Calculating Significant Figures

[ludrin8348]

Here are some tips to calculate significant figures:
*Any non-zero number is considerate significant (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,...)
*When a zero is found between two non-zero numbers, the zero is significant. (101, 3 sig figs)
*Zeros to the left or at the beginning of a number are not significant. (0.005, 1 sig fig)
*If a number is bigger than one, all zeros found in the right side of the decimal point are significant. (15.00, 4 sig figs)
*If a number is less than one, only zeros at the end of the number and between non-zero digits are significant. (0.050, 2 sig figs)
*When we see a number that does not have a decimal point, zeros at the end may or may not be significant. It is better to assume they are not significant or to change the number into its scientific notation form. (150, 2 sig fig or 1.50X10^2, 3 sig figs)
*Exact number have infinite numbers of significant figures. (2 cars)

I hope this is as helpful for you as it was for me :)

[lnlyzelda_3J]

Thank you for posting the rules for sigfigs. I had forgotten some of them and this was a very useful refresher.

[Alexandria Weinberger]

This was very helpful as I was getting confused after not doing these calculations in so long!

[Alex Nechaev 1I]

When working with significant figures in a problem, say, calculating the mass % of an element in a sample, always stick with the LEAST number of sig figs in the problem. For example, if an 8.00 g sample of Vitamin C contains 3.27 g of Carbon, 0.3661 g of Hydrogen, and 4.36 g of Oxygen, the least number of sig figs used for all 3 elements is 3. Therefore, any calculations you make using these numbers should result in 3 sig figs, no more.