Final answer:
To convert 12,000,000 to scientific notation with the correct number of significant digits, we move the decimal point to the left until we have a number between 1 and 10. The exponent is determined by counting the number of places the decimal point was moved.
Step-by-step explanation:
To convert the number 12,000,000 to scientific notation with the correct number of significant digits, we need to determine the coefficient and the exponent. The coefficient is obtained by moving the decimal point to the left or right until we have a number between 1 and 10. In this case, we can move the decimal point six places to the left to get 1.2. The exponent is determined by counting the number of places the decimal point was moved, which in this case is six. Therefore, 12,000,000 in scientific notation with the correct number of significant digits is 1.2 x 10^6.