Rounding Numbers for 5th Grade: Nearest Ten, Hundred, and Thousand

Rounding helps us estimate, simplify calculations, and communicate approximate values. In Grade 5, students round whole numbers to any place value—nearest ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, or hundred thousand. Rounding is used everywhere: reporting population (“about 500,000”), estimating costs (“around $20”), giving distances (“roughly 300 miles”), and checking if answers are reasonable.

Rounding does not give an exact value; it gives a value that is close and easier to work with. We choose the place to round to based on the context. For a news headline, we might round a city’s population to the nearest ten thousand. For a receipt, we round to the nearest cent. Understanding when and how to round is a practical skill for everyday life.

DETAILED EXPLANATION

Rounding rules:

1. Identify the place value you are rounding TO (the “target” digit).

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2. Look at the digit to the RIGHT of that place.

3. If that digit is 5 or greater, ROUND UP: add 1 to the target digit, and replace all digits to the right with 0.

4. If that digit is 4 or less, ROUND DOWN: keep the target digit the same, and replace all digits to the right with 0.

5. When rounding up and the target digit is 9, we “carry”: 9 + 1 = 10, so we add 1 to the place to the left (e.g., 1,999 rounded to nearest hundred → 2,000).

Examples: Round 45,678 to nearest thousand. The thousands digit is 5. The digit to the right (hundreds) is 6. Since \(6 \geq 5\), round up: 5→6. Answer: 46,000.

Round 834,521 to nearest ten thousand. The ten thousands digit is 3. The digit to the right (thousands) is 4. Since \(4 < 5\), round down: 3 stays 3. Answer: 830,000.

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WORKED EXAMPLES WITH STEP BY STEP SOLUTIONS

Example 1

A city’s population is 45,678. Round to the nearest thousand for a news headline.

Solutions:

Step 1: Identify the place we are rounding TO: the thousands place. The thousands digit is 5.

Step 2: Look at the digit to the RIGHT of the thousands place: the hundreds digit, which is 6.

Step 3: Apply the rule: Since \(6 \geq 5\), we ROUND UP. The thousands digit 5 becomes 6.

Step 4: Replace all digits to the right of the thousands place with 0. The hundreds, tens, and ones become 0.

Step 5: Write the rounded number: 46,000.

Answer: 46,000

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Example 2

Round 834,521 to the nearest ten thousand.

Solutions:

Step 1: Identify the target place: ten thousands. The ten thousands digit is 3.

Step 2: Look at the digit to the right: the thousands digit, which is 4.

Step 3: Since \(4 < 5\), we ROUND DOWN. The ten thousands digit 3 stays 3.

Step 4: Replace all digits to the right with 0: 830,000.

Step 5: Write the rounded number: 830,000.

Answer: 830,000

Example 3

A store sold 1,999 items. Round to the nearest hundred for a report.

Solutions:

Step 1: The target place is hundreds. The hundreds digit is 9.

Step 2: The digit to the right (tens) is 9. Since \(9 \geq 5\), we ROUND UP.

Step 3: 9 + 1 = 10. We cannot write 10 in one digit, so we CARRY. The hundreds digit becomes 0, and we add 1 to the thousands digit.

Step 4: Thousands: 1 + 1 = 2. Hundreds: 0. Tens and ones: 0. The result is 2,000.

Step 5: 1,999 rounded to the nearest hundred is 2,000.

Answer: 2,000

Example 4

Round 678,901 to the nearest ten thousand.

Solutions:

Step 1: Target place: ten thousands. The ten thousands digit is 7.

Step 2: Digit to the right (thousands): 8. Since \(8 \geq 5\), ROUND UP.

Step 3: 7 + 1 = 8. Replace digits to the right with 0: 680,000.

Answer: 680,000