Question
For a physics class project, Lindsay is launching tennis balls, and measuring how far they travel. The first tennis ball traveled 65.5 meters, and the second ball traveled 81.11 meters. Using the correct number of significant figures, how much farther did the second ball travel than the first?
15.6m
15.610m
15.61m
16m
Answers
GPT-4o mini
To determine how much farther the second tennis ball traveled than the first, you subtract the distance traveled by the first ball from the distance traveled by the second ball:
\[
81.11 \, \text{m} - 65.5 \, \text{m} = 15.61 \, \text{m}
\]
Next, you need to consider the significant figures in the measurement. The first measurement (65.5 m) has three significant figures, while the second measurement (81.11 m) has four significant figures. When performing subtraction, the result should be reported with the same number of decimal places as the measurement with the least number of decimal places.
Here, 65.5 m has one decimal place. Therefore, the result must also be reported with one decimal place.
Thus, rounding 15.61 to one decimal place gives:
\[
15.6 \, \text{m}
\]
Therefore, using the correct number of significant figures, the answer is **15.6 m**.
\[
81.11 \, \text{m} - 65.5 \, \text{m} = 15.61 \, \text{m}
\]
Next, you need to consider the significant figures in the measurement. The first measurement (65.5 m) has three significant figures, while the second measurement (81.11 m) has four significant figures. When performing subtraction, the result should be reported with the same number of decimal places as the measurement with the least number of decimal places.
Here, 65.5 m has one decimal place. Therefore, the result must also be reported with one decimal place.
Thus, rounding 15.61 to one decimal place gives:
\[
15.6 \, \text{m}
\]
Therefore, using the correct number of significant figures, the answer is **15.6 m**.