Pass Functional Skills logo

Place value and rounding

Place value and rounding for A Level Geography Edexcel Foundation: what it means, how to set the working out, and the questions it is asked in.
  • A Level
  • Edexcel
  • Geography
  • Foundation
  • Spec A17 · A6
  • 8 min read
  • 7 revision boxes

Introduction

2 boxes
4 min read

What is place value and rounding?

Listen to this box

Transcript

A short spoken summary of place value and rounding and where it is used.

A spoken walk-through of place value and rounding before you read the notes.
Sketch the shape even when the question does not ask for one — it makes the next step obvious.
6 rows

The place value and rounding reference table

Practise the routine version until it is automatic, then move to the multi-step questions.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing place value and rounding laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Term
Meaning
Example
Common slip
Marks
Row 1 column 1
Row 1 column 2
x2+5x+6=0x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0
Row 1 column 4
Row 1 column 5
Row 2 column 1
Row 2 column 2
≈160\approx 160
Row 2 column 4
Row 2 column 5

Learning

3 boxes
5 steps

How to work with place value and rounding

The examiner marks the working, so a correct answer with no method still drops marks.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for place value and rounding in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
  4. Check the answer against an estimate before writing it down.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2.
Answer: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left
2 rules

Key facts: Place value and rounding

This idea appears again in the higher-mark questions, so it is worth over-learning.
Worth knowing: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left.

  • Rule 1

    How place value and rounding behaves in the 1st of the cases the specification names.
    a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2

  • Rule 2

    How place value and rounding behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left

  • Rule 3

    How place value and rounding behaves in the 3rd of the cases the specification names.
    x2+5x+6=0x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0
5 steps

How to work with place value and rounding

Sketch the shape even when the question does not ask for one — it makes the next step obvious.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing place value and rounding laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Worth knowing: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for place value and rounding in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: ≈160\approx 160.
Answer: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2

20 minutes

Get your predicted grade

Twenty questions gives you a predicted grade, your target, and the gap between them — plus the topics that close it fastest.
Get my predicted grade

Examples

2 boxes
2 marks · worked

Worked example: place value and rounding

Sketch the shape even when the question does not ask for one — it makes the next step obvious.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing place value and rounding laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
2 marks · worked

Practice question 7: x2+5x+6=0x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0

Sketch the shape even when the question does not ask for one — it makes the next step obvious.

Practice bank

Thousands of revision questions

Every topic is backed by graded practice with instant marking and full solutions.
Try it now
Practice questions
8,000+
Topics
10
Marking and solutions
Instant

Common questions

How many marks is place value and rounding usually worth?
Between one and four, depending on how many steps the question asks for.
Is this on the A Level Geography Edexcel Foundation paper?
Yes — it sits in the Number strand.