Final answer:
There are 145 tenths in 14.5, as each whole number comprises 10 tenths, and the 0.5 represents 5 tenths. Rounding is based on the least precise measurement, which dictates the decimal place to round to.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student has asked how many tenths are in 14.5. To answer this, we need to convert the number into tenths. The number 14.5 consists of 14 whole numbers and 0.5, which is the same as 5 tenths since there are 10 tenths in a whole. Thus, in total, there are 14 * 10 tenths plus an additional 5 tenths from the 0.5, amounting to 140 tenths + 5 tenths, which equals 145 tenths in 14.5. When rounding numbers, we need to consider the least precise measurement.
For example, if we have a measurement of 137.3 s in the tenths place and another of 70.90 s in the hundredths place, and we must round our final answer, the answer must be rounded to the tenths place because 137.3 s is the least precise measurement. Thus, the total of 208.20 s would be rounded to 208.2 s.