Give the answer to the following calculation with the correct number of significant digits. Report your answer in scientific notation.
(6.17 x 10-1 + 4.9 x 10-2) x (3.95 x 10-2 + 6.454 x 10-3)
i know how to solve for the answer, i just don't know the correct number of sig figs! please help!!!!
The 4.9 will limit all to two sig digits.
To determine the correct number of significant figures in a calculation, you need to follow a few rules:
1. Addition/subtraction: The result should be rounded to the least number of decimal places in any of the numbers being added or subtracted.
2. Multiplication/division: The result should have the same number of significant figures as the number with the fewest significant figures in the calculation.
Now let's solve the calculation:
(6.17 x 10^-1 + 4.9 x 10^-2) = 6.17 x 10^-1 + 4.9 x 10^-2 = 6.17 x 10^-1 + 0.49 x 10^-1 = 6.66 x 10^-1
(3.95 x 10^-2 + 6.454 x 10^-3) = 3.95 x 10^-2 + 6.454 x 10^-3 = 3.95 x 10^-2 + 0.006454 = 3.996454 x 10^-2
Now, we will perform the multiplication:
(6.66 x 10^-1) x (3.996454 x 10^-2) = 6.66 x 3.996454 x 10^-1 x 10^-2 = 26.614 instructions in scientific notation = 2.6614 x 10^0 or simply 2.7
Since the number with the fewest significant figures in the calculation is "3.996454" (5 significant figures), we round the final result to 2 significant figures, which gives us "2.7" in scientific notation.