Round once, from the original number, and let friendly numbers do the estimating.
Practice test 1 is free. No card needed.
Rounding questions are solved by looking only at the digit after the place you want; estimates swap in friendly numbers first. Children in Year 7 now sit the exam in Year 8 , expected in June 2027.
Checked by the SelectiveReady team on 12 October 2026 · Updated 3 November 2026 · How we check facts
Independent. Not affiliated with the Victorian Department of Education or ACER.
A rounding and estimation question asks for a number to a given place, the closest answer to a sum, or which exact number fits a rounded one. It sits in the Mathematics part, which shares a 60-minute sitting with Quantitative Reasoning.
There is no calculator in the exam room: no phones, smart watches, calculators, translation devices or dictionaries, headphones, recording devices of any kind, notebooks or extra paper. So a quick, sensible estimate saves time and catches slips.
These three are our own questions, from easier to harder: a race time, a sum to estimate and a crowd size. Each one shows the answer and the working, so read them with your child.
For each wrong option, ask your child which digit it looked at and why. In these three, the slips come from the wrong digit or from rounding more than once.
At the school athletics carnival, Tama ran the 100 metres in 12.847 seconds. What is his time rounded to one decimal place?
Answer: A
Answer: A
Look only at the digit straight after the first decimal place. In 12.847 that digit is 4, which is less than 5, so the time rounds down to 12.8. The tempting 12.9 comes from rounding twice (12.847 to 12.85, then to 12.9); rounding must be done in one step from the original number.
Without a calculator, which of these is closest to 6.1 × 49.8 ÷ 0.198?
Answer: D
Answer: D
Round each number to something easy: 6 × 50 ÷ 0.2. First 6 × 50 = 300. Dividing by 0.2 asks how many fifths are in 300, which is 300 × 5 = 1500. The tempting 60 multiplies by 0.2 instead of dividing. Dividing by a number less than 1 makes the answer bigger, not smaller.
A newspaper said the crowd at a football final was 42 000, to the nearest thousand. The club's website said it was 41 500, to the nearest hundred. Both are correct. Which of these could be the exact crowd?
Answer: B
Answer: B
Turn each fact into a range. Nearest hundred 41 500 means from 41 450 to 41 549. Nearest thousand 42 000 means from 41 500 to 42 499. The crowd must be in both ranges, so from 41 500 to 41 549: only 41 545. The tempting 41 499 rounds to 41 500, but to the nearest thousand it rounds to 41 000.
Build a few fixed habits, because good estimates come from the same moves every time. These steps are ours, drawn from the working in the answers above.
Look at the digit just after the place you want, and no other. 5 or more rounds up; 4 or less rounds down.
To estimate, change each number to one that is easy to work with, such as 6, 50 and 0.2.
Dividing by a number less than 1 makes the answer bigger. Multiplying by it makes the answer smaller.
Write the smallest and largest numbers that round to it. Do this before looking at the options.
If the options are far apart, a rough estimate is enough to choose. If they are close, work more carefully.
Each wrong option below follows a rule half-way. For each one, ask which rule it uses and where it stops, then finish it together.
Use the shopping trip. At the checkout, ask your child to round each price to the nearest dollar and estimate the total before the receipt prints.
Sports results work too. Round race times to one decimal place, or crowd numbers to the nearest thousand. Then ask which exact numbers could give that rounded figure.
Estimating is a time-saver in a timed sitting, so practise it against the clock as well. Practice test 1 in our selective entry practice tests is free and follows the real exam's parts and times.
For more worked items, see our maths sample questions. For the whole part, see VIC selective entry mathematics.
Practice test 1 marks every answer and shows results by skill: what your child already does well and the three skills to work on next.
Practise for the real test
Practice test 1 is free. Then packs from A$109 for 12 months, or A$9 a week, per exam.