AI Tutor
Imagine standing in the checkout line with a $20 bill in your pocket. How can you know if you have enough money before the cashier scans your items?
Instead of adding tricky decimals in your head, you can estimate by replacing exact prices with friendly numbers that are easy to add quickly.

Rounding to the Nearest Dollar

To round to the nearest dollar, look at the cents. Since there are 100 cents in a dollar, the halfway point is 50 cents.
If the price has 50¢ or more, round up to the next whole dollar. If it has 49¢ or less, round down.
Let's test this in a grocery basket with three items: cereal for 3.85,milkfor3.85, milk for 2.40, and strawberries for $4.75.
We round 3.85upto∗∗3.85 up to **4**, 2.40downto∗∗2.40 down to **2**, and 4.75upto∗∗4.75 up to **5**. Adding them together gives an estimated total of **11∗∗(11** (4 + 2+2 + 5 = $11).
The exact cost is $11.00, meaning our quick estimate was right on target!
The same rule applies when rounding to the Nearest Pound (£1£1). Look at the tenths column (pence) to decide whether to round up or down.
The same rule applies when rounding to the Nearest Pound (£1£1).
Examine the tenths column (pence): if the amount is 50p50\text{p} or greater (tenths digit ≥5\ge 5), round up to the next whole pound; if less than 50p50\text{p} (tenths digit <5< 5), round down (e.g., £4.85≈£5.00£4.85 \approx £5.00 and £4.25≈£4.00£4.25 \approx £4.00).
If the amount is 50p50\text{p} or greater (tenths digit ≥5\ge 5), round up to the next whole pound (e.g., £4.85≈£5.00£4.85 \approx £5.00). If it is less than 50p50\text{p}, round down (e.g., £4.25≈£4.00£4.25 \approx £4.00).