How many significant figures are in the measurement 603.040 g?
A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 6
C?
close ... D
the decimal point makes the trailing zero significant
but D is wrong
To determine the number of significant figures in a measurement, you need to follow a few rules:
1. Non-zero digits are always significant. In this case, there are three non-zero digits: 6, 3, and 4.
2. Zeros between non-zero digits are also significant. Here, there is one zero between the non-zero digits, so it is significant.
3. Zeros at the beginning of a number are not significant. However, in this measurement, there are no zeros at the beginning.
4. Zeros at the end of a number with a decimal point are always significant. This measurement has a zero at the end after the decimal point.
Based on these rules, we can see that there are a total of five significant figures in the measurement 603.040 g. Therefore, the correct answer is C.