what is the solid weighed in ounces?

Question

Nathan is weighing how much of a solid resulted from a chemical reaction on a scale that reads to the nearest 1/8 ounce. The measurement of the solid is 6 and 7/8 ounces. If the answer calls for the measurement to be rounded to the nearest tenth of an ounc, Nathan should report the that the solid weight is how many ounces.

Answer 1

When the question refers to the "nearest tenth" it means the place to the right of the decimal. For example in the number 5.346 the digit "3" is the "tenths place", "4" is the "hundredths place", and "6" is the "thousandths place".

 

This means you have to convert the mixed number into a decimal so that you can round it to the nearest tenth of an ounce.

 

The rule for rounding is to look at the digit to the right of the place you wish to round to. If that digit is 5 or greater then you increase the digit in the desired place by one. If the number is less than 5 then the number remains the same. For example if you want to round to the nearest tenth in the number "0.735" you would look at the digit to the right of the tenths place, in this case that digit is "3". Since this digit is lower than 5 the rounded number would be "0.7".

 

 

The work for the question you asked is as follows:

 

Step 1: Convert the fraction 7/8 into a decimal. This is accomplished by a simple division equation. 7÷8=0.875

 

Step 2: Attach the decimal to the integer in front of the fraction. This gives us the number 6.875

 

Step 3: Round the number 6.875 to the nearest tenth. This gives us the number 6.9

 

Step 4: Don't forget to write the unit in your answer: 6.9oz