Expressing Measurements and Use of Calculators

Year 11 Physics
Expressing Measurements
When you make a measurement, record all the digits that are certain, and one more in which there is
some uncertainty. You will than have recorded all the figures which are meaningful – all the significant
figures. The number of significant figures therefore tells us something of the accuracy or precision of the
measurement – a quantity measured to 4 significant figures (SF) has been measured more precisely than
one measured to 3 SF.
For example, consider the following measurements:–

3 6 4
3.28 6.03 4.00
Do not worry yet about where the decimal point is – there is no relationship between the position of
the decimal point and the number of significant figures. The position of the decimal point will depend on
the units chosen for the measurement, while the precision of the measurement has nothing to do with the
units. A book could be 300 mm, 30.0 cm, 0.300 m or 0.000 300 km in length – all of these represent the
same measurement made to the same degree of precision! (3 significant figures) As a further example the
numbers 3609, 0.3609, 36.09, 3.609, 0.000 3609, and 3 609 000 000 all have 4 significant figures.

The ZERO Problem

You can probably see that the presence of a zero can sometimes make it a little more difficult to
ascertain the number of significant figures in a number. This is because we allow the 0 do two jobs,
count, and mark the decimal place.
Sometimes it is obvious that a particular zero is NOT significant, as in the following example:–
0.003 72 m changed to millimetres is 3.72 mm – the leading zeros were there only to mark the decimal
place and so they are NOT significant.
Other times it is obvious that a particular zero is significant as in the following examples:– 3.075 m
and 6.40 mm.
However, in a number such as 3 000, which (if any) of the zeroes are significant? It is impossible to
tell just by looking at the number, so we shall adopt the convention that in numbers such as these, the
zeroes are NOT significant unless the rightmost significant zero has a line over it. Thus if the previous
example were written 300 0 , it would have 3 significant figures.

This can be summarised as follows:–

• All zeroes between significant figures are significant.
• No zeroes at the left hand end of a number are significant.
• All zeroes at the right hand end of a number are significant if they are to the right of the
decimal point.
• Zeroes at the right hand end of a number and to the left of the decimal point are
significant only if one has a line over it.

Year 11 Physics Page 1 Significant Figures

Exercise 1.
How many significant figures are there in
1. 1276 6. 11. 2.2
2. 25.48 7. 12.
3. 250.1 8. 186 000 13.
4. 250 9. 0.001 003 14. 2 200 090
5. 0.000 111 10. 2.200 15. 0.000 000 000 753 5
Scientific or Exponential Notation.
The use of Scientific or Exponential notation completely removes all ambiguity as to the number of
significant figures, and is also a most useful way of representing very small and very large numbers.
The exponential form of a number consists of two parts and has the form a ´ 10b where a is a
number between 1 and 10 and includes all the significant figures known about the number, and b is an
index which tells us how many times we must multiply (positive) or divide (negative) by 10 to obtain the
correct value of the number.

Examples:–
(1) 176 = 1.76  100 = 1.76  102 [Since 100 has two zeroes, the index of 10 is 2]
(2) 186 000 = 1.86  100 000 = 1.86  105 [The correct number of significant figures is shown]
(3) 0.004 9 = 4.9 ÷ 1 000 = 4.9  10-3 [The negative index shows that we must divide by a power of 10]
(4) 0.000 001 = 1 ÷ 1 000 000 = 1  10-6
Exercise 2.
Express these numbers in scientific notation:–
1. 300 4. 16 100 000 7. 0.000 183 9. 0.008 05
2. 85.00 5. 0.005 13 8. 0.015 5 10. 80.10
3. 186 251 6. 0.000 009 47
Change these numbers to non-exponential form:–
1. 7.46  10-6 4. 3.8  10-2 7. 1.77  101 9. 6.54  10-7
2. 1.00  10-3 5. 2.19  109 8. 4.628  10-4 10. 7.289  10-9
3. 5.05  104 6. 9.44  105
Calculations in Physics.
In calculations in Physics, you will often be faced with the question, “How many digits should I use
in the answer?” If in calculating the density of a substance, you had to divide 53.20 g by 21.1 ml, you
could obtain 2.52132..... g ml -1 with no end in sight. In fact if you were to continue dividing, you would
never finish.
Remember that the number of significant figures tells us something about the precision or accuracy
of a result, and so we must be careful to express the result of any calculation in such a way as to show the
precision or accuracy that can be expected.
We often apply a general rule to determine the number of digits in the answer:–

When multiplying or dividing any set of numbers, the product or quotient will contain the
same number of significant figures as the least precise component.

