Significant Figures

Significant figures (also called significant digits) are an important part of

scientific and mathematical calculations which deal with the accuracy and
precision of numbers. Significant figures are the number of digits in a value,
often a measurement, that contribute to the degree of accuracy of that value. It is
very important to estimate uncertainty in the final result and this is
where significant figures become very important.

Rules for deciding the number of significant figures in a measured

quantity:

(1) All nonzero digits are significant:

1.234 g has 4 significant figures,

(2) Zeroes between nonzero digits are significant:

1002 kg has 4 significant figures,

3.07 mL has 3 significant figures.

(3) Leading zeros to the left of the first nonzero digits are not significant;
such zeroes merely indicate the position of the decimal point:

0.012 g has 2 significant figures.

(4) Trailing zeroes that are also to the right of a decimal point in a number
or after non zero digit are significant:

0.0230 mL has 3 significant figures

0.20 g has 2 significant figures
Name: __________________ Date: ______________
Queen’s College
Third Form
Mr. Moore

Questions

Compute and write the respective number of significant figures.

1.    37.6 + 3.907 + 226.4 = 

2.    309.15 - 32.615 = 

3.    106.600 + 27.083 + 0.61 = 

4.    125 - 0.23 + 4.129 = 

5.    2.02 × 2.54 = 

6.    40 ÷ 5.232 = 

7.    0.0034 × 275 = 

8.  (5.5)4 = 

9.    0.506 × (40 - 32.5) = 

10.    45 × 3.02 = 

11.    What is the average of 0.1707, 0.1713, 0.1720, 0.170, and 0.1715
Rounding of Significant Figures
Sometimes we do not always need to give detailed answers to problems - we
just want a rough idea. When we are faced with a long number, we could round
it off to the nearest thousand, or nearest million and when we get a long decimal
answer on a calculator, we could also round off to a certain number of decimal
places. Another method of giving an approximated answer is to round off
using significant figures.
Rules for rounding to a significant figure

1. look at the first non-zero digit if rounding to one significant figure

2. look at the digit after the first non-zero digit if rounding to two significant
figures
3. draw a vertical line after the place value digit that is required
4. look at the next digit
5. if it's 5 or more, increase the previous digit by one
6. if it's 4 or less, keep the previous digit the same
7. fill any spaces to the right of the line with zeros, stopping at the decimal
point if there is one

Examples
1. Round 53,879 to 1 significant figure, then 2 significant figures.

 5|3879 to 1 significant figure is 50,000

 53|879 to 2 significant figures is 54,000

2. Round 0.005089 to 1 significant figure, then 2 significant figures.

 0.005|089 to 1 significant figure is 0.005

 0.0050|89 to 2 significant figures is 0.0051
Name: __________________ Date: ______________
Queen’s College
Third Form
Mr. Moore

Questions

1. Round off the respective answers to 3 significant figures

a) 1.472 x 4.75

b) 200 x 4.5

c) 777 ÷ 45

d) 82 + 47 x 2.5

e) 63 x 5 – (10 ÷ 4)

2. Round off the respective numbers to 4 significant figures

a) 0.005668

b) 807.4044

c) 305.55

d) 720

e) 0.00855