To round 5.424 to the nearest hundredth, we look at the digit in the thousandths place (the third digit after the decimal point).
The number is:
- 5.424
The hundredths place is the second digit after the decimal (which is 2), and the thousandths place is the third digit (which is 4). Since 4 is less than 5, we do not round up.
Therefore, 5.424 rounded to the nearest hundredth is 5.42.