11+ Rounding & Estimating Online Tests
Rounding replaces a number with a nearby, simpler one; estimating uses rounded numbers to get an approximate answer quickly. The 11+ tests both, and it tests something subtler as well: knowing when an approximate answer is good enough, and when it is not.
Expect questions asking you to round to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000, to a given number of decimal places, and occasionally to one significant figure. Estimation questions often give a multiplication or division with awkward numbers and ask which answer is closest, rewarding the child who rounds first and calculates second.
21 free Rounding & Estimating tests
Timed and marked instantly, with an explanation for every question. No sign-up needed.
- Rounding & Estimating: Easy Test 1 Easy 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Easy Test 2 Easy 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Easy Test 3 Easy 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Easy Test 4 Easy 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Easy Test 5 Easy 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Medium Test 1 Medium 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Medium Test 2 Medium 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Medium Test 3 Medium 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Medium Test 4 Medium 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Medium Test 5 Medium 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Medium Test 6 Medium 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Medium Test 7 Medium 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Medium Test 8 Medium 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Hard Test 1 Hard 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Hard Test 2 Hard 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Hard Test 3 Hard 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Hard Test 4 Hard 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Hard Test 5 Hard 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Hard Test 6 Hard 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Hard Test 7 Hard 15 questions · 15 min
- Rounding & Estimating: Hard Test 8 Hard 15 questions · 15 min
What these Rounding & Estimating tests cover
- Rounding whole numbers to the nearest 10, 100, 1,000 and 10,000
- Rounding decimals to one, two and three decimal places
- Rounding to one significant figure
- Estimating answers to multiplications and divisions
- Judging whether a calculated answer is sensible
- Upper and lower bounds in everyday contexts such as crowd sizes
Rounding & Estimating: tips that earn marks
- Look only at the digit immediately to the right of the place you are rounding to. Digits further along do not get a vote.
- 5 or more rounds up, 4 or less rounds down. Watch for 9s: rounding 3,297 to the nearest ten gives 3,300, not 3,290.
- In an estimation question, round every number first and only then calculate. Working it out exactly and rounding at the end wastes the time the question is trying to save you.
Questions parents ask about Rounding & Estimating
Do 11+ papers ask for significant figures?
Some do, usually only to one significant figure and usually inside an estimation question. Rounding to decimal places is far more common.
Why do estimation questions matter if the answer is not exact?
Because they test judgement. In a timed paper, a child who can see that an answer of 4,000 must be wrong when the estimate is 400 catches their own mistakes before the examiner does.
What is the most common rounding mistake?
Rounding twice. Rounding 4.46 to one decimal place gives 4.5, but rounding it first to 4.5 and then to 5 is wrong - go straight to the place you were asked for.