how many sig figs in this number: 32.6721

http://www.chemteam.info/SigFigs/SigFigs.html

To determine the number of significant figures in a number, follow these steps:

Step 1: Identify all non-zero digits in the number. In this case, the non-zero digits are 3, 2, 6, 7, 2, and 1.

Step 2: Count all the identified non-zero digits, which gives us six digits.

Step 3: Zeros can be significant or insignificant, depending on their position in the number. To determine the significance of zeros, consider the following rules:

- Leading zeros: Leading zeros that appear before all non-zero digits are not significant. For example, the number 0.005 has only one significant figure.
- Captive zeros: Captive zeros that appear between non-zero digits are always significant. For example, the number 5009 has four significant figures.
- Trailing zeros: Trailing zeros that appear after all non-zero digits are only significant if there is a decimal point present. For example, the number 1000 has one significant figure, while 1000. has four significant figures.

In our given number, 32.6721, there is a decimal point present. Therefore, the trailing zero after 1 is significant.

Step 4: Considering all the identified significant digits (6) and the significant trailing zero (1), we have a total of 7 significant figures in the number 32.6721.

Six sig figs.