Carry out the following operations and express the answers with the appropriate number of significant figures. A. 14.3505+2.65 B. 952.7-140.7389 C. (3.29 x 10^4)(0.2501) D. 0.0588/0.677

Answer 1

The rule for adding or subtracting is you keep the least amount of sig figs after the decimal:

a)

14.3505 has 4 sig figs after the decimal

2.65 has 2 sig figs after the decimal so the answer should have 2 sig figs after the decimal

14.3505 + 2.65 = 20.70

b)

952.7 - 140.7389 = 812.0

The rule for multiplying or dividing is you keep the overall least amount of sig figs

c)

3.29 x 10^4 has 3 sig figs

0.2501 has 4 sig figs

the answer should have 3 sig figs

(3.29 x 10^4)(0.2501) = 8230

or 8.23 x 10^3

d)

0.0588 has 3 sig figs

0.677 also has 3 sig figs so the answer should have 3 sig figs

0.0588/0.677 = 0.0869

or 8.69 x 10^-2