Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Write the rules for determining significant figures.
Advertisements
Solution
(1) All non-zero digits are significant.
Example: 1342 has 4 significant figures
(2) All zeros between two non-zero digits are significant.
Example: 2008 has four significant figures
(3) All zeros to the right of non-zero digit but to the left of the decimal point are significant.
Example: 3070.00 has 4 significant figures.
(4) The trailing zeros are not significant, ie in the number without a decimal point. All zeros are significant if they come from the measurement.
Example: 4000 has one significant figure.
(5) If a number is less than 1, the zero (s) on the right of the decimal point but to the left of the first non-zero digit are not significant.
Example: 0.0034 has 2 significant figures.
(6) All zeros to the right of the decimal point and to the right of non-zero digits are significant.
Example: 40.00 has four significant figures.
(7) The number of significant figures does not depend on the system of units used.
Example: 1.53cm, 0.0150cm, 0.0000153 Km all have three significant figures.
(8) The power of 10 is irrelevant to the determination of significant figures.
Example: 5.7 x 102 cm has two significant figures.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
How many significant figures are present in the 0.0025?
How many significant figures are present in the 208?
How many significant figures are present in the 5005?
How many significant figures are present in the 126,000?
How many significant figures should be present in the answer of the following calculation:-
`(0.02856 xx 298.15 xx 0.112)/0.5785`
A man walking briskly in rain with speed v must slant his umbrella forward making an angle θ with the vertical. A student derives the following relation between θ and v: tan θ = v and checks that the relation has a correct limit: as v →0, θ → 0, as expected. (We are assuming there is no strong wind and that the rain falls vertically for a stationary man). Do you think this relation can be correct? If not, guess the correct relation.
It is a well known fact that during a total solar eclipse the disk of the moon almost completely covers the disk of the Sun. From this fact and from the information you can gather from examples 2.3 and 2.4, determine the approximate diameter of the moon.
State the number of significant figures in the following:
6.320 J
Solve the numerical example.
Nuclear radius R has a dependence on the mass number (A) as R =1.3 × 10-16 A1/3 m. For a nucleus of mass number A = 125, obtain the order of magnitude of R expressed in the meter.
Solve the numerical example.
The diameter of a sphere is 2.14 cm. Calculate the volume of the sphere to the correct number of significant figures.
