High School

Indicate how many significant figures are in each of the following numbers:

a) 128

b) 0.00250

c) 2050

d) 0.135

e) 10,000

f) 0.302

g) 70.0

h) 100.5

i) 0.0020300

j) 24.00000

Answer :

Sure, let's go through each of these numbers and determine how many significant figures they contain:

a) 128: The number 128 is a whole number with no zeros. All digits are significant, so it has 3 significant figures.

b) 0.00250: When counting significant figures in decimal numbers, leading zeros are not counted. Thus, the significant figures here are '250', giving it 3 significant figures.

c) 2050: In this whole number, only the trailing zero matters for significant figures. Without a decimal point, it's usually considered not significant unless specified otherwise. Thus, it has 3 significant figures.

d) 0.135: For decimal numbers, leading zeros are not significant. '135' are significant, so it has 3 significant figures.

e) 10,000: Without additional context, such as a decimal point, trailing zeros in whole numbers are not considered significant. Hence, it has 1 significant figure.

f) 0.30: Here, the zero after the decimal point is significant, as trailing zeros in decimal points indicate precision. Thus, it has 2 significant figures.

g) 70.0: The zero after the decimal point is significant. Therefore, this number contains 3 significant figures.

h) 100.5: All non-zero digits are significant, and any zeros between significant figures are also significant. So, it has 4 significant figures.

i) 0.0020300: The leading zeros are not significant. The number '20300' counts all significant digits, including the trailing zeros since they are after a decimal and indicate precision. Therefore, it has 5 significant figures.

j) 24.00000: In decimal numbers, all zeros to the right of a non-zero digit are considered significant when they follow a decimal point. This gives us 7 significant figures.

By following these guidelines, you can determine the number of significant figures in any number.