Final answer:
To round mixed numbers, determine if the fractional part is closer to zero or to one for whole numbers, and compare it to 1/2 when rounding to the nearest half. The mixed numbers provided are rounded to 16, 1 1/2, 4, and 11, respectively.
Step-by-step explanation:
To round numbers to the nearest whole number or nearest half, you can apply simple rounding rules. Here's how to approach each part of the student's question:
15 31/40 is very close to 15 as the fractional part is less than 1/2. However., the fraction is closer to 1 than to 0, so we round up to 16.1 5/9 is closer to 1 1/2 than to either 1 or 2, because 5/9 is more than 1/2. So, we round to 1 1/2 or 1.5 when rounding to the nearest half.4 3/8 is closer to 4 than to 5, because 3/8 is less than 1/2. Therefore, we round down to 4.10 2/3 is closer to 11 than to 10 because 2/3 is more than 1/2. Thus, we round up to 11.