Final answer:
To round the number 8.85 to the nearest tenth, look at the hundredths place. Since it's 5, round the tenths place up, making the rounded number 8.9. It is important to maintain precision consistent with the given data when rounding.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process of rounding numbers is a basic mathematical operation aimed at simplifying a number to a given level of precision. The student's question at hand asks how to round the number 8.85 to the nearest tenth. To round a number to the nearest tenth, one must look at the hundredths place to decide whether to round up or down. If the hundredths place is 5 or higher, the tenths place is rounded up. If it's lower than 5, the tenths place remains unchanged.
In the specific case of 8.85, the hundredths place (5) dictates that we round up. Therefore, the rounded number is 8.9 when rounded to the nearest tenth. This aligns with the principle that when performing mathematical operations, it's essential to maintain the same level of precision as the data provided, which at times can mean rounding up the final result based on the least precise measurement, just as we round 35.5 to the nearest tenth, resulting in 35.5. When reporting final statistics, one more decimal place than the original data's precision is often used, ensuring no artificial precision is implied.