IGCSE Edexcel Maths 3 hours 52 questions
Exam Questions
Rounding, Estimation
& Bounds
Rounding & Estimation / Upper & Lower Bounds
Easy (15 questions) /31
Medium (13 questions) /40 Scan here to return to the course
or visit savemyexams.com
Hard (16 questions) /63
Very Hard (8 questions) /34
Total Marks /168
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 1
Easy Questions
1 A number, n , is rounded to 2 decimal places.
The result is 4 . 76
Using inequalities, write down the error interval for n .
(2 marks)
2 The length, L cm, of a line is measured as 13 cm correct to the nearest centimetre.
Complete the following statement to show the range of possible values of L
................. ≤ L < .................
(2 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 2
3 (a) Find the value of the reciprocal of 1.6
Give your answer as a decimal.
(1 mark)
(b) Jess rounds a number, x , to one decimal place.
The result is 9.8
Write down the error interval for x .
(2 marks)
4 Jim rounds a number, x , to one decimal place.
The result is 7.2
Write down the error interval for x .
(2 marks)
5 Each side of a regular octagon has a length of 18 mm, correct to the nearest 0.5 mm
i) Write down the lower bound of the length of each side of the octagon.
[1]
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 3
ii) Write down the upper bound of the length of each side of the octagon.
[1]
(2 marks)
6 The mass of a cat is 4.3 kg correct to 2 significant figures.
i) Write down the upper bound of the weight of the cat.
........................... kg [1]
ii) Write down the lower bound of the weight of the cat.
........................... kg [1]
(2 marks)
7 The length of a book is 33.8 cm, correct to one decimal place.
i) Write down the lower bound of the length of the book.
.............................................. cm [1]
ii) Write down the upper bound of the length of the book.
.............................................. cm [1]
(2 marks)
8 When rounded to 3 significant figures, x = 6 . 37
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 4
Circle the correct error interval.
6 . 365 ⩽ x < 6 . 375 6 . 36 ⩽ x < 6 . 38
6 . 369 ⩽ x < 6 . 379 6 . 365 ⩽ x < 6 . 3749
(1 mark)
9 The height of a tree is 12 metres, correct to the nearest metre.
Circle the error interval.
11.5 m ⩽ height < 12.5 m 11.5 m ⩽ height ⩽ 12.5 m
11.5 m < height ⩽ 12.5 m 11.5 m < height < 12.5 m
(1 mark)
10 To the nearest 1000, there are 18 000 people at a festival.
i) Write down the minimum possible number of people at the festival.
[1]
ii) Write down the maximum possible number of people at the festival.
[1]
(2 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 5
11 The length of a table is 110 cm to the nearest cm
Complete the error interval.
.................cm ⩽ length < .................cm
(2 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 6
12 (a) The length of each side of a regular pentagon is 8.4 cm to 1 decimal place.
Complete the error interval for the length of one side.
....................cm ⩽ length < ....................cm
(2 marks)
(b) Complete the error interval for the perimeter.
....................cm ⩽ perimeter < ....................cm
(1 mark)
13 The length, d, of Jamal’s car is 4.72 m, correct to 2 decimal places.
Complete the error interval for the length, d.
....................... ⩽ d < ........................
(2 marks)
326 . 8 × (6 . 94 − 3 . 4)
14 Asha worked out
59. 4
She got an answer of 19.5, correct to 3 significant figures.
Write each number correct to 1 significant figure to decide if Asha’s answer is
reasonable.
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 7
(3 marks)
15 The length, L, of a steel rod is 8.3 m, correct to 1 decimal place.
Complete the error interval for length L.
............................ ⩽ L < ............................
(2 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 8
Medium Questions
1 (a) The value of p is 4.3
The value of q is 0.4
Both p and q are given correct to the nearest 0 . 1
Write down the lower bound for p .
(1 mark)
1
(b) r=p+
q
Work out the upper bound for r .
You must show all your working.
(3 marks)
2 I = 5(v — u )
v = 14 correct to 2 significant figures
u = 8 . 7 correct to 2 significant figures
Work out the upper bound for the value of I .
You must show your working.
(3 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 9
v −u
3 a=
t
v = 37. 6 correct to 3 significant figures.
u = 11 . 3 correct to 3 significant figures.
t = 8 . 4 correct to 2 significant figures.
