Frontend Estimation Word Problem Worksheets
When we are in the real world there are many times that we do not need to be pinpoint accurate in order to make a well-informed decision. This decision may not be perfect, but it is very close to correct. When are working with large numbers, it is often important to close, but not flawless. We can use frontend estimation to help us achieve this. This form of estimation is just as it sounds, we estimate from the frontend which is another way of saying the highest place value. So, if we were to frontend estimate the value 236,978, if we need a basic idea, we would round it to 200,000. If we needed to be a little more accurate, we would round it to the 2 highest places or 240,000. These worksheets and lessons will help students experience and be comfortable with these types of exercise in a series of word problems.
Aligned Standard: 4.OA.A.3
- Step-by-Step Lesson - How many tennis balls does Earl need for his tennis team?
- Guided Lesson - This is like a roller coaster; full of twists and turns.
- Guided Lesson Explanation - Who is that shadowy figure outlined in problem number two?
- Practice Worksheet 1 - A little multiple choice to make it feel like a practice test? Why not!
- Estimation Word Problems Worksheet 2 - The questions found here are the norm for this topic.
- Answer Keys - These are for all the unlocked materials above.
Homework Sheets
An example: We brought 4 pizzas to the party that had 12 slices in each pie. Estimate how many pizzas we have total.
- Homework 1 - Was more money made selling hamburgers and fries than pizza and soda?
- Homework 2 - There are 24 players on the football team. We need to make 6 cookies for each player for after the game. Estimate how many cookies we need to make.
- Homework 3 - We traveled 2741 miles while on vacation. The first day we traveled 810 miles. How many miles did we drive the rest of the vacation?
Practice Worksheets
Example: Melanie had 14 bicycles for sale. She wanted to get $8 for each bike. How much would she make once she sold them all?
- Practice 1 - Tracy is writing a book report on birds. She found out there are 5822 different kinds of birds in the United States. There are 2429 species that live in Canada. Estimate how many more birds live in the United States.
- Practice 2 - How much more did it cost to buy the blue books than it did to buy the yellow books?
- Practice 3 - Rudolph decided to train for Christmas by doing 6 jumping jacks a day. There are 78 day until Christmas. How many jumping jacks will Rudolph do before Christmas?
Math Skill Quizzes
Example: Wally wanted to paint 85 paintings a year. If he worked for 8 years, how many would he paint in all?
- Quiz 1 - They have prizes for the people who wore the top 3 most popular costumes. They only have 1400 ribbons. Do they have enough for the top 3 costume wearers?
- Quiz 2 - Willie decided to train for the marathon by doing 88 jumping jacks a day. There are 3 months until the race. How many jumping jacks will Willie do before the race?
How to Ballpark Numbers
Ballparking is a term that means an acceptable numeric value. It is somewhat accurate. To teach children about the concepts of estimation, there are different ways you can go through with it. One of those methods is the ballpark estimation method. The method uses a figure, which is a guess, but you can believe that it is near the correct number. For instance, if you want to guess the price of the chocolate bar, then you might guess the right price depending on the number. However, the phrase is mostly used in sentences where are just throwing an estimation for anything in regard to similar things we know. It’s a good practice to learn since it helps students to develop the need to learn more. This series of worksheets and lessons will show students how to confidently determine an accept value that your answer for word problems should be near.
What is Frontend Estimation?
When do you use it to help your math problems? Simply put, frontend rounding is a quick way to we use to get an idea of the outcome of a sum or difference when we are working with whole numbers. You round to the front most digit, meaning if the number that follows it is five or higher, we round up. Otherwise, we round down. This is not meant to be a fully accurate or precise measure just to give you general idea of your solution. You will find yourself in many scenarios where this is immensely helpful. Take for example the daily dilemma of a teacher planning a field trip. The constant question is, “How many school buses do we need to make the trip?” A typical bus will fit 52 students comfortably. I always frontend estimate this to 50. The frontend digit is 5 and with the 2 trailing it, it would have us round down. This also helps accommodate that extra student that shows up for a trip they were not originally scheduled to be on. This is just a typical everyday example, but people use this form of rounding for quick calculations all the time.