Approximation

Approximation means rounding off. We round off numbers to simplify them so they will be easy to use and easy to remember.

Example:  Ehime bought a pair of shoes for ₦90. If someone asks him the price of the shoes, he may say the price is ₦100.

• This is called rounding up where the new number is bigger and the given number.
• ₦90 ≈  ₦100   (means ₦90 is approximately equal to ₦100).

Example: A dress costs ₦81. You are more likely to say that the cost of the dress was ₦80.

• This is called rounding down where the new number is smaller than the given number.
• ₦81   ≈   ₦80  (This means ₦81 is approximately equal to ₦80).