

Rounding means replacing a number with an approximate value that has a shorter, simpler, or more explicit representation. In the SVG file, hover over a method to highlight it and, in SMIL-enabled browsers, click to select or deselect it. For clarity, the graphs are shown displaced from integer y values. Therefore, you should use good judgment in your estimating process.Graphs of the result, y, of rounding x using different methods. If you try to add several fractions by the same method such as 1/8 + 1/16 + 2/8 + 3/16 you can end up with an estimate that is very rough. Keep in mind that an estimate, by definition, is a This is much closer to 1 than it is to 1/2 so our estimate is not very accurate. If we now try 1/8 + 3/4, by the rules for rounding to the closest 1/2, 1/8 is closest to 0 and 3/4 is rounded to 1/2. If we really add these terms 3/8 + 11/16, with a common denominator of 16 we have 6/16 + 11/16 = 17/16 = 1 + 1/16 which is really close to our estimate of 1. 3/8 is closest to 1/2 and 11/16 is less than 3/4 so it is also closest to 1/2. This works well through a calculator such as if you are adding 3/8 + 11/16. In this case however, a better estimate might be achieved by a human.įor example, the standard practice for estimating sums and differences of fractions for grammar school students seems to be rounding to the closest 1/2 by rounding to 0, 1/2 or 1. A calculator can certainly make an estimate based on defined parameters in a formula and there are many applications where estimating is done very well with calculators (or computers). Value of Estimating Fractionsįirst, always follow the guidelines your teacher gives you for estimating sums and differences of fractions.Įstimating operations on proper fractions in this way is sometimes more accurately done by a human than a calculator.

Fractions ≥ 15/16 are rounded up to 16/16=8/8=1įractions table for halves, quarters, eighths and sixteenths with decimal equivalentsįractions table.Fractions ≥ 7/8 are rounded up to 8/8=1Įstimating sums and differences of fractions to the nearest 1/8.Fractions ≥ 5/8 and Fractions ≥ 1/8 and See the section on " Value of Estimating Fractions" below.Įstimating sums and differences of fractions to the nearest 1/2Įstimating sums and differences of fractions to the nearest 1/4 For more precise estimating we added the ability to round fractions to the closest 1/4 or 1/8. This online calculator was originally set up to estimate by rounding fractions to the nearest 1/2. Use rounding to estimate answers when adding or subtracting proper fractions. Estimate sums and differences for positive proper fractions, n/d (numerator/denominator), where n ≤ d and 0 ≤ n/d ≤ 1.