Work out the upper bound for the value of a .
Show your working clearly.
(3 marks)
x
4 D=
y
x = 99. 7 correct to 1 decimal place.
y = 67 correct to 2 significant figures.
Work out an upper bound for D .
(3 marks)
5 There are 892 litres of oil in Mr Aston's oil tank.
He uses 18 . 7 litres of oil each day.
Estimate the number of days it will take him to use all the oil in the tank.
(2 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 10
31 × 9 . 87
6 Work out an estimate for
0 . 509
(3 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 11
7 (a) Work out an estimate for the value of 63. 5 × 101 . 7 .
(2 marks)
(b) (2 . 3) 6 = 148 correct to 3 significant figures.
Find the value of (0 . 23) 6 correct to 3 significant figures.
(1 mark)
1
(c) Show that 5 −2 =
25
(1 mark)
8 Sally used her calculator to work out the value of a number y . The answer on her
calculator display began
8.3
Complete the error interval for y .
............................ ⩽ y < ....................
(2 marks)
t
9 k=
a−h
t = 14 correct to 2 significant figures
a = 7.8 correct to 2 significant figures
h = 3.4 correct to 2 significant figures
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 12
Work out the lower bound for the value of k .
Show your working clearly.
(3 marks)
68. 3 × 42. 8
10 Nav has worked out on his calculator.
0 . 021
His answer is 139 201 . 9048
Without using a calculator and using suitable approximations, check that his answer is
sensible.
Show your working clearly.
(2 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 13
11 (a) P = ef
e = 4 . 8 correct to 2 significant figures.
f = 0 . 26 correct to 2 significant figures.
Work out the lower bound for the value of P.
Show your working clearly.
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures.
(2 marks)
t
(b) Q=
w
t = 2 . 73 correct to 3 significant figures.
w = 0 . 04 correct to 1 significant figure .
Work out the upper bound for the value of Q .
Show your working clearly.
Give your answer correct to 2 significant figures.
[2]
(2 marks)
12 To the nearest pound, Jon has £9
To the nearest 50p, Ellie has £6.50
Work out the maximum possible total amount of money.
£........................................
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 14
(3 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 15
13 (a) The length of a pipe is 6 metres to the nearest metre.
Complete the error interval for the length of the pipe.
...........................m ⩽ length < ...........................m
(2 marks)
(b) The length of a different pipe is 4 metres to the nearest metre.
Olly says,
“The total length of the two pipes is 11 metres to the nearest metre.”
Give an example to show that he could be correct.
(2 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 16
Hard Questions
1 Dan does an experiment to find the value of π .
He measures the circumference and the diameter of a circle.
He measures the circumference, C , as 170 mm to the nearest millimetre.
He measures the diameter, d , as 54 mm to the nearest millimetre.
C
Dan uses π = to find the value of π .
d
Calculate the upper bound and the lower bound for Dan's value of π .
(4 marks)
2 Steve travelled from Ashton to Barnfield.
He travelled 235 miles, correct to the nearest 5 miles.
The journey took him 200 minutes, correct to the nearest 5 minutes.
Calculate the lower bound for the average speed of the journey.
Give your answer in miles per hour, correct to 3 significant figures.
You must show all your working.
(4 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 17
3 Jarek uses the formula
1
Area = ab sinC
2
to work out the area of a triangle.
For this triangle,
a = 7 . 8 cm correct to the nearest mm.
b = 5 . 2 cm correct to the nearest mm.
C = 63 ∘ correct to the nearest degree.
Calculate the lower bound for the area of the triangle.
(3 marks)
a is 8.3 cm correct to the nearest mm
b is 6.1 cm correct to the nearest mm
Calculate the upper bound for c .
You must show your working.
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 18
(4 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 19
5 (a) A train travelled along a track in 110 minutes, correct to the nearest 5 minutes.
Jake finds out that the track is 270 km long.
He assumes that the track has been measured correct to the nearest 10 km.
Could the average speed of the train have been greater than 160 km/h?
You must show how you get your answer.
(4 marks)
(b) Jake's assumption was wrong.
The track was measured correct to the nearest 5 km.
Explain how this could affect your decision in part (a).
