How many significant figures are there in each of the following values?
0.07 x 10⁸

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the concept of significant figures. Significant figures are the digits in a number that carry meaningful information about its precision. Leading zeros (zeros before non-zero digits) are not considered significant.
2. Step 2: Analyze the given value, 0.07 x 10^8. First, focus on the decimal part, 0.07. The leading zero is not significant, but the digits '7' are significant because they provide meaningful precision.
3. Step 3: Recognize that the scientific notation (x 10^8) does not affect the count of significant figures. It simply represents the scale or magnitude of the number.
4. Step 4: Conclude that the number of significant figures in 0.07 x 10^8 is determined solely by the digits '7' in the decimal part, which means there are 1 significant figure.
5. Step 5: If needed, practice identifying significant figures in other examples to reinforce the concept and ensure understanding.

Key Concepts

Significant Figures

Significant figures are the digits in a number that contribute to its precision. This includes all non-zero digits, any zeros between significant digits, and trailing zeros in the decimal portion. Understanding significant figures is crucial for accurately reporting measurements and calculations in scientific contexts.

Scientific Notation

Scientific notation is a way of expressing numbers that are too large or too small to be conveniently written in decimal form. It is typically written as a product of a number between 1 and 10 and a power of ten. This format helps in identifying significant figures more easily, as the digits in the coefficient are the significant figures of the number.

Leading Zeros

Leading zeros are the zeros that precede all non-zero digits in a number. They are not considered significant figures because they do not affect the precision of the measurement. In the value 0.07 x 10^8, the leading zeros before the 7 do not count towards the significant figures, which is essential for determining the total count.