Final answer:
To make the statement true, the missing number that would make the equation 496 ÷ ______ = 49.6 is 10.
Step-by-step explanation:
To make the statement 496 ÷ ________ = 49.6 true, we need to fill in the blank with the correct number. Dividing by a number to achieve a result that is a multiple of 10 suggests that we're dealing with a power of 10. If we consider multiplying and dividing by tens, we see that dividing 496 by 10 gives us 49.6.
Therefore, the number that makes this statement true is 10.
When it comes to significant figures, if we are given more precise figures in the problem, we would need to take into account the number of significant figures in our answer.
However, in this case, our focus isn't on significant figures but on understanding the relationship between division and decimal place movement.
We can do this by moving the decimal point one place to the left in 49.6 to get 4.96.
Therefore, the missing number is 10. So, 496 divided by 10 is equal to 49.6.