Question

How do you round 24982 correct to 1 significant figure?

Answer 1

`20,000` (with no decimal at the end of the number).

Explanation:

Let's begin by establishing `24,982` as having `5` significant figures (It has no decimals, and no zeros. We can therefore count the number of digits, and this is `5`).

If we were asked, therefore, to round to the first significant figure, then we would be talking about the very first digit, which is the `2`.
So this digit may or may not change, by `+1` or not at all.

If we round up, then the answer is `30,000`, but if we were to round down, the answer would be `20,000`; If we want to determine which one is correct, we have to look at the second digit of the original number, which is `4`. Since the second digit is less than `5`, we can round down, so the answer would have to be `20,000`.

For an example of a similar situation, see this image:

I hope that helps!