2. Significant Figures.
A simple way of indicating the uncertainty
associated with an experimental
measurement is to round the result so that
it contains only significant figures
4. Rules…
Rules for determining the number of
significant figures
1. Disregard all initial zeros
2. Disregard all terminal zeros unless they
follow a decimal point
3. All remaining digits including zeros
between non zero digits are significant
5. Continued…
A zero can be a significant part of the
measurement (and therefore included in
number as a significant figure) or it could
be used merely to place the decimal
point (in which case it is not included as a
significant figure)
