Question

Precision and GPE of 45,020 miles and 0.30 km

Answer 1

a. The given number is:

`45,020\text{ miles}`

The precision is given by the position of the last significant digit.

In the given number, the last significant digit is 2, and it is placed in the tens place.

Thus, the precision is 10 miles.

The Greatest Possible Error GPE is given by the formula:

`\begin{gathered} GPE=(Precision)/(2) \\ GPE=(10)/(2) \\ GPE=5 \end{gathered}`

The GPE of 45,020 is 5 mi.

b. The given number is:

`0.30\text{ km}`

The last significant digit is the 0 located in the hundredths place.

The precision is then 0.01 km.

The GPE is:

`\begin{gathered} GPE=(0.01)/(2) \\ GPE=0.005 \end{gathered}`

The GPE of 0.30 km is 0.005 km