Question

You are attempting to estimate the number of protester marching through the city

Answer 1

9514 1404 393

Answer:

  1000

Step-by-step explanation:

If the number of protesters per minute remains a constant, then you could write the proportion ...

  p/12 = 177/2.1

Multiplying by 12 gives ...

  p = 12(177/2.1) ≈ 1011.4

Here, minutes are given to 2 significant figures, and the initial count is given to 3 significant figures. The best you can hope for is that your estimate is good to 3 significant figures:

 1010 protesters

It is probably sufficient to report the number to 2 significant figures*:

  1000 protesters

_____

* Unfortunately, with a number like 1000, the only way you can tell it has 2 significant figures is to report it as 1.0×10³ or 10. hundreds. The trailing zeros are usually not considered significant.