A student measures the volume of a liquid and finds it to be 40ml. How many significant figures are in the measurement ? Really confused can someone help me out ?
there is no decimal point , so the "4" is the only significant digit
non-zero digits are significant
zeroes are significant in some cases
... between non-zero digits ... 2001 , 4 sig fig
... trailing zeroes with a decimal point ... 400 , 1 sig fig ... 400.0 , 4 sig fig
To determine the number of significant figures in a measurement, you need to follow a few rules:
1. Non-zero digits are always significant. In this case, the measurement is 40ml, so both digits (4 and 0) are non-zero and are considered significant.
2. Leading zeros (zeros before any non-zero digit) are not significant. For example, in 0.08g, the zero before 8 is not significant. However, this does not apply in this case, as there are no leading zeros.
3. Captive zeros (zeros between non-zero digits) are always significant. In this case, there are no captive zeros.
4. Trailing zeros (zeros after any non-zero digit and after the decimal point) are significant. In this case, there are no trailing zeros.
Based on the rules above, the measurement of 40ml has two significant figures.
To determine the number of significant figures in a measurement, you need to follow a few rules:
1. Non-zero digits are always significant. Therefore, any non-zero number in the measurement is considered significant.
2. Zeros located between non-zero digits are also significant. For example, in the number 403, all three digits are significant.
3. Leading zeros (zeros before any non-zero digits) are not significant. For example, in the number 0.03, the zero before the 3 is not significant.
4. Trailing zeros (zeros after any non-zero digits) are considered significant only if the number contains a decimal point. For example, in the number 40.00, all four zeros are significant.
In the given measurement of 40ml, there are no leading or trailing zeros. Therefore, all the digits in the number (4 and 0) are significant. Hence, the measurement of 40ml contains two significant figures.