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DECIDING IF NUMBERS ARE EQUAL OR APPROXIMATELY EQUAL
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The concepts for this exercise are summarized below.
For a complete discussion, read the text.
Many real-life problems involve numbers that are not convenient to work with
without calculator assistance.
Many calculator-solved problems give an approximate solution, not an exact solution,
and the purpose of this section is to increase your awareness
of the difference between the two.
When two numbers x and y live at the same place on the number line,
we say " x equals y " and write " x = y ".
However, when two numbers x and y are close to each other, but not equal,
we say that " x is approximately equal to y ".
Here, you will compare two numbers, and decide if they are equal, or approximately equal.
EXAMPLES:
Compare 1/3 and 0.3333 .
Answer: approximately equal
Compare 4/10 and 0.4 .
Answer: equal
DO NOT USE YOUR CALCULATOR.