A beaker contains 15.23 mL of water. 6.7 mL of the water is measured and transferred out. Considering significant figures, what volume can you be confident is left in the beaker? square

## Step 1<br />The problem involves the concept of significant figures in measurements. Significant figures are the digits in a number that carry some meaning regarding its precision. In this case, the volume of water in the beaker is given as 15.23 mL, which has four significant figures. The volume of water transferred out is given as 6.7 mL, which has three significant figures.<br /><br />## Step 2<br />When performing subtraction, the result should be reported with the same number of decimal places as the measurement with the fewest decimal places. In this case, the measurement with the fewest decimal places is 6.7 mL, which has one decimal place.<br /><br />## Step 3<br />Therefore, the volume of water left in the beaker should be reported with one decimal place. The subtraction is performed as follows:<br /><br />### \(15.23 \, \text{mL} - 6.7 \, \text{mL} = 8.53 \, \text{mL}\)<br /><br />However, since we need to consider significant figures, the answer should be rounded to one decimal place, which gives us 8.5 mL.