Can someone please explain significant digits to me? (also known as significant figures)
http://www.fordhamprep.org/gcurran/sho/sho/lessons/lesson23.htm
http://www.chem.sc.edu/faculty/morgan/resources/sigfigs/index.html
Thank you! :)
You're welcome. :-)
Certainly! Significant digits, also called significant figures, are a way of indicating the precision or certainty of a measurement or calculation result. They help to ensure that calculated results are not expressed with more precision than is warranted by the data or measurements used.
Here is how you determine the significant digits in a number:
1. Non-zero digits: All non-zero digits are significant. For example, in the number 25.6, both 2 and 5 are significant.
2. Leading zeros: Leading zeros, which are zeros before the first non-zero digit, are not significant. For example, in the number 0.0042, the leading zeros (0.00) are not significant, and the significant digits are 4 and 2.
3. Captive zeros: Captive zeros, which are zeros between non-zero digits, are significant. For example, in the number 101.02, all the zeros are significant.
4. Trailing zeros: Trailing zeros (zeros at the end of a number) are significant only if they are after the decimal point. For example, in the number 2,500, the trailing zeros are not significant, but in the number 2,500.00, the trailing zeros are significant.
When performing calculations with significant digits, the result should be reported with the same number of significant digits as the least precise measurement or calculation used in the calculation.
It's important to keep in mind that significant digits are a way to convey the precision of a measurement or calculation result and avoid misleading or overly precise values.