Final answer:
To express the elephant's weight of 4681 kg to two significant figures, we round it to 4700 kg, considering the third digit after the first two significant digits.
Step-by-step explanation:
A student has inquired about determining the weight of an elephant to two significant figures (sf). The initial weight provided for the elephant is 4681 kilograms.
To convert this to two significant figures, we identify the first two most significant digits in the weight, which in this case are 4 and 6.
The third digit, 8, prompts us to round the second digit up, resulting in 4700 kilograms when the elephant's weight is expressed to two significant figures.