Step 1: Understand what significant figures are. Significant figures are the digits in a number that carry meaning contributing to its precision.
Step 2: Identify the digits in each number provided.
Step 3: For the number 23.40, count the significant figures. The digits 2, 3, 4, and the trailing zero after the decimal point are all significant. This gives us 4 significant figures.
Step 4: For the number 0.0450, ignore the leading zeros (0.0) because they are not significant. The digits 4, 5, and the trailing zero are significant. This gives us 3 significant figures.
Step 5: Compare the counts of significant figures. 23.40 has 4 significant figures, while 0.0450 has 3 significant figures.
