why it is important for us to learn estimation?
Answers
Step-by-step explanation:
In real life, estimation is part of our everyday experience. When you’re shopping in the grocery store and trying to stay within a budget, for example, you estimate the cost of the items you put in your cart to keep a running total in your head. When you’re purchasing tickets for a group of people or splitting the cost of dinner between 8 friends, we estimate for ease. Contractors or consultants often work in a world of estimates. Rarely do we know all the facts up front and there could be many variables at play. Therefore, a estimated number is perfectly sufficient.
For students, estimating is an important skill. First and foremost, we want students to be able to determine the reasonableness of their answer. Without estimation skills, students aren’t able to determine if their answer is within a reasonable range. This inability to reason causes them to make computational mistakes without it even being on their radar. For example, if a student is asked to multiply 523 x 34 and they arrive at a product of 177,820, we want students to independently recognize that 177,820 couldn’t possibly be a reasonable answer. If they use the estimation of 500 x 30 to arrive at 15,000, they quickly realize that their place value is way off and that their work needs to be redone.