Compute 4.659*104-2.14*104. Round the answer appropriately.

Express your answer as an integer using the proper number of significant figures (e. g. 12300)

Answer: 25,200.

Explanation:

1) Given: 4.659 * 10⁴ - 2.14 * 10⁴

2) You have to deal with significant figures.

Since, the powers are the same (10⁴) you can directly subtract the decimal numbers. But first analyze the significant figures and the number of decimal digits.

3) The number 4.659 * 10⁴ has four significant figures (4, 6, 5, and 9), while the number 2.14 * 10⁴ has three significan figures (2, 1, and 4).

4) When you add or subtract numbers with diferent amount of decimal digits, the result must show the same number of decimal digits as the term with the least number of decimal digits.

5) Before subtracting, you must round all the terms to the least number of decimal digits. So, since 2.14 has two decimal digits and 4.659 has three decimal digits, you shall round 4.659 to 4.66.

6) Now you subtract 4.66 - 2.14 = 2.52

7) Multiply by the power of 10: 2.52 * 10⁴ = 25,200. And that is the answer.