We have a number with three decimal places, and, if we need to round the number to the hundredth, we will have a number with two decimal places. Then we have:
Since the number in the thousandth place is less than five, we can round the number to the hundredth as follows:
![8.46](https://img.qammunity.org/2023/formulas/mathematics/college/jfbdqs6jcit2yy5ms1jb5ns6q891kl8ckp.png)
Therefore, in summary, the number 8.461 rounded to the hundredths is 8.46.