Final answer:
To round 7.050505 to three decimal places, we increase the third decimal place by one due to the fourth being 5 or more, resulting in 7.051. Correct rounding involves carrying precision through calculation and only rounding the final result.
Step-by-step explanation:
To round the number 7.050505 to three decimal places, we need to look at the fourth decimal place, which is 5. Since 5 is greater than or equal to 5, we round up the third decimal place by one. Therefore, the number 7.050505 rounded to three decimal places is 7.051.
Rounding rules indicate that the precision of the final result should match the precision of the least precise measurement in its calculation. When performing mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, you carry as many digits as possible through intermediate steps and only apply significant figure rules at the very end.
For addition and subtraction, the result should be rounded to the same number of decimal places as the measurement with the least number of decimal places. For multiplication and division, the result should have the same number of significant figures as the least precise measurement used in the calculation.