Sapling HW #4

[alexandralopez 3F]

Hi guys! I was doing question #4 on the homework and got a little confused on the sig figs.

Would someone mind explaining why 950000 only has 2 sig figs compared 80060 having 4 sig figs.

Initially I thought 950000 and 80060 would both only have 3 sig figs

[Q Scarborough 1b]

950000 only has 2 sig figs because the last four zeros are trailing zeros. The only sig figs here are the 9 and 5. 80060 has 4 sig figs because the two zeros between the 8 and the 6 are significant. The last zero is not because it is a trailing zero.

[Gwendolyn Hill 2F]

Like stated above:
1. All non zero digits are sig figs
2. Zeros appearing anywhere between two non-zero digits are significant.
3. Leading zeros are not significant.
4. Trailing zeros in a number showing a decimal point are significant.
Hope this helps!

[Ven Chavez 2K]

80060 has four significant figures because zeroes that are between non-zero digits are considered significant. 950000 only has two significant figures because the zeroes do not come inbetween non zero digits. It is important to note that zeroes that come after decimal places would be considered significant figures but in both cases above there are no decimals.

[Lauren Mungo 1K]

Hi! 950000 only has two sig figs because it has two non zero digits and the rest are trailing zeros which are not significant unless there is a decimal present (i.e. 500.) 80060 has four sig figs because it has two non zeros digits with zeros in the middle and zeros between other numbers are significant!

[Anna_Mohling_1D]

Hi! Looking at the explanation for this question really helped me because it explained that all non-zero digits are significant, that zeroes between 2 non-zero digits are significant, and that trailing zeroes are not significant if there is no decimal point showing. So 950000 has only two sig figs as the trailing 0s are not significant (there is no decimal point showing) and then 80060 has four sig figs since the two zeroes between the 8 and 6 are considered signficant as well as the 8 and 6!

[Lily Mohtashami]

950000 has two significant figures because any zeros after integers without a decimal or number after them do not count as significant figures. 80060 has four significant figures for the same reason.

[Namratha Gujje]

In the number 950000, the first two numbers are significant since they are non-zero values. The zeros that come after it are trailing zeros so they are not considered significant. The only way they would be considered significant is if there was a decimal point after the final zero. 80060 has 4 sig figs because the zeroes between the 8 and 6 would be counted, but the final zero would not be since it is also a trailing zero.

[darchen3G]

Zeroes after the last nonzero number in whole numbers are not significant.

For example, 100, 1000, and 10000 all have 1 sig fig.
However, 100.0, 1000.0, and 10000.0 have 4, 5, and 6 sig figs, respectively.

[AmyHo2K]

Hi, 950000 only has 2 sig figures because the 0s are trailing 0s which doesn't count. 80060 have 4 sig figs because the 0s between 8 and 6 counts while the one after 6 does not.

[Caelin Brenninkmeijer 1G]

It's because there's no decimal placed after the numbers! 950000 only has two sig figs because of the trailing zeros. However, if a decimal were to be placed after 950000., then there would be 6 sig figs. Same goes for 80060. The two zeros count between the 8 and 6 because they're not trailing, unlike the 0 after the 6. Add a decimal and the sig figs go from 4 to 5!

[Christine Nguyen 3D]

I like to first see if there are any nonzero numbers because they are automatically considered significant figures. Any zeros in between significant figures are also considered sig figs as well as any zeros that are AFTER the decimal point.

[Kayla Booker 1F]

The zeros are considered trailing since there's no decimal placed, so you would only count the 9 and 5 as significant, but if there were a decimal placed anywhere in the number, every number would be significant.

[Quinton Sprague 1A]

Because 950,000 has no decimal placed, the four zeros following 95 are considered trailing and therefore insignificant.
This is the same case with the final zero in 80,060, because of no decimal place it is insignifant, while the two zeros between the very much significant 8 and 6 are considered significant as well because they lie between these two.

[Chudi Onyedika 3A]

If zeros are trailing without being after a decimal point, then they are not significant figures. Any non-zero number is a significant figure. Zeros between non-zero numbers are significant figures as well.

[Dominic Benna 2E]

A trailing zero without a decimal point does not make the number more precise, so they do not count as sig figs. The zeros are just place holders to show the true value of the number.

[jessicaosuna_1F]

Hi! the first only has 2 because any zero's that come after all other didgits are just placeholders (unless they have a decimal representing meaning to those specific measurements). The second number has 4 because the zero's are between two other numbers, indicating all of those digits were a part of the measurement and thus all 4 are sig figs.

[joshtully]

I was taught that "sandwiched" zeroes count as sig figs, so thinking of that always helps me.

[ZachMLB963]

Hiya!

