Round each number to the nearest whole number

Round each number to the nearest whole number. 5.2

The correct answer and explanation is:

Okay, let’s round the number 5.2 to the nearest whole number.

Correct Answer:

The correct answer is 5.

Explanation:

Rounding a number to the nearest whole number means finding which integer (a number without a decimal or fraction, like 1, 2, 5, 100, etc.) is closest to the original number. To do this, we look at the digit immediately to the right of the decimal point, which is the tenths digit.

The standard rule for rounding to the nearest whole number is:

1. Identify the ones place (the digit to the left of the decimal point).
2. Look at the tenths place (the first digit to the right of the decimal point).
3. If the tenths digit is 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, you round down. This means you keep the digit in the ones place as it is and remove all the digits after the decimal point.
4. If the tenths digit is 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, you round up. This means you increase the digit in the ones place by one and remove all the digits after the decimal point.

Now let’s apply this rule to the number 5.2:

1. The number is 5.2.
2. The digit in the ones place is 5.
3. The digit in the tenths place is 2.

According to the rule, since the tenths digit (2) is less than 5 (it falls into the 0-4 category), we round down. Rounding down means we keep the digit in the ones place (5) the same and simply drop the decimal part (.2).

Therefore, 5.2 rounded to the nearest whole number is 5. It is closer to 5 than it is to 6.