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 many significant figures are in the number 216 m?

Back

3 significant figures.

Front

How many significant figures are in the number 1000 mL?

Back

1 significant figure (the trailing zeros are not significant without a decimal point).

Front

Convert 2.13 x 10^-7 to standard form.

Back

0.000000213.

Front

How many significant figures are in the number 0.000008?

Back

1 significant figure.

Front

How many significant figures are in the number 2016 m?

Back

4 significant figures.

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, using powers of ten.

Front

Convert 0.00045 to scientific notation.

Back

4.5 x 10^-4.

Front

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

Back

Count all non-zero digits, any zeros between significant digits, and trailing zeros in the decimal portion.

Front

What is the significance of significant figures in scientific measurements?

Back

Significant figures indicate the precision of a measurement and help communicate the uncertainty in the data.