Question
A team of physicists is testing how long it takes for a charged particle to travel through a magnetic field. They measure the time as 4.050 * 10-6 seconds. How many significant figures does this measurement have?
5
3
4
2
5
3
4
2
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The measurement given is \( 4.050 \times 10^{-6} \) seconds.
To determine the number of significant figures:
1. All non-zero digits are significant.
2. Any zeroes between significant digits are also significant.
3. Leading zeros are not significant.
4. Trailing zeros in a decimal number are significant.
In \( 4.050 \):
- The "4" is significant (1).
- The "0" between "4" and "5" is significant (2).
- The "5" is significant (3).
- The "0" after "5" is significant (4).
Thus, the measurement \( 4.050 \times 10^{-6} \) has **4 significant figures**.
So, the answer is **4**.
To determine the number of significant figures:
1. All non-zero digits are significant.
2. Any zeroes between significant digits are also significant.
3. Leading zeros are not significant.
4. Trailing zeros in a decimal number are significant.
In \( 4.050 \):
- The "4" is significant (1).
- The "0" between "4" and "5" is significant (2).
- The "5" is significant (3).
- The "0" after "5" is significant (4).
Thus, the measurement \( 4.050 \times 10^{-6} \) has **4 significant figures**.
So, the answer is **4**.