Is 1,600+1.62+12=1,614, keeping in mind the amount of significant figures?

Question

i think it is, because the least amount of numbers after the decimal place is 0. therefore, it should be rounded to the nearest whole number, correct? i'm just confused by 1,600 (the zeros confuse me) and it makes me wonder if it should be rounded to the nearest hundred. thanks for any help.

Answer 1

Numbers like 1600 are ambiguous because there is no way of knowing how specific the number was intended to be. To be accurate, always use scientific notation when writing numbers with trailing zeroes. You will need to discuss this question with whoever gave you the problem.

Answer 2

One easy way to think of sig figs is scientific notation:

1.6 *10^3

1.62

1.2*10^1

The extra zeros don't make any difference. Hope that makes sense.

Answer 3

1600 has 2 sig figs

1.62 has 3

12 has 2

so you can only claim up to 2 sig figs  -->   1,600