You count the number of figures from left to right starting with the first number different from 0.
Example:
205 has 3 significant figures
0.0000205 has 3 significant figures
0.000020500000 has 8 significant figures
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rules to follow in determining the number of sigificant * zero's are not significant at the end of the whole number which does not have a decimal point * EXAMPLE: 3400 ( 2 sf's) 2000 (2sf's)*
The least number of significant figures in any number of the problem determines the number of significant figures in the answer which in this case is 270.9
The least number of significant figures in any number of the problem determines the number of significant figures in the answer which in this case is 656.64
If they did not use rules all their calculations would simply lead to random digits!