IB Math Studies Yr 1

Name_____________ ___________________ Date: ____________

Lesson 1-2:
Learning Goals:
#1: How do we round a number using significant figures?

REVIEW OF LESSON 1-1: Rounding Decimals and Place Values

DO NOW: Answer the following questions based on yesterday’s lesson

a) Label each place value of the number given below.

1,234,567.890

b) Round each number below to the correct place value.

i. nearest tenth ii. nearest whole number iii. nearest hundred

iv. nearest hundredth v. nearest thousandth vi. nearest thousand

c) Round each number below to the correct decimal place.

1. two decimal places 2. three decimal places 3. four decimal places
IB Math Studies Yr 1
LESSON 1-2: Significant Figures

 Significant figures are another way to round a number. They are commonly used in science and
engineering to approximate very large or very small numbers.
 Significant figures are used when someone is concerned with the precision of values used in their
calculations.

There are THREE RULES for identifying Significant Figures

1. Non-zero digits are always SIGNIFICANT.

The number 4.8383 has five significant figures The number 5.21 has three significant figures

The number 26.38 has________ significant figures The number 17.9456 has________ significant figures

2. Any zeros between two significant digits or nonzero digits are SIGNIFICANT.

The number 1.08 has three significant figures The number 3.2808 has five significant figures

The number 4061 has________ significant figures The number 22.4072643 has________ significant
figures

3. A final zero or trailing zeros in the decimal portion (right side of decimal) are SIGNIFICANT

The number 0.3210 has four significant figures The number 0.12000 has five significant figures

The number 62.0340 has________ significant figures The number 5.100 has________ significant figures

Focus on these rules and learn them well. They will be used extensively throughout the remainder of this
course. You would be well advised to do as many problems as needed to nail the concept of significant figures
down tight and then do some more, just to be sure.
IB Math Studies Yr 1
PRACTICE WITH SIGNIFICANT FIGURES
 HELPFUL HINT: When counting Significant Figures, always start from the left.

DIRECTIONS: How many significant figures do the following numbers contain?

1. 91.62 2. 3.08 3. 0.0041 4. 3.0800

5. 91,600 6. 0.0000709 7. 22.101 8. 10.0006

9. 780,000,000 10. 256.20 11. 3.7792 12. 3.0050

Rounding Significant Figures:

To round to a given number of significant figures:
1. Count to the given number of significant figures the questions asks to round to starting at the _________.
2. Circle that number, and round it.
3. All of the numbers to the right of the number you have just rounded become ____________!

Let’s try some:

Round the following to three significant figures: Round the following to two significant figures:

2,756 5,037

Round the following to three significant figures: Round the following to four significant figures:

0.01568 1.00125

Round the following to two significant figures: a. Calculate: 153 x 23

106,500
b. Round your above answer to three
significant figures.
IB Math Studies Yr 1
PRACTICE
1. Determine the number of significant figures in each of the following:
a) 75.02 b) 0.0049 c) 18.90

d) 150 e) 2.84 f) 21,000

2. Rewrite the quantity 0.0031904 to each of the following significant figures:

a) 1 significant figure: _____________________

b) 2 significant figures: _____________________

c) 3 significant figures: _____________________

3. Round each of the following to 3 significant figures.

a) 16.8477 b) 5.6732 c) 0.14986

d) 861.85 e) 42,030 f) 0.0050981

g) 0.00318756 h) 0.09025011 i) 100.511