Round 3.276 to the nearest tenth.

• A. 3.2
• B. 3.27
• C. 3.3
• D. 3.4

Answer: (C)

Rounding to the nearest tenth uses the hundredths digit to decide whether the tenths digit goes up or stays the same. Look at 3.276: the tenths digit is 2 and the hundredths digit is 7. Since 7 is 5 or more, you increase the tenths digit from 2 to 3 and drop the rest, giving 3.3. The number 3.27 would round to the nearest hundredth, not the tenth. A value like 3.2 would occur if the hundredths digit were less than 5, and 3.4 would require the tenths to rise to 4, which doesn’t happen here because the starting tenths is 2 and it only increases by 1 to 3.