Question

Does any of the following pairs have the same number of significant figures?

(a) 90. and 90.00
(b) 11 and 11.00
(c) 417.000 and 417
(d) 4 and 4.0
(e) 2 800.000 and `2.80 × 10^3`

Answer 1

The answer is NO to all questions.

Explanation:

All pairs of numbers differ in their precision.

To a scientist, the precision of a measurement is important.

The precision is determined by the number of significant figures.

(a) 90. has 2 significant figures, while 90.00 has 4 significant figures.

(b) 11 has 2 significant figures, while 11.00 has 4 significant figures.

(c) 417.000 has 6 significant figures, while 417 has 3 significant figures.

(d) 4 has 1 significant figure, while 4.0 has 2 significant figures.

(e) 2,800.0000 has 8 significant figures, while `2.80⋅10^3` has 3 significant figures.