Rounding and Significant Digits

What are significant digits?

Well, they're sort of the "interesting" or

"important" digits.

For example:

3.14159 has six significant digits (all the numbers

give you useful information).
Rounding and Significant Digits

All zeroes between significant

digits are significant.
 All zeroes which are both to the right of the
decimal point and to the right of all non-
zero significant digits are significant.
Here are some rounding examples; each number is
rounded to four, three, and two significant digits.
Example

1000 has one significant digit (only the 1is

interesting; you don't know anything for sure

about the hundreds, tens, or units places;

the zeroes may just be placeholders;

they may have rounded something off to
get this value)
Example
1000.0 has five significant digits (the
".0" tells us something interesting about the presumed
accuracy of the measurement being made. that the
measurement is accurate to the tenths place, but that
there happen to be zero tenths).

Example
0.00035 has two significant digits (only the 3 and 5 tell
us something; the other zeroes are placeholders, only
providing information about relative size).
 Example
0.000350 has three significant digits (that last zero
tells us that the measurement was made accurate to
that last digit, which just happened to have a value of
zero).
Example
1006 has four significant digits (the 1and 6 are
interesting, and we have to count the zeroes, because
they're between the two interesting numbers).
Example

560 has two significant digits (the last zero is just

a placeholder).
Example

560. (notice the "point" after the zero) has three

significant digits (the decimal point tells us that
the measurement was made to the nearest unit, so
the zero is not just a placeholder)
 Example
560.0 has four significant digits (the zero in
the tenths place means that the measurement
was made accurate to the tenths place, and that
there just happen to be zero tenths;
the 5 and 6give useful information, and the
other zero is between significant digits, and
must therefore also be counted).
Round 742,396  to four, three, and two significant
digits:
742,400  (four significant digits) 
742,000  (three significant digits) 
740,000  (two significant digits)

Round 0.07284 to four, three, and two significant digits:

0.07284  (four significant digits) 
0.0728   (three significant digits) 
0.073     (two significant digits)

Round 231.45 to four, three, and two significant digits:

231.5  (four significant digits) 
231    (three significant digits) 
230    (two significant digits)
Significant figures and rounding in general
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 round it off to a certain
number of decimal places.
The word significant means: having a
meaning.
With the number 368249, the 3 is the most
significant digit, because it tells us that the
number is 3 hundred thousand and something.
It follows that the 6 is the next most significant,
and so on.
With the number 0.0000058763, the 5 is
the most significant digit, because it tells
us that the number is 5 millions and
something.
The 8 is the next most significant, and so
on.
Be careful however with numbers such as
30245, the 3 is the first significant figure
and 0 the second, because of its value as a
place holder.
We round off a number using a certain
number of significant figures.
The most common are 1, 2 or 3 significant
figures.
Remember the rules for rounding up are
the same as before:
If the next number is 5 or more,
we round up.
If the next number is 4 or less, we do not
round up.
 General rules for determining the number of significant
figures in a number:

A) All
 non-zero numbers are significant. 
B) All
 zeros between significant numbers are significant,
for example the number 1002  has 4 significant figures.
C) A zero
 after the decimal point is significant when
bounded by significant figures to the left, for example the
number 1002.0  has 5 significant figures.
D) Zeros to the left of a significant figure and not bounded
to the left by another significant figure are not significant.
For example the number 0.01 only has one significant
figure.

E) Numbers ending with zero(s) written without a decimal

place are not clear enough.

For example the number 1600000 is confusing as to the

number of significant figures it contains, the same number
written 1.600 X 106 obviously has four significant figures.
 Rounding policies that everyone agrees with:

If you are rounding a number to a certain degree of

significant digits, and if the number following that
degree is less than five the last significant figure is not
rounded up, if it is greater than 5 it is rounded up.

Examples: 
A) 10.5660 rounded to four significant figures is 10.57
B) 10.5640 rounded to four significant figures is 10.56
Commonly used metric units

Units


Equivalent Values


1 liter
 (L)

1000
 (103) milliliters (mL)

1,000,000
 (106) microliters (μL)

 
1 gram (g)
0.001 (10-3) kilogram (kg)
1000 (103) milligrams (mg)
1,000,000 (106) micrograms (μg)
1,000,000,000 (109) nanograms (ng)
1 meter (m)

0.001 (10-3) kilometer (km)

100 (102) centimeters (cm)

1000 (103) millimeters (mm)

1,000,000 (106) micrometers (μm)

Guide To Preparation of Stock Standard Solutions

A very useful tool. For anyone who is working

in lab. it lists in detail how to prepare chemical
solutions, step by step, starting from calculation
principles like significant figures,  concentration
units and conversions reaching up to lab.
practical guide.
 Preparing Standard Sodium Hydroxide Solution

Use of a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) reagent.

Usually buy sodium hydroxide solution of a known
concentration (usually 0.1 Normal).
This reagent is relatively unstable and its
concentration changes over time.
To ensure the accuracy of analytical results it is
important to periodically check the concentration
(Normality) of sodium hydroxide.
Making 1 N solution of NaOH

It should be clear that to make 1 Normal solution we

need to know the, equivalent of NaOH, which is
calculated by dividing Molecular weight by 1, that is 40
divided by 1= 40.

So the equivalent weight of NaOH is 40.

To make 1 N solution, dissolve 40.00 g of sodium

hydroxide in water to make volume 1 liter. For
a 0.1 N solution used 4.00 g of NaOH per liter is needed.
Thanks to all of you