This rule is not exact – it is possible to find rare examples that do not follow the rule – but it is an
easy rule to follow.
In the example above, 53.20 has four significant figures, and 21.1 has three. According to the rule,
the answer should have three significant figures, and should be written as 2.52. This method gives us an
approximate idea of the precision of the result.

Year 11 Physics Page 2 Significant Figures

 When we add or subtract measurements, the result is again affected by the least precise
measurement, but in quite a different way. As an example, consider adding 12.45 and 3.546.
12.45 We know nothing about the thousandths in the first number, so 12.45
+ 3.546 therefore have no idea as to the number to be added to the 6. + 3.546
? Therefore we add the two numbers and round off the answer so that 15.996
its rightmost digit lines up with the rightmost digit of the first
number. which becomes 16.00
The number of significant figures in the answer will not necessarily be that of either the less precise
or the more precise number that you start with, but will depend on the positions of the last significant
digit in both. We must therefore say that 12.1 - 0.01 = 12.1

Rounding off numbers.

To round off a number, determine the last digit to be retained, if the next digit is less than 5, do
nothing; otherwise increase the digit by 1.

Example.
(1) 9.76539 rounded to 3 SF is 9.77. (3) 8.45 rounded to 2 SF is 8.5
(2) 7.114 rounded to 3 SF is 7.11 (4) 10.203 rounded to 4 SF is 10.20
Exercise 3.
Express the results of the following calculations to the appropriate number of significant figures.
1. 1.70  1.342 4. (4.530 + 12.537)  18.67
2. 1601.2  0.008400 5. (18.53 - 13.47) ÷ 3.451
3. 17.45 - 3.872 6. 18.53 ÷ 3.451 - 13.47

Use of Calculators
Calculators are immensely useful devices as long as they are used carefully. Just because 8 or so
figures appear on the screen is no reason to write them all down. The answer is wrong if an inappropriate
number of figures are given! Before writing down your answer, check the number of significant figures!
To use scientific notation with your calculator, use the EXP key. For example, to multiply 5.78 ´
104 by 4.396 ´ 103, press 5.78 EXP 4 ´ 4.396 EXP 3 =
However, be extremely careful when multiplying by a power of ten. The calculation 3.46 ´ 105 ´
10 can easily be done in your head to give an answer of 3.46 ´ 1012. A common error that students make,
7

however, gives the wrong answer of 3.46 ´ 1013. To perform the calculation 3.46 ´ 105 ´ 107 correctly
enter 3.46 EXP 5 ´ 1 EXP 7 =

Exercise 4.
1. What is the error that some unwary students make that gives the wrong answer of 3.46 ´ 1013 to the
calculation above?
Perform the following calculations, presenting answers to the appropriate number of significant figures:–
2. 1.4 ´ 10-27 ´ 3.56 ´ 1014 ÷ (3.42 ´ 104 + 4.645 ´ 103)
3. 1.6 ´ 10-19 ´ 9.0 ´ 109 ´ 4.000 ´ 3.1416
4. 9.1 ´ 10-31 ´ (3.0 ´ 1082´ 106
5. A piece of string is measured to be 17.3 m in length. A piece 53.5 cm long is cut from this string.
How long is the remainder?
6. A cyclist travels 3.20 km in 22 min 35 sec. What is the cyclist’s average speed?
7. A student measures a rectangular block as 25.3 cm long, 17.6 cm wide, and 7.6 cm high. Find
(a) The area of the largest face of the block.
(b) The volume of the block.

Year 11 Physics Page 3 Significant Figures

Important Metric Prefixes

Prefix Abbreviation Meaning Typical example

tera T ´ 1012 1 TeV = 1 tera electron volt = 1012 electron volts
giga G ´ 109 1 GHz = 1 gigahertz (radar frequency) = 109 Hz = 109 cycles/s
mega M ´ 106 1 Mt = 1 megaton (nuclear weapon TNT equivalent) = 106 tons
kilo k ´ 10 3 1 kg = 1 kilogram = 1000 g
hecto h ´ 10 2 1 ha = 1 hectare = 100 are; 1 hPa = 1 hectopascal = 100 Pa
deci d ´ 10 -1 1 db = 1 decibel (loudness of sound) = 0.1 bel
centi c ´ 10-2 1 cm = 1 centimetre = 0.01 m
milli m ´ 10-3 1 mA = 1 milliampere = 0.001 A
micro µ ´ 10-6 1 µV = 1 microvolt = 10-6 V
nano n ´ 10-9 1 ns = 1 nanosecond = 10-9 s
pico p ´ 10-12 1 pF = 1 picofarad = 10-12 F
femto f ´ 10-15 1 fm = 1 femtometre (approximate size of a proton) = 10 -15 m

Year 11 Physics Page 4 Significant Figures