Significant Digits or “Figures”

• How to recognize significant figures when:

– Taking a measurement

– Reading a measurement

– Performing a calculation
Accuracy and Precision in Measurements

Accuracy: how close a measurement

is to the accepted value.

Precision: how close a series of

measurements are to one another or
how far out a measurement is taken.

A measurement can have high precision,

but not be as accurate as a less precise one.
Significant Figures are used to indicate the precision of a
measured number or to express the precision of a
calculation with measured numbers.

In any measurement
the digit farthest to
the right is considered
to be estimated.

0 1 2
2.0
1.3
Question For Thought
Using two different rulers, I measured the width
of my hand to be 4.5 centimeters and 4.54
centimeters. Explain the difference between
these two measurements.
The first measurement implies that my hand is
somewhere between 4.5 and 4.9 cm long.
There is a uncertainty in this number because
we have to estimate.
The second measurement implies that my
hand is between 4.5 and 4.6 cm long. This
measurement is more certain due to its
greater precision.
 2 significant
4.5 cm Uncertain
figures

3 significant More certain

4.54 cm due to greater
figures
precision

Significant figures are necessary to reduce

uncertainty in our measurements.

Significant figures indicate the

precision of the measured value!!
 Significant Figures
• Scientist use significant figures to determine how
precise a measurement is

• Significant digits in a measurement include all of

the known digits plus one estimated digit

• So when reading an instrument…

– Read instrument to the last digit that you know
– Estimate or “eyeball” the final digit
 For example…
• Look at the ruler below

• Each line is 0.1cm

• You can read that the arrow is on 13.3 cm
• However, using significant figures, you must
estimate the next digit
• That would give you 13.30 cm
 Let’s try this one
• Look at the ruler below

• What can you read before you estimate?

• 12.8 cm
• Now estimate the next digit…
• 12.85 cm
 Let’s try graduated cylinders
• Look at the graduated cylinder

• What can you read with confidence? = 56 ml

• Now estimate the last digit = 56.0 ml

• What is this measurement?

• _____________
Recognizing # Sig Figs in a Number
• All non zero digits are ALWAYS significant

• How many significant digits are in the

following numbers?

274 ______Significant Figures

25.632 ______Significant Digits

8.987 ______Significant Figures

• All zeros between significant digits are ALWAYS
significant

• How many significant digits are in the following

numbers?

504 ________ Significant Figures

60002 ________ Significant Digits

9.077 ________ Significant Figures

• All FINAL zeros to the right of the decimal ARE
significant

• How many significant digits are in the following

numbers?

32.0 ______Significant Figures

19.000 ______Significant Digits

105.0020 ______Significant Figures

All zeros that act as place holders are NOT significant

Another way to say this is: zeros are only significant if

they are between significant digits OR are the very final
thing at the end of a decimal

How many significant digits are in the following numbers?

0.0002 _____Significant Digit

6.02 x 1023 _____Significant Digits
100.000 _____Significant Digits
150000 _____Significant Digits
800 _____Significant Digit
 Numbers with no decimal are
ambiguous...
• Does 5000 ml mean exactly 5000?
Maybe.... Maybe Not!

• So 5000, 500, 50, and 5 are all assumed to

have 1 significant figure

• If a writer means exactly 5000, he/she

must write 5000. or 5.000 x 103
• All counting numbers and constants have an
infinite number of significant digits

• For example:
1 hour = 60 minutes
12 inches = 1 foot
24 hours = 1 day
How many significant digits are in the
following numbers?
0.0073 _______________
100.020 _______________
2500 _______________
7.90 x 10-3 _______________
670.0 _______________
0.00001 _______________
18.84 _______________
Here is a one sentence rule for
counting sig figs:
All digits ARE significant except

Zeros preceding a decimal fraction

(ex: 0.0045)
and
Zeros at the end of a number
containing NO decimal point
(ex: 45,000)
 Calculations with Sig Figs
• Adding or subtracting:
– answer can have no more places after the
decimal than the LEAST of the measured
numbers.

• Count # decimal places held

– (nearest .1? .01? .001?)
• Answer can be no more accurate than the LEAST
accurate number that was used to calculate it.
 For Example:

5.50 grams 52.09 ml

+ 8.6 grams - 49.7 ml
-------- -------------
2.39 ml --> 2.4 ml
14.1 grams
 Calculations with Sig Figs
• Multiplying or dividing: round result
to least # of sig figs present in the
factors
– Answer can’t have more significant
figures than the least reliable
measurement.

• COUNT significant figures in the factors

• 56.78 cm x 2.45cm = 139.111 cm2
–Round to 3 sig figs = 139cm2

• 75.8cm x 9.6cm = ?
 Now let’s do some math.....
(round answers to correct sig figs!)

5.0033 g + 1.55 g

• answer: 6.55 g

Did you need to count

sig figs? NO!
 Try this one....

4.80 ml - .0015 ml

• answer: 4.80 ml

(one might say .0015

is insignificant
COMPARED TO 4.80)
 Now try these...

5.0033 g / 5.0 ml

• answer: 1.0 g/ml

Did you have to

count sig figs?
• YES!
 Here’s a tougher one.....
3.0 C/s x 60 s/min x 60 min/hr =

• answer: 10800 C/hr rounds to 11000 C/hr

Note:
Standard conversion factors never limit sig.
figures- instruments and equipment do.
 Scientific Notation
• Scientific notation is used to express very large
or very small numbers

• It consists of a number between 1 & 10

followed by x 10 to an exponent

• Exponent can be determined by the number

of decimal places you have to move to get
only 1 number in front of the decimal
 Large Numbers
• If the number you start with is greater than 1, the exponent
will be positive

• Write the number 39923 in scientific notation

• First move the decimal until 1 number is in front 3.9923

• Now add x 10

• Now count the number of decimal places you moved (4)

• Since the number you started with was greater than 1, the
exponent will be positive

• 3.9923 x 10 4
 Small Numbers
• If the number you start with is less than 1, the exponent will
be negative

• Write the number 0.0052 in scientific notation

• First move the decimal until 1 number is in front = 5.2

• Now add x 10
• Now count the number of decimal places moved (3)

• Since the number you started with was less than 1, the
exponent will be negative

• 5.2 x 10 -3
 Scientific Notation Examples
Place the following numbers in scientific notation
Note: all sig figs from the original number must be present!
99.343 ______________

4000.1 ______________

0.000375 ______________

0.0234 ______________

94577.1
______________
Going to Ordinary Notation Examples

Place the following numbers in ordinary notation:

3 x 106 ________________
6.26x 109 ________________
5 x 10-4 ________________
8.45 x 10-7 ________________
2.25 x 103 ________________