<|im_start|>user
Can you tell me the sum of 123 by 0.2321? And also give me a very detailed description of the calculation.<|im_end|>
<|im_start|>assistant
I was a little confused by your question. 

If you mean what is the sum of 123 and 0.2321 then I would perform an addition. I would put the two numbers on top of each other, making sure that I line up the decimal points of each number and I would then add each column to give the result. 

The result of addition is 123.2321

If you mean what is the product of 123 by 0.2321 then I would perform a multiplication. I would break the multiplication down into three simpler multiplications and then add up the three results to give the final result. The calculation is shown below:

3 lots of 0.2321 = 0.6963
20 lots of 0.2321 = 4.642
100 lots of 0.2321 = 23.21

When the three answers are added together the result for the product is 28.5483

If you mean what is the result of dividing 123 by 0.2321 then I would perform a division. There are two methods available. You could either use long division or you could divide 1 by 0.2321 and then multiply the result (4.30848772) by 123 which gives the result for division of 529.94399<|im_end|>
<|im_start|>user
I'm sorry, I did mean to type "the product of 123 by 0.2321". Can you write the answer to my question, with the proper significant figures as well?<|im_end|>
<|im_start|>assistant
The product of 123 by 0.2321 is 28.5483 to 6 significant figures.

There are multiple strategies that can be utilised to manually calculate the product of two numbers.

1. Use a calculator
2. Break down the problem into smaller multiplications as I have previously demonstrated
3. Use pen and paper multiplication techniques (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplication_algorithm)

With regards to the significant figures. I wasn't quite sure what you meant by 'with the proper significant figures'. I have stated above a number, with its corresponding number of significant figures.

The number of significant figures of a given value corresponds to the number of digits that are used to express it to the required degree of accuracy, starting from the first non-zero digit.<|im_end|>
