Significant FiguresWednesday, August 12th

Do Now1. Place the following numbers in scientific

notation or standard Notation1. 750002. 1.4x10-4

3. 0.0005064. 10345000

2. Complete the following calculations:1. (3x10-3)x(1.5x105)2. (6x103)/(2x10-5)

Uncertainty in Measurements:Significant Figures

The term significant figures refers to digits that were measured,

When rounding calculated numbers, we pay attention to significant figures so we do not overstate the accuracy of our answers

Significant Figures1. All nonzero digits are significant.2. Zeroes between two significant figures are

themselves significant. (sandwiched zeros)3. Zeroes at the beginning of a number are never

significant. (leading zeros)4. Zeroes at the end of a number are significant if

a decimal point is written in the number. Otherwise, following zeros are insignificant

5. Every digit in the coefficient of a scientific notation number is significant

How Many Sig Figs?

How many sig figs?

Significant Figures When addition or subtraction is performed,

answers are rounded to the least significant decimal place.

When multiplication or division is performed, answers are rounded to the number of digits that corresponds to the least number of significant figures in any of the numbers used in the calculation.