Significant Figures and Scientific Notation

Front

What are significant figures?

Back

Significant figures are the digits in a number that contribute to its precision. This includes all non-zero digits, any zeros between significant digits, and trailing zeros in the decimal portion.

Front

How do you determine the number of significant figures in a number?

Back

Count all non-zero digits, any zeros between them, and trailing zeros in a decimal number. Leading zeros are not counted.

Front

What is scientific notation?

Back

Scientific notation is a way of expressing numbers that are too large or too small to be conveniently written in decimal form. It is written as a product of a number between 1 and 10 and a power of 10.

Front

Convert 0.000345 to scientific notation.

Back

3.45 x 10^-4

Front

What is the correct scientific notation for 15000?

Back

1.5 x 10^4

Front

How do you round a number to the correct number of significant figures?

Back

Identify the last significant figure you want to keep, look at the next digit to the right, and round up if it is 5 or greater, otherwise leave it as is.

Front

Solve & round to correct sig figs: 100 / 2.0 = ?

Back

50

Front

Which of the following is correct scientific notation? 20.35 x 10^4, .2035 x 10^4, 2035^4, 2.035 x 10^4?

Back

2.035 x 10^4

Front

How many significant figures does the number 0.002040 have?

Back

4

Front

Express 7.89 x 10^-8 in common notation.

Back

0.0000000789