Lesson 2-3

Estimate or Exact Answer

Beverly and her father are going to build a sand box. They need $46 for lumber, $11 for nails, and $72 for
sand. About how much money do they need for the sand box?
Understand

What facts do you know?

The lumber costs $46.
The nails cost $11.
The sand costs $72.
What do you need to find?
Find about how much money they need to build the sand box.

Plan

Since the question asks about how much money is needed, you can estimate the sum.

Solve

Round each amount to the nearest ten. Then add.

$46 $50
$11 $10
$72 $70
$50 + $10 + $70 = $130
So, about $130 is needed to build the sand box.

Check

Look back at the problem. Suppose the question asked for an exact answer.
$46 + $11 + $72 = $129
Since $129 is close to $130, an estimate of $130 is correct.