Final answer:
The paramecium travels at a rate of 7.20 meters per hour when converting its speed from 2,000 micrometers per second, keeping three significant digits in the final answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
The speed of a paramecium in meters per hour can be calculated by first converting micrometers to meters and then seconds to hours. Since 1 meter is equal to 1,000,000 micrometers, the speed of the paramecium is 2,000 micrometers per second which is equivalent to 2,000 / 1,000,000 = 0.002 meters per second. To convert seconds to hours, we multiply by the number of seconds in an hour (3600 seconds), giving us 0.002 meters/second * 3600 seconds/hour = 7.2 meters/hour. The predicted number of significant digits in the answer is based on the initial data provided, which is 2,000 micrometers per second with three significant digits, so the speed in meters per hour should also be reported with three significant digits: 7.20 meters per hour.