College

Determine the number of significant figures in the following numbers:

a. 2000 mL

b. 20.00 L

c. 38.2 g

d. 0.0000123 mol

e. 4.20 x 10° atoms

f. 0.000000738592 g/mL

Answer :

Sure, let's determine the number of significant figures in each of the given numbers step-by-step:

a. 2000 mL
- The number 2000 has trailing zeros, and it is not clear if these zeros are meant to be significant without further context (like a decimal point or scientific notation). As it stands:
- Typically, 2000 without additional context has 1 significant figure.

b. 20.00 L
- The number 20.00 has zeros after the decimal point which indicates that they are significant:
- Therefore, 20.00 has 4 significant figures.

c. 38.2 g
- The number 38.2 includes a decimal point, making all digits shown significant:
- Therefore, 38.2 has 3 significant figures.

d. 0.0000123 mol
- The leading zeros before 1 are not significant. Only the digits after the zeros are counted:
- Therefore, 0.0000123 has 2 significant figures.

e. 4.20 x 10° atoms
- In scientific notation, only the significant digits are placed before the exponent. Here, 4.20 has three significant digits:
- Therefore, 4.20 x 10° has 3 significant figures.

f. 0.000000738592 g/mL
- The leading zeros are not counted as significant figures, only the digits after them:
- Therefore, 0.000000738592 has 6 significant figures.

So, the number of significant figures in each of the numbers is:
- a. 1
- b. 4
- c. 3
- d. 2
- e. 3
- f. 6

I hope this clarifies how to determine significant figures in each case! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Other Questions