Significant

Figures
[Significant Digit, Rounding off, When
zero is Significant and when not?]
 Significant Figures
• What are • Significant Figures:
significant figures? • The value of a physical quantity is expressed by
Explain a number followed by some suitable unit, for
example: 2 kg, 5 m, 10 N etc.
• Every measurement of a quantity is an attempt
to find its “true value”.
• The accuracy in measuring a physical quantity
depends upon the following factors:
• the skill of the observer,
• the number of observations made,
• the quality of the measuring instrument.
 Significant Figures
• What are • Significant Figures:
significant figures?
Explain • Example 1: (LC of measuring tap = 0.1 cm)
• a student measures the width of a sharpener
as 1.8 cm using a measuring tape.
• The numbers of significant figures in his/her
measured value are two.
• The left digit 1 is the accurately known digit.
• While the digit 8 is the doubtful digit for which
the student may not be sure.
 Significant Figures
• What are • Significant Figures:
significant figures?
Explain
• Example 2: (LC of Vernier Calipers = 0.01 cm)
• Another student measures the same sharpener
using a Vernier Calipers and claims its width to
be 1.84 cm.
• In this case all the three figures are significant.
• The two left digits 1 and 8 are accurately
known digits.
• Next digit 4 is the doubtful digit for which the
student may not be sure.
 Significant Figures
• What are • Significant Figures:
significant figures?
Explain
• Example 3: (LC of Screw Gauge = 0.001 cm)
• Another student measures the same sharpener
using a screw gauge and claims its length to be
1.843 cm.
• In this case all the four figures are significant.
• The three left digits 1, 8 and 4 are accurately
known digits.
• Next digit 3 is the doubtful digit for which the
student may not be sure.
 Significant Figures
• What are • Significant Figures:
significant figures? • The number of significant figures increases by
Explain using a better measuring instrument of small
least count.
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Definition of Significant Figures
• “In any measurement, the accurately known
digits and the first doubtful digit are called
significant figures”
• The more significant figures means the greater
precision of a measurement.
 Significant Figures
• What are the rules • Significant Digits:
of significant digits?
• There are some rules for significant digits:
Is zero a significant
digit too? 1) Non-zero digits are always significant
a) 23 has 2 significant digits
b) 275 has 3 significant digits
2) Zeros between two significant figures are also
significant:
a) 2705 has 4 significant digits
b) 20007 has 5 significant digits.
3) Final or ending zeros on the right in decimal
fraction are significant.
a) 275.00 has 5 significant digits
 Significant Figures
• What are the rules • Significant Digits:
of significant digits? 4) Zeros written on the left side of the decimal
Is zero a significant point for the purpose of spacing the decimal
digit too? point are not significant. Here zeros are
placeholders only.
a) 0.05 has 1 significant digits
b) 0.034 has 3 significant digits
c) 0.003070 has 4 significant digits
 Significant Figures
• What are the rules • Significant Digits:
of significant digits? 5) In decimal fraction, zeros to the right of a
Is zero a significant significant figures are significant, for example:
digit too?
a) 2.00 has 3 significant digits
b) 3.700 has 4 significant digits
c) 23.300 has 5 significant digits
6) When a measurement is recorded in scientific
notation or standard form, the zero other than
the powers of ten are significant digits.
a) 8.700 × 104 kg has 4 significant digits,
b) 2.30 × 104 km has 3 significant digits,
c) 2.0 × 104 N has 2 significant digits.
 Significant Figures
• What are the rules • Significant Digits:
of significant digits? 7) In whole numbers that end in one or more
Is zero a significant zeros without a decimal point like 8000 kg
digit too?
• These zeros may or may not be significant.
• In such cases, it is not clear which zeros serve to
locate the position value and which are actually
parts of the measurement.
• In such a case, express the quantity using scientific
notation to find the significant zero.
a) 8000 kg = 8.000 x 103 kg, has 4 significant digits,
b) 8000 kg = 8.00 x 103 kg, has 3 significant digits
c) 8000 kg = 8.0 x 103 kg, has 2 significant digits
d) 8000 kg = 8 x 103 kg, has 1 significant digits
 Significant Figures
• How to round off • Rounding off the Numerical Values:
numerical values?
• Shifting of the given values to nearest whole number
is called rounding off of numerical values.
• While dropping the figures, the last significant figure
to be retained is rounded off by using the following
rules:
• Rule # 1: if the last digit is less than 5 then it is simply
dropped. This decreases the number of significant
digits in the figure.
• Examples:
1) 1.943 = 1.94 (up to 2 decimal places & 3 Sig.Fig)
2) 2.251 = 2.25 (up to 2 decimal places & 3 Sig.Fig)
 Significant Figures
• How to round off • Rounding off the Numerical Values:
numerical values? • Rule # 2: If the last digit is greater than 5, then the
digit on its left is increased by one. This also
decreases the number of significant digits in the
figure.
• Examples:
1) 43.78 is rounded off as 43.8
2) 24.763 is rounded off as 24.8
• Rule # 3: If the last digit is 5, then it is rounded to get
nearest even number.
• Examples
1) 73.650 is rounded off as 73.6
2) 54.75 is rounded off as 54.8
 Significant Figures
• Summary • In any measurement, the accurately known digits
and the first doubtful digit are called significant
figures”.
• All non-zero digits are always significant: 1 to 9
• Zeros may or may not be significant…!!!
• A zero b/w two significant digits is significant.
• A zero to the left of significant digits are not
significant
• In decimal fraction, zeros to the right of a
significant figure are significant
• Significant zeros depends on the least count (LC) of
the measuring scale
• In scientific notation or standard form, the zero
other than the powers of ten are significant digits.
 Significant Figures
• Summary… • Making is approximate value is called rounding off.
• Converting to a given value to a nearest whole
number.
• Rule # 1: if digit < 5, previous digit remains same,
• Rule # 2: if digit > 5, previous digit + 1
• Rule # 3: if digit = 5, previous digit + 1, if odd
• Rule # 3: if digit = 5, previous digit + 0, if even
• Decimal places matters a lot while deleting numbers