Final answer:
The measured value 80,050 s has three significant figures, including the '8', '5', and the zero between them. Trailing zeros without a decimal point are ambiguous and not counted unless further context is provided.
Step-by-step explanation:
The number of significant figures in the measured value, 80,050 s, depends on the treatment of the trailing zeros. Generally, trailing zeros are significant when a decimal point is present, and in this case, as the decimal is not specified, the common interpretation is that we cannot be certain of the significance of the trailing zeros without additional context. For instance, if the measurement were written as 80,050., the trailing zeros would be considered significant. Without a decimal, the number 80,050 has three significant figures. This includes the '8' and '5', with the non-leading zero between them also being significant, while the two trailing zeros are considered placeholders until more information is given about their significance.
Scientific notation is a helpful tool in situations like this, as it removes ambiguity about which zeros are significant. If, for example, 80,050 was intended to have five significant figures, it could be written in scientific notation as 8.0050 × 104, explicitly indicating the significance of each zero.