Question

Plz help!

A student makes measurements from which she calculates the the speed of sound as 32.766 ms-1.she estimates that her result is accurate to +/- 3%.

Which of these gives her answer expressed to appropriate no. Of significant figures?
A-327.7ms-1
B-328
C-330
D-300

Plz explain

Answer 1

Are there any other parts to the question? There's nothing to base the number of significant digits on.

Answer 2

This is the complete question.

Answer 3

Answer is 330 but how?

Answer 4

There is no previous question that ties into this one? In order to round data to a certain number of significant figures, you need to have other measurements to base the rounding on.

Answer 5

You see reference is made to the level of accuracy i.e +/- 3% so there is a link to that.

Answer 6

Hi Namrah :)

Your question is wrong. In question it should be 327.66m/s

Answer 7

Yeah you are right! Now tell me the answer plz + explanation

Answer 8

OK I had answer it before.

That's why I caught your mistake.

Answer 9

Let us see result one by one.

Here it is what we can think about each one.

3% of 327 is about 10. So the result is the range 327-10 to 327+10, i.e. 317 - 337 m/s.
This is quite a wide range.

A) is too precise accurate Because it can round off to 327 or upto 328- it doesn't make
sense to imply the answer is known to 1 decimal place.

B) is a bit accurate, it suggests a value about 1m/s

D) is clearly rounded way too much. It is rejected.

C) is the best , it suggests an answer in the range 325 to 335 which makes sense
325 it rounded to 320 and more than 335 it gets rounded up to 340.

Answer 10

Wow you know your Physics! Thanks

Answer 11

it is primary school maths, not physics !!

Answer 12

Lol.. I am an electronics engineering student. It is a child play for me. :D