How much trash do you generate in a day?

PrintGrade level: 4 – 5th grades

Skills: Rounding & Place value (Decimals)

Related environmental issues: Reduce, reuse & recycle

Area level: National

On average, one person in the United States discards 4.4 pounds of waste and recycles (and composts) 1.51 pounds of the waste in a day.

1.Round 4.4 to the nearest whole number.

2.Round 1.51 to the nearest tenth.

3.What is the value of the digit 5 in the number 1.51?

4.What number is in the hundredths place in the numbers of 4.4 and 1.51?

5.The tenths place of which number is larger, 4.4 or 1.51?

6.What is the relationship between the values of the underlined digits in the number of 4.4?

Source: US Energy Information Administration


Answer keys

  1. 4
  2. 1.5
  3. 5 tenths
  4. 0 and 1
  5. 1.51
  6. Possible answers: These numbers differ by one place. The first 4 is 10 times larger than the second 4. The first 4 represents 4 ones, whereas the second 4 represents 4 tenths.