NUMBER CONVERSION:- Rounding Numbers
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Rounding Numbers
Significant Figures
Exponent to Ordinary Form
Standard Form or Index (SI) to Ordinary Form
Ordinary to Standard Form or Index (SI)
eBook Interactive Content
Parameters
Number
Decimal Places
Default Values
1.2345
4
User Inputs
The number of decimal places is the number of figures after the decimal point. It is normal to round a decimal number to n decimal places to make it more readable. Obviously, this reduces the accuracy of the original number. The process of manual number rounding is to look at the next figure after n, (this is the decider figure) if the decider is five or greater, increase the preceding figure by one. Discard any figures after n. Rounding numbers containing decimal fractions to whole numbers can be useful when estimating. The accuracy of the estimate will depend largely on the magnitude of the whole number relative to the fractional part. For example, the fractional part of the value 2.4 has considerably more significance than say, 120.4. Estimating by rounding provides is a useful check on the value of the final calculation. TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING: Find out why computer-generated numbers often result in many decimal places and what happens to their accuracy when we convert them to a more meaningful form readable by us humans.