To combine the populations of the two cities, we need to first express both populations in the same form and then add them together.
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For the first city's population: \( 3.45 \times 10^6 \)
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For the nearby city's population: \( 1.3 \times 10^5 \)
Next, to add these together, we can write \( 1.3 \times 10^5 \) in terms of \( 10^6 \): \[ 1.3 \times 10^5 = 0.13 \times 10^6 \]
Now we can add the populations: \[ 3.45 \times 10^6 + 0.13 \times 10^6 = (3.45 + 0.13) \times 10^6 = 3.58 \times 10^6 \]
Thus, the combined population of the two cities is: \[ 3.58 \times 10^6 \]
In significant figures, since \( 3.45 \) has three significant figures and \( 1.3 \) has two significant figures, the result \( 3.58 \) should be rounded to two significant figures, which gives:
Final answer: \( 3.6 \times 10^6 \)