SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS

• Significant digits are the digits in a

number that express the precision of a
measurement rather than its
magnitude.
• The number of significant digits in a
given measurement depends on the
number of significant digits in the
given data.
 RULES FOR DETERMINING
SIGNIFICANT DIGITS
A. All digits that are not zeros are
significant.

2781 has 4 significant digits

82.973 has 5 significant digits
 RULES FOR DETERMINING
SIGNIFICANT DIGITS
B. Zeros may or may not be
significant.
1. Zeros appearing between nonzero
digits are significant.

20.1 has 3 significant digits

79002 has 5 significant digits
 RULES FOR DETERMINING
SIGNIFICANT DIGITS
2. Zeros appearing in front of nonzero
digits are not significant.

0.012 has 2 significant digits

0.0000009 has 1 significant digit
 RULES FOR DETERMINING
SIGNIFICANT DIGITS
3. Zeros at the end of a number and
to the right of a decimal are
significant digits. Zeros between
nonzero digits and significant zeros
are also significant.
15.0 has 3 significant digits
25000.00 has 7 significant digits
 RULES FOR DETERMINING
SIGNIFICANT DIGITS
4. Zeros at the end of a number
but to the left of a decimal
may or may not be significant.
If such a zero has been
measured or is the first
estimated digit, it is significant.
• On the other hand, if the zero
has not been measured or
estimated but is just a place
holder it is not significant. A
decimal placed after the zeros
indicates that they are
significant
560000 has 2 significant digits
560000. has 6 significant digits
Determine the number of significant digits in the
following.
1. 234 3
2. 745.1 4
3. 6007 4
4. 1.3 X 10² 2
5. 7.50 X 10¯³ 3
6. 0.012300 5
7. 100.0 4
8. 100
1
9. 7890 3
SCIENTIFIC
NOTATION
 WHEN USING SCIENTIFIC NOTATION,
THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF EXPONENTS:
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE

Positive Exponent:
2.35 x 108

Negative Exponent:
3.97 x 10¯²
 WHEN CHANGING SCIENTIFIC NOTATION
TO STANDARD NOTATION, THE EXPONENT
TELLS YOU IF YOU SHOULD MOVE THE
DECIMAL:

With a positive exponent, move the

decimal to the right:
4.08 x 103 = 4 0 8

Don’t forget to fill in your zeroes!

 WHEN CHANGING SCIENTIFIC NOTATION
TO STANDARD NOTATION, THE EXPONENT
TELLS YOU IF YOU SHOULD MOVE THE
DECIMAL:

With a negative exponent, move

the decimal to the left:
4.08 x 10-3 = 408

Don’t forget to fill in your zeroes!

 AN EASY WAY TO
REMEMBER THIS IS:
• If an exponent is positive, the
number gets larger, so move
the decimal to the right.

• If an exponent is negative, the

number gets smaller, so move
the decimal to the left.
 THE EXPONENT ALSO TELLS HOW
MANY SPACES TO MOVE THE
DECIMAL:

4.08 x 103 = 4 0 8

In this problem, the exponent is +3, so

the decimal moves 3 spaces to the right.
 THE EXPONENT ALSO TELLS HOW
MANY SPACES TO MOVE THE
DECIMAL:

4.08 x 10-3 = 408

In this problem, the exponent is -3, so the

decimal moves 3 spaces to the left.
 TRY CHANGING THESE NUMBERS
FROM SCIENTIFIC NOTATION TO
STANDARD NOTATION:
1) 9.678 x 104 96780

2) 7.4521 x 10-3 .0074521

3) 8.513904567 x 107 85139045.67

4) 4.09748 x 10-5 .0000409748

 WHEN CHANGING FROM
STANDARD NOTATION TO
SCIENTIFIC
1) First, move the decimal NOTATION:
after the first whole
number:
3258
2) Second, add your multiplication sign and
your base (10).
3 . 2 5 8 x 10
3) Count how many spaces the decimal moved
and this is the exponent.
3 . 2 5 8 x 10 3
3 2 1
 WHEN CHANGING FROM STANDARD
NOTATION TO SCIENTIFIC NOTATION:
4) See if the original number is greater
than or less than one.
• If the number is greater than one, the exponent will be
positive.
348943 = 3.489 x 105
• If the number is less than one, the exponent will be
negative.
.0000000672 = 6.72 x 10-8
 TRY CHANGING THESE NUMBERS
FROM STANDARD NOTATION TO
SCIENTIFIC NOTATION:
1) 9872432 9.872432 x 10 6

3.45 x 10-5
2) .0000345

3) .08376 8.376 x 10-2

4) 5673 5.673 x 103