I have an assignment and it is Compare Estimated Quotients. Estimate each quotient. Then write < or > in the circle to compare each pair of estimates.

Please let me know how I would begin estimating decimal division?
76.3 divded by 8 and 37.6 divided by 7

80/8 =

35/7 =

Let me ask you. I guess what I don't understand is how did you get 80 and then 35? What is confusing me is that the number is 76.3 so I would have assumed with the .3 80 but then there is 37.6 and I was thinking rounding that up to 40. What am I not understanding?

I took the closest multiples of the divisors to make estimating easy.

Also with what you showed

80/8=
35/7=

Do you need to actually do the division and then determine which number is bigger or smaller?

In order to compare the estimates, you'll need to also do the actual division.

Which estimate is closer to the real answer?

80/8=10

35/7=5

10 > 5 would be the answer.

I would like to try and send a few more problems to see if I am on the right track with this.
Do the number behind the decimal not really matter when estimating?

Usually no.

Thank you so usually no the numbers behind the decimals don't really matter. I will keep that in mind.

You're welcome.

To begin estimating decimal division, you can follow these steps:

1. Round the dividend: Look at the decimal part of the dividend (the number you are dividing) and round it to the nearest whole number. In the case of 76.3 divided by 8, round 76.3 to 76.

2. Round the divisor: Look at the decimal part of the divisor (the number you are dividing by) and round it to the nearest whole number. In the case of 8, it is already a whole number.

3. Do the division: Divide the rounded dividend by the rounded divisor. In this example, 76 divided by 8 equals 9.5.

4. Adjust the decimal: Next, place the decimal point in the quotient based on the original numbers. Since the dividend had one decimal place, place the decimal point in the quotient after the tenths place. So, the estimated quotient of 76.3 divided by 8 is 9.5.

Repeat the above steps for the second problem, 37.6 divided by 7:

1. Round the dividend: Round 37.6 to 38.

2. Round the divisor: It's already a whole number.

3. Do the division: Divide 38 by 7, which equals 5.429.

4. Adjust the decimal: Since the dividend had one decimal place, place the decimal point in the quotient after the tenths place. The estimated quotient of 37.6 divided by 7 is 5.4.

After estimating the quotients, you can compare each pair of estimates by using the symbols < (less than) or > (greater than) to indicate which one is larger.