Leo+DadMade for Leo
Rounding Decimals
Rung 2 of 3 · The method

The One Rule That Does It All

You don't have to picture the number line every time. There's a tiny rule that gives the same answer instantly — once you trust where it comes from.


PractiseHit “new number”, round it in your head, then check. Stuck? Reveal the steps.
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Here's the whole rule: find the place you're rounding to, look at the very next digit, and decide. If that next digit is 5 or more, round up; if it's less than 5, round down (leave the kept digit as is). Then chop off everything after.

The Three Moves

One — find the place you're keeping. To 1 decimal place? Keep down to the tenths. To the nearest whole? Keep down to the ones.

Two — look at the next digit along. This is the decider — the first digit you're about to throw away.

Three — apply the rule. Decider is 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 → bump the kept digit up by one. Decider is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 → leave it. Either way, drop the rest.

A Worked One

Round 7.382 to 1 decimal place. The kept place is the tenths (the 3). The decider is the next digit, 8. Since 8 is 5 or more, round up: the 3 becomes a 4. Drop the rest. Answer: 7.4.

Why the rule works: the decider tells you which half you're in. If the next digit is 5 or more, you're past the halfway mark, so you're nearer the higher mark — exactly what the number line showed in rung 1. The rule is just that "nearest mark" question, done in your head.

Same Rule, Any Accuracy

It doesn't matter if you're rounding to a whole, a tenth, or a hundredth — the moves are identical, you just keep down to a different place. Round 0.0473 to 2 decimal places: keep the hundredths (the 4), decider is 7, round up → 0.05.

Us, Thinking Out Loud

Could you say the three moves back to me without peeking?

Why does "5 or more rounds up" match the nearest-mark idea from rung 1?