To solve the subtraction problem of 5089538 – 1554, we first perform the calculation:
5089538 – 1554 = 5087984
Now, we need to apply the rules of significant figures to determine how many significant figures our result should have.
In the number 5089538, the decimal is not explicitly shown, but since it is a whole number and does not contain a decimal point, all digits are significant, giving it 7 significant figures.
The number 1554 also has 4 significant figures since all the digits are non-zero.
When performing subtraction, the result should be rounded to the least number of decimal places in the values being subtracted. In this case, 5089538 is a whole number (implicitly having no decimal places), while 1554 also has no decimal component. Thus, we check the digits after the last significant figure among the numbers we are working with.
Since both numbers are whole numbers, we can express that our final answer should be rounded to the nearest whole number, which we have in 5087984.
So, the final answer remains 5087984 and it is already in its significant figures, being a whole number without any further rounding needed.