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How many significant figures does each of the following numbers have?

a)  53.2

b)  0.53

c)  5.320

d)  0.0532

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Solution:

Part a

All nonzero digits are significant, therefore, 53.2 has 3 significant figures.

Part b

The number 0.53 can be written in scientific notation as 5.3×10^-1. Therefore, 0.53 has 2 significant figures.

Part c

Trailing zeros are significant because they indicate increased precision. Therefore, 5.320 has 4 significant figures. 

Part d

The leading zeros are not significant but just locate the decimal point. Therefore, 0.0532 has only 3 significant figures.

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