Maths · Estimation
Roughly Right
Do not work it out exactly. Slide the marker to where you think the answer lands, then lock it in.
Free to use and free to share. There is no sign-up, no score, and nothing a child does here is recorded or sent anywhere. What you may do with it, in full.
Loading the interactive exercise. Nothing you do here is saved or scored.
Why this works
Estimating is a skill in its own right, and in the 11+ it is your safety net: it tells you instantly whether an answer you have calculated is believable. The trick is to round each number to the nearest ten (or hundred) FIRST, multiply the easy numbers, then nudge. 49 rounds up to 50 and 21 rounds down to 20, so . The real answer is 1029, and you got within a whisker of it without doing any long multiplication. Notice the two roundings pulled in opposite directions, which is why the estimate lands so close.
Helping a child through Roughly Right
Hints, least revealing first
- Round both numbers to something friendly before you slide.
- 49 is nearly 50, and 21 is nearly 20. Those two are much easier to multiply.
- , so the marker belongs just above the halfway mark of this line.
When they finish it: “Spot on for an estimate!”
What usually goes wrong here
- Uses the wrong adjacent digit to decide rounding.
This is the wrong answer 11+ papers are built to offer, so it is worth watching for directly: a child who does this will look confident and still lose the mark. If it keeps happening on round to a stated place, the fix is the misunderstanding rather than more questions.
2 11+ skills this exercise practises
Each of these has its own page, with a worked example on it. 1 of the 2 names the mistake that skill attracts.
- Multiply whole numbers or decimalsCalculate one multiplication using place-value reasoning or a written method.
- Round to a stated placeRound one integer or decimal to the stated place value.
You can reuse this. Here is exactly how far that goes
Tutors, teachers and editors keep asking, so this is the answer in writing rather than by email. You do not need to ask permission, and you do not need to tell us.
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- Quote it, rewrite it, translate it, cut it up, or build something different on top of it. Treat the wording, the worked examples and the question ideas as yours to work with.
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Embed this exercise
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One exercise is a start, not a plan
A free diagnostic across all four subjects shows which maths skills to practise next, and in what order.