Question

Which of the following statistics associated with the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, are exact numbers and which have some inherent uncertainty?

Part 1: The roadway is six lanes wide. Choose one:

A. Exact number

B. number with limited precision.

Part 2: The width of the bridge is 27.4 m. Choose one:

A. exact number

B. number with limited precision

Part 3: The bridge has a mass of 3.808x10⁸ kg. Choose one:

A. exact number

B. number with limited precision

Part 4: The length of the bridge is 2740 m. Choose one:

A. exact number

B. number with limited precision

Part 5: The toll for a car traveling south increased to $6.00 on September 1, 2008. Choose One:

A. exact number

B. number with limited precision

Answer 1

Part 1): The roadway is six lanes wide. Choose one:

A. Exact number

There is no ambiguity here and no chance for loss of precision

Part 2): The width of the bridge is 27.4 m. Choose one:

B. number with limited precision

There is bound to be some loss of precision as it is a real world calculation of length. Actual width might be something like 27.4005 which is rounded

Part 3): The bridge has a mass of 3.808x10⁸ kg. Choose one:

B. number with limited precision

There is bound to be some loss of precision as it is a real world calculation of weight. Actual weight might be something like 3.808000001x10⁸ kg which is rounded

Part 4): The length of the bridge is 2740 m. Choose one:

B. number with limited precision

There is bound to be some loss of precision as it is a real world calculation of length. Actual length might be something like 2740.0001 which is rounded

Part 5): The toll for a car traveling south increased to $6.00 on September 1, 2008. Choose One:

A. exact number

This is an exact number. There is no scope for loss of precision