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?

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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?

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Scientific notation is a way of expressing numbers as a product of a coefficient and a power of ten, typically in the form a x 10^n, where 1 ≤ a < 10 and n is an integer.

Front

How do you multiply numbers in Scientific Notation?

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Multiply the coefficients and add the exponents. For example, (a x 10^m) x (b x 10^n) = (a*b) x 10^(m+n).

Front

How do you divide numbers in Scientific Notation?

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Divide the coefficients and subtract the exponents. For example, (a x 10^m) / (b x 10^n) = (a/b) x 10^(m-n).

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When adding or subtracting numbers in Scientific Notation, what should you do?

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Convert to the same exponent, then add or subtract the coefficients. The result should be expressed in scientific notation.

Front

What is the rule for Significant Figures in addition and subtraction?

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The result should have the same number of decimal places as the measurement with the least decimal places.

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What is the rule for Significant Figures in multiplication and division?

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The result should have the same number of significant figures as the measurement with the least significant figures.

Front

Calculate (2.45 x 10^4) x (8.78 x 10^6) and express in scientific notation.

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2.15 x 10^15

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Calculate (7.78 x 10^8) / (9.67 x 10^-9) and express in scientific notation.

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8 x 10^16