Application Question
Medium difficulty • Concept in a practical situation
Question 1
Applied ConceptA student measures the side of a cube to be 7.203 m. Calculate the total surface area and volume of the cube, expressing each result to the appropriate number of significant figures.
- The measured length has 4 significant figures, so both derived results must be rounded to 4 significant figures.
- Total surface area = 6 × (7.203)² = 6 × 51.883209 = 311.299254 m², which rounds to 311.3 m².
- Volume = (7.203)³ = 373.714754 m³, which rounds to 373.7 m³.
- Reporting more digits (e.g., 311.299254 m²) would be misleading, implying precision beyond what the single measurement of 7.203 m can support.