Question

How many significant figures are in the following:

A) 00732.017 miles;
a) 4
b) 5
c) 6
d) 7

Answer 1

The measurement 00732.017 miles contains 7 significant figures, considering the rules for determining significant digits where leading zeros are not counted but middle and trailing zeros are.

Step-by-step explanation:

The number of significant figures in the measurement 00732.017 miles is determined by identifying digits that carry meaning contributing to its precision. According to the rules of significant figures, any leading zeros are not considered significant; however, all non-zero digits are significant, zeroes between significant figures are significant, and zeroes at the end of a number and to the right of a decimal are also significant.

00732.017 has a total of 7 significant figures. The zeroes before 732 are leading and are not counted, but the zeroes between 7 and 1, and after 7 up to 7 are counted.

Answer 2

The measurement 00732.017 miles contains 6 significant figures, determined by the rules for significant digits.

Step-by-step explanation:

The number of significant figures in the measurement 00732.017 miles is determined by the rules applied for identifying significant digits. All non-zero numbers are considered significant. Any zeros between non-zero digits are also significant, as well as zeros that are to the right of both the decimal point and a non-zero number. Therefore, the numbers 7, 3, 2, 0, 1, and 7 are all significant, making for a total of 6 significant figures. Leading zeros are not counted as significant.