Check It’s Reasonable
📋 What it is
Before trusting an answer, estimate whether it makes sense — a quick sanity check catches big mistakes.
🗣️ Coach says
The last step everyone skips: does the answer make SENSE? If a problem asks how many buses for 120 kids and you get 0.5 buses, something’s wrong. A 5-second estimate catches misplaced decimals and setup errors.
🧠 Memory hook
Ask “does this answer make sense?” — a quick estimate catches big mistakes.
😂 Giggle
Why did the subtraction problem borrow money?
It needed to regroup!
😲 Whoa!
Estimating first is a superpower — being roughly right in your head lets you instantly spot when a calculator answer is off by a factor of 10.
✅ Quick check: A problem asks how many 40-seat buses for 120 kids and you get “0.5 buses.” What’s wrong?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
✏️ Check your work Round the numbers and estimate in your head — does your exact answer land near that estimate, and is it a whole, real-world-possible amount?
It’s unreasonable — you can’t have half a bus, and 120 ÷ 40 = 3; a quick estimate shows the real answer is 3.
Sanity-checking against an estimate catches setup and decimal errors.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
On your next answer, estimate first (round the numbers). Does your exact answer land near the estimate?
🔎 How did you work this?