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Front End Strategy

The front-end strategy is a method for estimating calculations by keeping only the first digit of each number and replacing all other digits with zeros. This allows for quick estimates of sums, differences, products, and quotients. The front-end strategy always underestimates sums, products, and quotients. An example shows using front-end estimation to determine if $5 will cover the cost of a $4.79 hamburger and $1.26 drink by estimating $4 + $1 = $5.

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Yik Tze Choo
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125 views3 pages

Front End Strategy

The front-end strategy is a method for estimating calculations by keeping only the first digit of each number and replacing all other digits with zeros. This allows for quick estimates of sums, differences, products, and quotients. The front-end strategy always underestimates sums, products, and quotients. An example shows using front-end estimation to determine if $5 will cover the cost of a $4.79 hamburger and $1.26 drink by estimating $4 + $1 = $5.

Uploaded by

Yik Tze Choo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Front-end Strategy

The front-end strategy is a method of estimating computations by keeping the first digit
in each of the numbers and changing all the other digits to zeros. This strategy can be
used to estimate sums, differences, products and quotients. Note that the front-end
strategy always gives an underestimate for sums, products and quotients (2- or 3-digit
divided by 1-digit).
Example:
You buy a hamburger for $4.79 and a drink for $1.26. Will a $5 bill cover the cost?
Solution:
Total the front-end (dollar) amounts.
$4 + $1 = $5
Since the front-end strategy always gives an underestimate for a sum, $5 will not cover
the cost.

Front end estimation

With front end estimation, we only round and add the numbers in the leftmost
place or the very last number on the left.


This means that all numbers in other places will be zeros except the number in
the leftmost place after the numbers are rounded

Having said that, if the numbers have two digits, round to the tens place before
adding the leftmost digits or numbers

Examples:

67 + 43 can be approximated by 70 + 40 = 110 Note that we are only adding the
leftmost numbers (7 and 4)

21 + 58 can be approximated by 20 + 60 = 80

67 42 can be approximated by 70 40 = 30

98 32 can be approximated by 100 30 = 70

If the numbers have three digits, round to the nearest hundred place before
adding the leftmost digits or numbers

Examples

164 + 690 can be approximated by 200 + 700 = 900

Note that with front end estimation, all other numbers except the leftmost digits (2
and 7) are equal to zero and we only added the leftmost digits as stated before

235 + 455 can be approximated by 200 + 500 = 700

566 254 can be approximated by 600 300 = 300

722 568 can be approximated by 700 600 = 100

If the numbers have four digits, round to the nearest thousand place before
adding the leftmost digits or numbers

Examples

2354 + 1677 can be approximated by 2000 + 2000 = 4000

Note that all other numbers except the leftmost digits (2 and 2) are equal to zero
and we only added the leftmost digits as stated before

5687 2765 can be approximated by 6000 3000 = 3000

3245 + 1897 can be approximated by 3000 + 2000 = 5000

7501 4508 can be approximated by 8000 5000 = 3000

If the numbers have five digits, round to the nearest ten thousand place before
adding the leftmost digits or numbers

Examples

48974 25799 can be approximated by 50000 30000 = 20000

Note that all other numbers except the leftmost digits (5 and 3) are equal to zero
and we only subtracted the leftmost digits as stated before

82113 + 37893 can be approximated by 80000 + 40000 = 120000

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