What term describes the process of replacing the final digits of a number with zeros?

What term describes the process of replacing the final digits of a number with zeros?

• A. Truncating
• B. Rounding
• C. Estimating
• D. Approximating

Answer: (B)

The term that describes the process of replacing the final digits of a number with zeros is rounding. Rounding involves adjusting the digits of a number to make it easier to work with or to fit a certain level of precision. Specifically, when rounding, if a digit in a certain place value meets specific criteria (like being 5 or above), the preceding digit is increased by one, while if it is less than 5, the digits in that place are replaced with zeros, effectively simplifying the number. For example, if you were rounding the number 3.456 to the nearest whole number, you would look at the first decimal place (the 4). Since 4 is less than 5, you would round down to 3, which can also be expressed as replacing the decimal part with zeros, resulting in a whole number of 3. In contrast, truncating refers to cutting off digits without rounding (removing all digits after a certain point), estimating involves making an approximate judgment based on general knowledge or rough calculations, and approximating can refer to both estimating a value and adjusting it to be nearer to a certain number, but it does not specifically denote the action of replacing digits with zeros as rounding does.

The term that describes the process of replacing the final digits of a number with zeros is rounding. Rounding involves adjusting the digits of a number to make it easier to work with or to fit a certain level of precision. Specifically, when rounding, if a digit in a certain place value meets specific criteria (like being 5 or above), the preceding digit is increased by one, while if it is less than 5, the digits in that place are replaced with zeros, effectively simplifying the number.

For example, if you were rounding the number 3.456 to the nearest whole number, you would look at the first decimal place (the 4). Since 4 is less than 5, you would round down to 3, which can also be expressed as replacing the decimal part with zeros, resulting in a whole number of 3.

In contrast, truncating refers to cutting off digits without rounding (removing all digits after a certain point), estimating involves making an approximate judgment based on general knowledge or rough calculations, and approximating can refer to both estimating a value and adjusting it to be nearer to a certain number, but it does not specifically denote the action of replacing digits with zeros as rounding does.