Round 54,878 to the nearest ten thousand

55,000 because 878 is bigger than 499. Also 54 is in the place where 10 is in 10,000.

50,000

Explanation:

In numbers, we have different categories to describe them in order to make it easier to work with large, and small, numbers.

We get categories known as units, tens, hundreds, etc. and each has its own meaning for how we think about the number. For example, the number 4 on its own is a unit, because it just represents 4 of something (objects), but if it is placed in the hundreds column, then the columns before the hundreds column (tens and units) will be filled with zeroes, making the number 400 (four hundred).

So using this principle, and needing to round the number 54,878 to the nearest ten thousand, we look at the columns:

5 is in the ten thousands column

4 is in the thousands column

8 is in the hundreds column

7 is in the tens column

8 is in the units column

The number in the ten thousands column (50,000) is important, because it is time to decide whether 54,878 is closer to 50,000 or 60,000. The answer is 50,000 because, you always round off to the number of interest closest to it.