Check Answer Precision
I need to check the last digit of the answer to see if the student rounded correctly. For example, if the answer should be 3.14 and the student wrote 3.141, I need to easily spot the extra digit.
=RIGHT(A2,1) How it works: The RIGHT function extracts a specified number of characters from the end (right side) of a text string. By using `RIGHT(A2,1)`, we are telling Excel to look at the content of cell A2 and return only the very last character. This allows you, as a math tutor, to quickly scan the extracted last digits to identify any rounding errors or extra precision that shouldn't be there, without manually inspecting each full answer.
Data Setup
| Student Answer |
|---|
| 3.14159 |
| 2.718 |
| 1.6180 |
| 4.99 |
| 10.0 |
| 5 |
Step-by-Step Guide
Enter your students' numerical answers into a column, for example, Column A, starting from cell A2.
In an adjacent cell (e.g., B2), type the formula `=RIGHT(A2,1)` to extract the last character of the answer in A2.
Press Enter to see the last digit.
Drag the fill handle (the small square at the bottom-right of cell B2) down to apply the formula to all other student answers in Column A.