College

Select the answer with the correct number of significant figures for the calculation:

[tex] 31.580 + 4.26 = [/tex]

A. 35.8
B. 35.84
C. 35.840

Answer :

To find the correct answer with the right number of significant figures, follow these steps:

1. Write down the numbers you need to add:
- The numbers are 31.580 and 4.26.

2. Perform the addition:
- When you add these numbers together, you get 35.84.

3. Determine the number of decimal places for significant figures:
- When adding or subtracting, the result should be rounded to the smallest number of decimal places of any number in the problem.
- Here, 31.580 has three decimal places, and 4.26 has two decimal places.
- Therefore, the answer should have two decimal places, since that is the smallest number of decimal places in the problem.

4. Round the result to the correct number of decimal places:
- The result is already 35.84, which has two decimal places, matching our requirement.

Thus, the answer with the correct number of significant figures is 35.84.