Step by step
The question
Question: the width is 0.7 m, to 1 decimal place.
Find the upper and lower bounds.
The real width was rounded.
We want the smallest and the biggest it could have been.
1 Find the step
One decimal place: we rounded to the nearest 0.1.
So the step is 0.1.
2 Half a step
Anything less than half a step away rounds to 0.7.
Half of 0.1 is 0.05.
3 Find the bounds
The lower bound is 0.7 minus 0.05: 0.65.
Careful!
We go only half a step down and half a step up.
0.6 would round to 0.6, not to 0.7.
The upper bound is 0.7 plus 0.05: 0.75.
4 Show it on a number line
So 0.65 ≤ width < 0.75.
This is called the error interval.
5 Check
Let's check.
0.65, rounded to 1 decimal place, is 0.7.
And 0.74, just under the upper bound, also rounds to 0.7.
So the bounds are right!
Let's look back.
First: find the step.
Then: half a step.
Then: find the bounds.
Then: show it on a number line.
Last: check.