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RM_Number Sense_ Significant Figures (1)

The document explains the concept of significant figures, which are the digits in a number that convey meaningful information about its precision. It outlines rules for identifying significant figures, including how to round numbers to a specified number of significant figures. Examples illustrate how to determine and round significant figures in various numerical contexts.

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Bhavya Sorathiya
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19 views3 pages

RM_Number Sense_ Significant Figures (1)

The document explains the concept of significant figures, which are the digits in a number that convey meaningful information about its precision. It outlines rules for identifying significant figures, including how to round numbers to a specified number of significant figures. Examples illustrate how to determine and round significant figures in various numerical contexts.

Uploaded by

Bhavya Sorathiya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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NUMBER SENSE: SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

In our day to day life, we come across numbers like 0.00107, 8345000, 102.453, 8.5 x 10-3 and many more while
expressing measurements of length, pressure, volume or mass. To deal with and carry out operations with such
numbers becomes tedious at times. It is possible that we will mess up and end with calculation errors. You may
think of using a calculator or avoiding a few digits so that calculations become easy. However, avoiding digits
cannot be done randomly. In order to do so, we need the concept of ‘significant figures’.

A significant figure is one that is known to be fairly reliable. Significant figures are the digits of a number that are
meaningful in terms of precision, or in other words, those digits which give us meaningful information about how
precise a calculation or measurement is. Sometimes we do not always need to give detailed answers to problems,
we just want a rough idea. When we are faced with a long number, we could round it off to the nearest
thousand, or nearest million. And when we get a long decimal answer on a calculator, we could round it off to a
certain number of decimal places. Another method of giving an approximated answer is to round off using
significant figures.

Example: With the number 368249, the 3 is the most significant digit, because it tells us that the number is 3
hundred thousand and something. It follows that the 6 is the next most significant, and so on.

With the number 0.0000058763, the 5 is the most significant digit, because it tells us that the number is 5
millionths and something. The 8 is the next most significant, and so on.

Be careful however with numbers such as 30245, the 3 is the first significant figure and 0 is the second,
because of its value as a placeholder.

We round off a number using a certain number of significant figures.

The most common are 1, 2 or 3 significant figures.

Remember the rules for rounding up are the same as before: If the next number is 5 or more, we round up. If
the next number is 4 or less, we do not round up.

What are the rules for identifying how many significant figures there are in a number?

All digits that are not zero are significant.


● Example: 16.2 (3 significant figures)
● Example: 18,648 (5 significant figures)

Zeros between nonzero digits are significant.


● Example: 103 (3 significant figures)
● Example: 100.01 (5 significant figures)

Zeros to the left of the first non-zero digit are not significant. They indicate the placement of the decimal point
only.
● Example: 0.02 (1 significant figure)
● Example: 0.00009 (1 significant figure)

A final zero or trailing zeros in the decimal portion ONLY are significant.
● Example: 16.0 (3 significant figures)
● Example: 16.0000 (6 significant figures)

When a number ends in a zero or zeros that are not to the right of a decimal point, the ending zero or zeros
may or may not be significant. To indicate significance, place the non-zero digits and all zeros into scientific
notation:
● Example: 160. (3 significant figures, because decimal is expressed. 1.60 x 102
● Example: 160 (2 significant figures - 1 and 6 - because no decimal is expressed, therefore the zero is not
treated as being significant.) 1.6 x 102

How many significant digits are in a given number?

3.14159 has six significant digits (all the numbers give you useful information)

1000 has one significant digit (only the 1 is interesting; you don't know anything for sure about the hundreds,
tens, or units places; the zeroes may just be placeholders; they may have rounded something off to get this
value)

1000.0 has five significant digits (the ".0" tells us something interesting about the presumed accuracy of the
measurement being made: that the measurement is accurate to the tenths place, but that there happen to be
zero tenths)

0.00035 has two significant digits (only the 3 and 5 tell us something; the other zeroes are placeholders, only
providing information about the relative size)

0.000350 (3.5 x 10-4) has three significant digits (that last zero tells us that the measurement was made
accurate to that last digit, which just happened to have a value of zero)

1006 has four significant digits (the 1 and 6 are interesting, and we have to count the zeros because they're
between the two interesting numbers)

560 has two significant digits (the last zero is just a placeholder)

560. (notice the "point" after the zero) has three significant digits (the decimal point tells us that the
measurement was made to the nearest unit, so the zero is not just a placeholder)

560.0 has four significant digits (the zero in the tenth’s place means that the measurement was made accurate
to the tenths place and that there just happen to be zero tenths; the 5 and 6 give useful information, and the
other zero is between significant digits, and must therefore also be counted).
How to round off a number to a given number of significant figures?

Rules for Rounding-off a Number: To round off a number to nth significant figures,

1. Discard the digit to the right of the nth significant digit.


2. If this discarded digit is:
○ less than 5, then leave the nth digit unchanged.
○ greater than 5, then increase the nth digit by one.
○ exactly 5, then increase the nth digit by one.

Example 1: Write 45.378212 correct to 3 significant digits/figures.


In this example, we have to round off the number to 3 significant digits/figures. So we look at the 4th significant
digit/figure.
The 4th significant digit is 7. Now, 7 > 5. So, add 1 (+1) to the previous digit which is 3.
So, 3 becomes 4.
The answer is 45.4 which has 3 significant digits/figures.

Example 2: Round off 1273.866 kg to 6 significant figures.


In this example, we have to round off the number to 6 significant digits/figures. So we look at the 7th significant
digit/figure.
The 7th significant digit is 6. Now, 6 > 5. So, add 1 (+1) to the previous digit which is 6.
So, 6 becomes 7.
The answer is 1273.87 which has 6 significant digits/figures.

Example 3: Express 1.0718 mg to 2 significant figures.


In this example, we have to round off the number to 2 significant digits/figures. So we look at the 3rd significant
digit/figure.
The 3rd significant digit is 7. Now, 7 > 5. So, add 1 (+1) to the previous digit which is 0.
So, 0 becomes 1.
The answer is 1.1 which has 2 significant digits/figures.

Example 4: Write Round 231.43 to four significant figures.


In this example, we have to round off the number to 4 significant digits/figures. So we look at the 5th significant
digit/figure.
The 5th significant digit is 3. Now, 3 < 5. So, 3 loses its significance.
The answer is 231.4 which has 4 significant digits/figures.

Example 5: 105.24 to 4 significant figures.


In this example, we have to round off the number to 4 significant digits/figures. So we look at the 5th significant
digit/figure.
The 5th significant digit is 4. Now, 4 < 5. So, 4 loses its significance.
The answer is 105.2 which has 4 significant digits/figures.

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