By studying this lesson, you will be able to, 

6.1 Estimation 

In the above two situations the correct amounts could easily be told by counting the number of items there are. 

Can the correct number of newspapers, the correct number of bananas and the correct number of marbles in the following figures be stated as easily by counting the items? 

To know the exact number of items in each figure, it is necessary to count the items. This is not always possible. However, a person with experience can make a good guess and come up with a close value. 

Finding a close value for the number of items there are in a certain collection of items, without counting the items, but using a suitable method instead, is defined as estimation. 

In estimation, the method that is most often used to guess the number of items there are in a collection, is to find a value close to the total number of items, by considering the number of items there are in a portion of the collection. In this method, the portion that is considered is taken as a unit, and the total number of items is estimated by considering the number of items there are in the unit. 

Exercise 6.1 

(1) The figure shows a wall which is being built. Estimate the total number of bricks that are required for the whole wall, and write it down. 

(2) The figure illustrates how "pappadams" have been spread out and left to dry. Estimate the number of pappadams there are, and write it down. 

(3) The figure illustrates how 11 books have been placed in a compartment of a book rack. Estimate the number of similar books that are required to fill up the book rack completely, and write it down. 

(4) In a certain school, there are three parallel classes in each grade from grade 6 to grade 11, named 6A, 6B, 6C, 7A, 7B, 7C, … etc. Each class has approximately the same number of students. The number of students in class 6A is 36. Estimate the total number of students there are in this school in grades 6 to 11, and write it down. 

6.2 Rounding off 

38 students are to participate in a field trip. However, the teacher in charge informs the Principal that the number of students who will be participating in the field trip is about 40. Here 40, which is the multiple of ten that is closest to 38 has been given as an approximate value of 38. 

There are many instances in day to day activities when the multiple of ten which is closest to a given number is used as an approximate value of that number. We do this in order to get an idea about the number easily. 

For example, the number of students in six classes in grade 6 of a particular school are 28, 31, 29, 30, 31 and 32. In such an instance we may say that the number of students in a class is approximately 30. 

In the above instance, a number which is greater than 10 has been expressed as the multiple of ten which is closest to it. That is, the number has been rounded off to the nearest multiple of ten. 

z Identifying the rules of rounding off 

Exercise 6.2 

(1) Round off the following prices to the nearest multiple of ten and write them down. 

(i) Price of a pen is Rs 12. 

(ii) Price of an apple is Rs 38. 

(iii) Price of a book is Rs 83. 

(iv) Price of a piece of cheese is Rs 75. 

(2) When a certain number is rounded off to the nearest multiple of ten, the value obtained is 90. Write down the values that this number can take. 

(3) For each number in group A, select the number in group B which is obtained when the number is rounded off to the nearest multiple of 10, and join the two numbers with a straight line. 

(4) When the number of students in a class was rounded off to the nearest multiple of ten, the value obtained was 40. 

(i) What is the least number of students that can be in the class? 

(ii) What is the the most number of students that can be in the class? 

(5) The marks that were obtained for mathematics by a group of grade 6 students are given below. 

(i) Copy this table in your exercise book and complete it by writing the values which are the nearest multiples of ten of the given marks. 

(ii) What is the sum of all the marks received by the students? 

(iii) What is the sum of all the rounded off values? 

(6) When the total number of mangoes that a certain trader had was rounded off to the nearest multiple of ten, the value obtained was 60. When two fruits which were spoilt were removed from the stock and the remaining number was rounded off to the nearest multiple of ten, the value obtained was 50. What are the values that the total number of mangoes he initially had can take? 

Miscellaneous Exercise 

(1) Every part of the Earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clear and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man. The white man's dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful Earth, for it is the mother of the red man. We are part of the Earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters, the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and the man, all belong to the same family. 

(This is part of a speech made by Native American Chief Seattle in 1854). 

(i) Count the number of words there are in any three lines of the above paragraph and write it down. 

(ii) Using the above answer, estimate the total number of words there are in the paragraph and write it down. 

(2) Gihan mentions that when an estimate is made, the answer depends on the person who is making the estimate. Do you agree with his idea? Explain your answer. 

(3) Figure 1 illustrates a bottle containing marbles that was in a certain shop. It is mentioned that there are 200 marbles in the bottle. Nimal, who bought the bottle of marbles, distributed most of it among his friends, and what was remaining is illustrated in figure 2. Estimate the number of marbles that he distributed among his friends. 

(4) The value of the marks that Sachini received for mathematics at the term test, when rounded off to the nearest multiple of ten was 80. Gayathri, whose actual marks were 82, had scored less than Sachini. What are the values that the actual marks which Sachini received can take? 

(5) The number of students in a certain class rounded off to the nearest multiple of ten was 40. When nine new students joined this class, the number of students in the class rounded off to the nearest multiple of ten was still 40. How many students were there in the class initially? 

(6) The number of story books that Mohammed has, when rounded off to the nearest multiple of ten is 30. The number of books that Fathima has, when rounded off to the nearest multiple of ten is 20. Fathima has three books less than the number that Mohammed has. If the two of them together have 49 books, how many books does Mohammed have?