Final answer:
To multiply 1.2 by 5.173 after rounding to the nearest whole numbers, we round 1.2 to 1 and 5.173 to 5, then multiply to get 1 × 5 = 5.
Step-by-step explanation:
When rounding each factor to the nearest whole number before multiplying, we first look at 1.2, which rounds to 1, and 5.173, which rounds to 5. After rounding, we multiply the whole numbers: 1 × 5 = 5. It is important to remember that when rounding numbers in mathematical operations, the final answer should have the same number of significant figures as the original number with the fewest significant figures. In our case, since we rounded to whole numbers, we only deal with significant figures after multiplication.