to the nearest cent.

Keep two digits. Write $4.00$, not $4$.

Rounding to two decimal places

Find the hundredths digit.
Look at the thousandths digit next to it.
5 or more: add one hundredth (carrying through $9$s). 4 or less: keep it.
Write exactly two digits after the point.

Example 1 — Round up

Round $2.718$ to two decimal places.

Solution

Thousandths digit $8$: $2.72$.

Example 2 — Round down

Round $7.2131$ to two decimal places.

Solution

Thousandths digit $3$: $7.21$.

Example 3 — Keep zeros

Round $4.003$ to two decimal places.

Solution

Thousandths digit $3$: $4.00$.

Example 4 — Carry through 9s

Round $1.996$ to two decimal places.

Solution

Thousandths digit $6$: $1.99$ becomes $2.00$.

Example 5 — Halfway

Round $5.385$ to two decimal places.

Solution

Thousandths digit $5$: round up to $5.39$.

Example 6 — Money

A calculator shows a share of a bill as $\$2.4875$. What is it to the nearest cent?

Solution

Thousandths digit $7$: $\$2.49$.

Example 7 — Different places

Round $6.5049$ to
(i) two decimal places
(ii) one decimal place
(iii) the nearest whole number

Solution

(i) $6.50$
(ii) $6.5$
(iii) $7$

Example 8 — Find the mistake

Mia rounded $0.0451$ to $0.04$ because the last digit is $1$. What is right?

Solution

Look at the thousandths digit, $5$: round up to $0.05$.

Common pitfalls

Using the last digit. Only the thousandths digit decides.

Not carrying through 9s. $1.996 \to 2.00$.

Dropping zeros. $4.00$, not $4$.

Rounding twice. Round once from the original number.

Frequently asked questions

What does two decimal places mean?

Two digits after the point: hundredths.

Which digit decides?

The thousandths digit.

How do I round money?

To two decimal places, the nearest cent: $\$2.4875 \approx \$2.49$.

What is 1.996 to two decimal places?

$2.00$.

Why keep the zeros?

They show how many decimal places the answer has.

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Multiply & divide decimals by 10, 100, 1000 - Multiply by 10,100,1000

Round decimals - to 2 decimal places

📖 Theory

Rounding to two decimal places

Common pitfalls

Frequently asked questions

Theory