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IGCSE Mathematics Significant Figures

Significant figures refer to the relevant digits in an integer or a decimal which has been
rounded up to a value according to a certain degree of accuracy.
The rules are as follows :

No. Rules Number Number of
significant figures
1 All non-zero digits in a number are
significant figures.
152
3.7
42.936
5327
2 Zeroes that lie between non-zero digits are
significant figures.
801
2.005
76.035
3006
3 Zeroes that lie on the right of a non-zero
digit in a decimal are significant figures.
0.30
3.00
159.40
1.0
4 Zeroes that lie on the left of a non-zero digit
in a decimal less than 1 are not significant
figures.
0.04
0.00200
0.000076
0.050
5 Zeroes at the end of a whole number are to
be considered as non significant figures
except stated otherwise.
40
128 000
500 300
4 150 000

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