(1 mark)
6 The petrol consumption of a car, in litres per 100 kilometres, is given by the formula
100 × Number of litres of petrol used
Petrol consumption =
Number of kilometres travelled
Nathan's car travelled 148 kilometres, correct to 3 significant figures. The car used 11.8
litres of petrol, correct to 3 significant figures.
Nathan says,
"My car used less than 8 litres of petrol per 100 kilometres."
Could Nathan be wrong?
You must show how you get your answer.
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 20
(3 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 21
7 (a) A cone has a volume of 98 cm3.
The radius of the cone is 5.13 cm.
Work out an estimate for the height of the cone.
(3 marks)
(b) John uses a calculator to work out the height of the cone to 2 decimal places.
Will your estimate be more than John's answer or less than John's answer?
Give reasons for your answer.
(1 mark)
8 Work out an estimate for 4 . 98 + 2 . 16 × 7 . 35
(3 marks)
9 Margaret has some goats.
The goats produce an average total of 21.7 litres of milk per day for 280 days.
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 22
1
Margaret sells the milk in litre bottles.
2
Work out an estimate for the total number of bottles that Margaret will be able to fill with
the milk.
You must show clearly how you got your estimate.
(3 marks)
Competition
a prize every 2014 seconds
10
In a competition, a prize is won every 2014 seconds.
Work out an estimate for the number of prizes won in 24 hours. You must show your
working.
(4 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 23
11 (a) The mass of Jupiter is 1.899 x 1027 kg.
The mass of Saturn is 0.3 times the mass of Jupiter.
Work out an estimate for the mass of Saturn.
Give your answer in standard form.
(3 marks)
(b) Give evidence to show whether your answer to (a) is an underestimate or an
overestimate.
(1 mark)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 24
u2
12 (a) D=
2a
u = 26. 2 correct to 3 significant figures
a = 4 . 3 correct to 2 significant figures
Calculate the upper bound for the value of D .
Give your answer correct to 6 significant figures.
You must show all your working.
(3 marks)
(b) The lower bound for the value of D is 78 . 6003 correct to 6 significant figures.
By considering bounds, write down the value of D to a suitable degree of accuracy.
You must give a reason for your answer.
(2 marks)
13 Edith’s van can safely carry a maximum load of 920 kilograms.
She wants to use her van to carry
30 sacks of potatoes, each of mass 25 kilograms to the nearest kilogram
and
20 sacks of carrots, each of mass 7.5 kilograms to 1 decimal place.
Can she definitely use her van safely in one journey?
You must show your working.
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 25
(4 marks)
14 The length of a roll of ribbon is 30 metres, correct to the nearest half-metre.
A piece of length 5.8 metres, correct to the nearest 10 centimetres, is cut from the roll.
Work out the maximum possible length of ribbon left on the roll.
...................metres
(3 marks)
15 Claudine cycled a distance of 53 km in 2.7 hours.
The distance is measured correct to the nearest km.
The time is given correct to 1 decimal place.
Calculate the lower and upper bounds of her average speed.
Give your answers correct to 2 decimal places.
Lower bound = ................................ km/h
Upper bound = ..................................... km/h
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 26
(6 marks)
16 Sunil makes 7.5 litres of soup, correct to the nearest 0.5 litre.
He serves the soup in 300 ml portions, correct to the nearest 10 ml. 24 people order this
soup.
Does Sunil definitely have enough soup to serve the 24 people? Show how you decide.
(4 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 27
Very Hard Questions
1
(5 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 28
(5 marks)
(5 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 29
4
(3 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 30
5 (a)
(3 marks)
(b)
(1 mark)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 31
6 (a)
(3 marks)
(b)
(1 mark)
7 The dimensions of a rectangular floor are to the nearest 0.1 metres.
A force of 345 Newtons is applied to the floor.
The force is to the nearest 5 Newtons.
force
pressure =
area
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 32
Work out the upper bound of the pressure.
Give your answer to 4 significant figures.
You must show your working.
........................N/m2 [5]
(5 marks)
8 A £1 coin weighs 8.75 g, correct to the nearest 0.01 g. Mitul weighs the contents of a
large bag of £1 coins. The coins weigh 2.63 kg, correct to the nearest 10 g.
Mitul says
I am sure that the bag contains exactly £300 because, using bounds,
2625 ÷ 8.755 = 299.8 to 1 decimal place.
Show that Mitul may not be correct.
[3]
(3 marks)
© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 33