950000 has four trailing 0s after two significant non-zero numbers; these zeroes aren't significant. If the number was 950000.0 with a decimal point, the trailing zeroes would be significant. 80060 has the same number of significant figures are 8006; there are two zeroes smooshed between two significant figures, and because they are smooshed those zeroes are considered significant.

[Bai Rong Lin 2K]

Hi guys! I was doing question #4 on the homework and got a little confused on the sig figs.

Would someone mind explaining why 950000 only has 2 sig figs compared 80060 having 4 sig figs.

Initially I thought 950000 and 80060 would both only have 3 sig figs

I believe this revolves with leading zeroes and trailing zeros, where 950000 the 4 zeros are just trailing zeros.

[Tobie Jessup 2E]

I also had trouble with this question since I hadn't worked with determining sig figs in a super long time but something that really helped me was understanding the differences between leading and trailing zeros, like some of our peers said above^

[Renny_kim_2G]

Trailing zeros with no decimal point are not significant numbers. That's why 950000 only has two significant figures. However, if there was a decimal, you would include the zeros because they are now significant. In the case of 80060, there are four significant numbers, which are "8006". This is because the zeroes are bounded by two non-zero, significant numbers. Hope this helps!

[Victoria_Sauceda_1B]

A rule with sig figs is that all numbers that aren’t 0 are significant. Along with any zero in between other significant numbers. It would be a good idea to study the rules because this concept is always going to come up.

[Jaclyn Schwartz 1I]

The reason that 950000 only has 2 sig figs is because it does not have a decimal after the last zero. So the only numbers that count for sig figs are 9 and 5 which make 2 sig figs. 80060 has 4 sig figs because in between 8 and 6 the zeros count. However the zero after 6 does not count because it floating. Hope that helped!

[Maryeli Garay 2H]

Hi!

I was confused with this question at first too. After doing some research I learned that every number that is not 0 is considered a sig. fig. However, zeros ARE considered significant if they are in between two non-zero digits. So in 950000, only the 9 and 5 are considered significant, because they are non-zero digits, and the zeros after the 9 and 5 aren't following a decimal. In 80060, the zeros in between the 8 and 6 are significant.

[Eric Tam 2D]

I don't understand why a trailing zero isn't a significant figure. If 950000 is different from 950001, then shouldn't all the digits be significant figures? Perhaps I misunderstand the purpose of significant figures.

[Teti Omilana 1G]

I am also a little confused by the previous question! Shouldn't all those trailing zeroes be significant since they change the number entirely or is that not the purpose of sig figs?

[Navdha Sharma 3J]

950000 has only two significant figures as all the trailing zeroes to the non-zero numbers are NOT SIGNIFICANT

80060 has 4 significant figures as the zeroes between two non zero numbers are significant. The last zero won't be significant as trailing zeroes to any non-zero number isn't significant.

[Kaiya_PT_1H]

I don't understand why a trailing zero isn't a significant figure. If 950000 is different from 950001, then shouldn't all the digits be significant figures? Perhaps I misunderstand the purpose of significant figures.

950000 only has 2 significant figures because it's only precise up to the ten thousands place. Basically, you don't know whether it's exactly 950000 or it's really 949000 rounded to the nearest ten thousand. To show that a measurement is exactly 950000, you would write it as "950000." with the period at the end. This indicates that you would include the trailing zeros as significant figures as well.

[Eric Tam 2D]

I don't understand why a trailing zero isn't a significant figure. If 950000 is different from 950001, then shouldn't all the digits be significant figures? Perhaps I misunderstand the purpose of significant figures.

950000 only has 2 significant figures because it's only precise up to the ten thousands place. Basically, you don't know whether it's exactly 950000 or it's really 949000 rounded to the nearest ten thousand. To show that a measurement is exactly 950000, you would write it as "950000." with the period at the end. This indicates that you would include the trailing zeros as significant figures as well.

Thank you for your explanation!

[Joshua Swift]

950000 only has two significant figures because trailing zeroes do not count. The only time trailing zeroes become significant is when a decimal point is present (950000.)

[Angela Marie Guevarra Dis3F]

950000 only has 2 sig figs since we only consider 9 and 5 as significant, seeing that we can rewrite it as simply 9.5 x 10^5. But with 80060, those zeros between the 8 and the 6 are important. We cannot simply write 80060 with only 8 and 6 without those two zeros, thus it has a total of 4 sig figs.

In conclusion: The 4 zeros in 950000 are trailing zeros and aren't after a decimal, so they aren't considered sig figs. The 2 zeros in between 8 and 6 in 80060 aren't trailing and are between 2 non-zero digits, thus they are considered sig figs.