To round the number 20.71269 to the nearest ten thousandth, follow these steps:
1. Identify the relevant digits: The ten thousandth place is the fourth digit to the right of the decimal point. In the number 20.71269, the fourth digit is 2 (the digit in the ten thousandth place).
2. Consider the next digit: Look at the digit immediately following the ten thousandth place to determine how to round. In this case, the digit in the hundred thousandth place (fifth digit to the right of the decimal) is 6.
3. Apply rounding rules:
- If the digit following the ten thousandth place is 5 or greater, round up the ten thousandth place digit by 1.
- If the digit following the ten thousandth place is less than 5, keep the ten thousandth place digit as it is.
Here, the digit following the ten thousandth place is 6, which is greater than 5, so we round up the ten thousandth place digit (2) by 1.
4. Perform the rounding:
- Increase the ten thousandth place digit from 2 to 3.
- The remaining digits (digits after the ten thousandth place) are dropped.
Hence, rounding 20.71269 to the nearest ten thousandth yields 20.7127.
