How to Round to the Nearest Hundredth
Rounding to the nearest hundredth means rounding a number to exactly 2 decimal places. The hundredths place is the second digit after the decimal point. To determine which way to round, you look at the thousandths digit (the third digit after the decimal point).
The Rounding Rule
To round to the nearest hundredth:
- Locate the hundredths digit (2nd decimal place).
- Look at the thousandths digit (3rd decimal place) to decide.
- If the thousandths digit is 5 or greater, round the hundredths digit up.
- If the thousandths digit is less than 5, keep the hundredths digit the same.
Examples
3.14159 rounds to 3.14
The thousandths digit is 1, which is less than 5, so we round down.
Thousandths digit: 1 < 5 => keep 4
2.71828 rounds to 2.72
The thousandths digit is 8, which is 5 or greater, so we round up.
Thousandths digit: 8 >= 5 => 1 becomes 2
0.345 rounds to 0.35
The thousandths digit is 5, which is 5 or greater, so we round up.
Thousandths digit: 5 >= 5 => 4 becomes 5
9.999 rounds to 10.00
The thousandths digit is 9, rounding up carries through all digits.
Thousandths digit: 9 >= 5 => carries over
When to Round to the Nearest Hundredth
- Currency: Dollars and cents use exactly 2 decimal places.
- Measurements: Many scientific measurements report to the hundredth.
- Statistics: Percentages and probabilities often use 2 decimal places.
- GPA calculations: Grade point averages are commonly expressed to 2 decimal places.
Tips for Accurate Rounding
- Only look at the thousandths digit to make the rounding decision.
- Do not look at digits beyond the thousandths place -- they do not affect the result.
- If there is no thousandths digit, the number is already at or fewer than 2 decimal places.
- Remember: hundredths = 2 decimal places, not the number 100.