Round the given approximate number a to three significant di

Round the given approximate number (a) to three significant digits and (b) to two significant digits. 8.462 The number 8.462 rounded to three significant digits is The number 8.462 rounded to two significant digits is .

Solution

8.462 has 4 significant digits in it.

(a) We have to round this to 3 significant digits.

It means the answer should have just 3 significant digits in it.

So we observe the 4th significant digit which is 2, and it is less than 5.

So the answer is 8.46. ( We kept 6 as it is because 2 is less than 5).

(b) We have to round this to 2 significant digits.

It means the answer should have just 2 significant digits in it.

So we observe the 3rd significant digit which is 6, and it is greaterthan 5.

So the answer is 8.5. ( We added 1 to 4 because 6 is greater than than 5).