An electronic balance used in a mailroom displays tenths of a kilogram (range to ). How many significant figures should be used to express the mass of any package whose mass is between and ?

Question

An electronic balance used in a mailroom displays tenths of a kilogram (range  to ). How many significant figures should be used to express the mass of any package whose mass is between  and ?

Canvas Classes · Accepted Answer

🧠 The instrument decides the precision
Sig figs are not chosen by you — they come from the device. A balance reading in tenths of a kg can show only those digits, nothing more.

🗺️ Count what the balance shows
The smallest division is . A package between  and  shows three digits on the screen: tens, units, tenths. All three come from the balance's resolution, so all three are significant.

So  → 3 sf, and  → 3 sf.

⚠️ Common mistake
Some students rewrite  as  and count  digits. But changing th

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