Solved: Rounding Problem in Physics Class Homework

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on a physics homework problem involving a man crossing a river with a velocity of 5 m/s east and a river current of 1.1 m/s south. The calculation for how far south he ends up after 130 seconds was initially miscalculated due to rounding errors in the online submission tool. The correct distance, calculated as 143 meters, was incorrectly rounded to 140 meters instead of the expected 150 meters, highlighting issues with the online program's handling of significant figures.

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  • Understanding of vector addition in physics
  • Knowledge of significant figures and rounding rules
  • Familiarity with basic kinematics equations
  • Experience using online homework submission tools
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  • Review the principles of vector addition in physics
  • Study the rules for rounding numbers and significant figures
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Homework Statement



A man crossing a river has a velocity due east relative to the river at 5m/s and the current of the river is 1.1 m/s relative to Earth south. It takes him 130 seconds to cross the river. How far south of his initial starting point will the man be when he reaches his destination.



Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


For my physics class we use an online program to enter our homework, to do this I did 130*1.1 and got 143 it says display answer in 2 sig figs so I rounded it to 140 to get 2 sig figs, however this was wrong so I entered 150 as a guess and got it correct...can somebody explain to me how 143 rounds to 150 I don't get it this isn't the first time something like this has happened with this program so I am wondering if I am doing something with sig figs wrong..?
 
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those online submissions can be very buggy or their answers can be incorrectly entered. happened a lot to me. answer looks correct. 140m
 
alright thanks i just wanted to make sure I wasn't messing something up
 

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