Rounding to the nearest 1000

Topic guide

What this worksheet practises

This worksheet focuses on rounding large numbers to the nearest thousand. This is a very common way to estimate large crowds, distances, or sums of money where exact precision isn't necessary. It essentially asks: "Is this number closer to the 1000 below it, or the 1000 above it?".

Key method

You must locate the thousands column and use the hundreds column to make your decision.

• Identify the digit in the thousands column. This is your target digit. (Remember the order from the right: Units, Tens, Hundreds, Thousands).
• Look at the digit immediately to its right, which will be the hundreds column. This is your "decider".
• If the decider is 5 or more (500 to 999), round the thousands digit up to the next thousand.
• If the decider is 4 or less (0 to 499), keep the thousands digit the same (rounding down).
• Replace the hundreds, tens, and units digits with three placeholder zeroes.

Worked example

Round 24,738 to the nearest 1000.

Step 1: Find the thousands column. It is the 4.

Step 2: Look at the decider (the hundreds column). It is a 7.

Step 3: Because 7 is five or more, we round the 4 up to a 5.

Step 4: The number starts with 25. Replace the 738 with three zeroes.

The final answer is 25,000.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most catastrophic mistake is forgetting the placeholder zeroes. A student might correctly round the 4 up to a 5, but then just write down "25" as the final answer. 24,738 is roughly twenty-five thousand, not twenty-five. You must include the three zeroes at the end.

Things to remember

The numbers "in front" of the thousands column (like the 2 in the twenty-thousands column above) usually stay exactly the same. The only exception is if your thousands digit is a 9 and it gets rounded up to a 10. For example, 39,600 rounded to the nearest thousand becomes 40,000.