24 NUMBERS •^ ESTIMATING
Approximately equal
Quick counting
In everyday life, we often don’t need to count something exactly.
It’s enough to have a good idea of how many things there are or
roughly how big something is.
Estimation is finding
something that is close
to the correct answer.
These three baskets of strawberries
all cost the same, but they contain
different numbers of strawberries.
Equal
We’ve already learned
the symbol to use for
things that are equal.
Approximately equal
This is the symbol we use for things
that are nearly the same. In maths, we say
they are approximately equal.
We don’t actually have to count to
see that the third basket contains
more strawberries than the other two.
So, the third basket is the best bargain.
Estimating
Sometimes when we’re measuring or calculating, we
don’t need to work out the exact answer – a sensible
guess, called an estimate, is good enough.
Any
basket for
£1
Compare the baskets to
estimate which one has the
most strawberries in it
024_025_Estimating_Numbers.indd 24 29/02/2016 14:08