what is the six guidelines in determining significant figures?

Thanks:-)

With a decimal: from the decimal go to the right side of it until you see a definite number other than zero. Start there and how many numbers there are, including zero after that number are sig figs.

Example: 0.00987 SIgFig:3

Without a decimal: never count zeros unless it's sandwiched in between two other numbers.

Example: 304 = 3sigfigs
900870 = 5 sigfigs

With a decimal: to the left of the decimal, every number other than zero to start with and continue on to the other side of the decimal.

Example: 21.89670 = 7 sigfigs

See the link for your next post.

What do you mean see the link for the next post?

James reposted the same question later and I gave him a hot link there to click on. Rather than going to the trouble of copying the link at this site, I simply referred him to his later post.

Oh. Ok

I apologize for the confusion. The guidelines for determining significant figures are as follows:

1. Non-zero digits are always significant.
2. Zeros between non-zero digits are significant.
3. Leading zeros (zeros before any non-zero digits) are not significant.
4. Trailing zeros (zeros after any non-zero digits and after a decimal point) are significant.
5. Zeros that act as placeholders (in numbers without a decimal point) are not significant.
6. Zeros that come after a non-zero digit and before the decimal point are significant.

To apply these guidelines, you need to carefully examine the given number and count the significant figures according to the rules mentioned above.

For example:
- The number 0.00987 has three significant figures. The zeros before the 9 are not significant, but the 9, 8, and 7 are significant.
- The number 304 has three significant figures. The zeros at the beginning and end are not significant, but the non-zero digits 3 and 4 are significant.
- The number 21.89670 has seven significant figures. All the digits, including the zeros, are significant because they are between non-zero digits or after a decimal point.

I hope this explanation helps! If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.