Question

Select the INCORRECT statement/s from the following:

• A. 22 books have infinite significant figures.
• B. In the answer of calculation \( 2.5 \times 1.25 \) has four significant figures.
• C. Zero's preceding to first non-zero digit are significant.
• D. In the answer of calculation \( 12.11 + 18.0 + 1.012 \) has three significant figures.

Hint:

When performing multiplication or division, the result should have the same number of significant figures as the number with the least significant figures. In addition or subtraction, round to the least number of decimal places.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The correct interpretations are: - (a) The statement is true: Numbers like 22 (which are exact countable numbers) have infinite significant figures. - (b) The statement is incorrect: When multiplying, the result should have the same number of significant figures as the number with the least significant figures, which is 2.5 (2 significant figures). Hence, the product will have 2 significant figures, not 4. - (c) The statement is incorrect: Zeros before the first non-zero digit are not significant (e.g., in 0.0023, the leading zeros are not significant). - (d) The statement is correct: The result of the addition should be rounded to the least number of decimal places, so the result will have three significant figures.