0's

[Matlynn Giles 2E]

Do the 0's following the decimal place count as SigFigs? For example the 2 0's after the decimal in 20.00.

[Crystal Yu 1D]

Yes, 20.00 has 4 sig figs.

[Madeline Louie 1I]

Yes, the significant figures do count because there is a decimal. However, if there was not a decimal and it was only 20, there would be one significant figure instead.

[OwenSumter_2F]

To provide a bit of reasoning why, sig figs are used to show how certain you are of a certain number. So if a certain number i.e. 20 has two zeroes after the decimal place, it means you are certain that it is 20.00 up to those two decimal places. Rather than if you only had 20, you would be certain only rounding to 20.

[505352202]

So if we wanted to write 20.00 in scientific notation taking into account sig figs would it be 2.000 x 10^1? I thought trailing zeros were not significant

[Stuti Pradhan 2J]

Trailing zeros are not significant when there is no decimal point. For example, 200 would only have 1 sig fig because the trailing zeros are insignificant. However, since 2.000 x 10^1 has a decimal point, the zeros are significant. This is because 200 could be a rounded number or there is some other reason (maybe while taking measurements) that the number could not be found to more significant figures. However, a number such as 200. means that exactly 200 was measured. Similarly, in 2.000 x 10^1, the zeros at the end indicate that the measurement was found to the accuracy of 4 significant figures. That is why when there is a decimal, the zeros that follow are included when counting significant figures.

Hope this clarifies your question!

[rita_debbaneh2G]

When it comes to zeroes and decimals, all zeroes after a decimal point are significant. For example: 17.00. Also, when there are zeroes before a decimal point, they can be significant as long as they're "trailing" or the last kind of number in the value. For example: 170.00

[Bai Rong Lin 2K]

Do the 0's following the decimal place count as SigFigs? For example the 2 0's after the decimal in 20.00.

Yes it does, in this case it would have 4 sig figs

[George Hernandez 3I]

Trailing zeroes are not significant unless there is a decimal place. Otherwise, yes they are.

[TiffanyBrownfield 2I]

Yes, the decimal signifies that the 0's are part of a precise measurement, that is, they had a tool of measurement that could measure accurately to that extent. Without the decimal point, we don't whether it's actually accurate or if it was simply rounded for conveniency.

[Lillian]

Would the middle zeros have significance? like in 202.

[Shalyn Kelly 3H]

In response to Lillian's question, I believe they would be counted because the "outer" numbers (2 & 2 in this case) enact the sigfig rules. So, if you have 9,104 you'd have four sig figs.

[simona_krasnegor_1C]

In response to Lillian, "inner-zeros" are indeed counted for sig figs.

[tholz11]

Yes, the zeros "shown" after the decimal would count. i.e. 20.00 would have 4 sig figs (-:

[Michelle Nguyen 3F]

Trailing zeros after a decimal place count! 20.00 would count as 4 sig figs, but if there was no decimal place like 200, it would only be 1 sig fig

[Simi Kapila_3E]

Yes they do count, you have 4 sig figs since the 0's come after the decimal place.

[DPatel_2L]

Yes it would have 4 sig figs in this case.

[Morgan Gee 3B]

Any zero after decimal points are counted as a significant figure.

[jasonfarrales3D]

If a decimal point appears in a number, then all of the zeros in that number are included in its total amount of sig figs. For example, 2000000 would only have 1 sig fig because the number contains no decimal point, while 20.00000 would have seven total sig figs since there is a decimal point.

[alexandralopez 3F]

yes they are counted aftert the decimal

[Dane_Beasley_1E]

When there is a decimal point the trailing points are counted. Therefore, 20.00 has 4 SigFigs.

[Mehreen 3I]

Yes, since it is after the decimal it counts as a sig fig.

[Ryan Lafferty 1L]

Yes, 0s following the decimal point count as significant figures. In the example you gave (20.00) there are four significant figures. Hopefully this helps!

[Sanjana Sivakumar 2E]

Hello!

I agree with everyone's response on this thread. And I recently answered a similar question, so I'm gonna post the basic rules for significant figures (of which a lot of people in the thread have already said.)

- Any non-zero number is significant. Ex: 253 has 3 sig. figs.
- Any zeros that are between numbers is significant. Ex: 101 has 3 sig. figs.
- Leading zero are not significant. Ex: 0.03 has 1 sig. fig.
- Zeros to the right of the decimal are significant. Ex: 13.00 has 4 sig. figs.
- Zeros in a whole number with a decimal is significant. Ex: 230. has 3 sig. figs. while 230 only has 2

- In Scientific Notation, only the number you are multiplying is significant if the rules above apply.
Ex: 3.1415 x 1021 has 5 sig. figs (the 3.1415 part).

Also, as Jillian had said on the other thread: Dr. Lavelle has a review of significant figures on his website as well!

Hope this helps :)

[Molly Smith 1J]

Yes, they do count! 20.00 has 4 sig figs. 0s after the decimal are always significant. However, if there is no decimal point, the trailing zeros do not count as sig figs. To summarize:

1. Trailing zeros after a decimal point do count as sig figs
2. Trailing zeros with no decimal point are not significant (ex: 2000 has 1 sig fig)
3. One, final tip, zeros that are in between two numbers, for ex 208, are always significant.

Hope this helps!

[Kurosh Zamiri 1I]

Just to give a couple of clarifying examples.

20 has 1 significant figure, due to the trailing zero. A similar situation would be 200, 2000, 20000, etc, due to the trailing zeros.
20.00 has 4 significant figures due to the decimal. However, 0.0020 only has 2 significant figures because leading zeros are not significant.
210 has 2 significant figures, the trailing zero does not count. On the other hand, 201 has 3 significant figures because any 0 in between 2 integers is significant.

[Isabella Nassir 2B]

Yes, the zeros after the decimal place are considered trailing zeroes and they do count as sig figs.

[EvaHeinrichs3C]

Why are zero's after a decimal point considered significant figures? What is their purpose? Similarly why are zeros placed after a real number in a fraction/decimal significant figures? (For example, 0.0500, why does this have 3 sig figs rather than just one(this being the 5)?)

[isabella garcia - 1G]

Why are zero's after a decimal point considered significant figures? What is their purpose? Similarly why are zeros placed after a real number in a fraction/decimal significant figures? (For example, 0.0500, why does this have 3 sig figs rather than just one(this being the 5)?)

If I'm not mistaken, I believe significant trailing zeros are in place to demonstrate the precision of the measurement.

[Sneha Anantharaman2D]

The trailing zeros are typically to show precision of measurement. For example, 0.05 is less precise than 0.0500, and using sig figs, you can show this precision.

[Isabelle Kim 3E]

Yup! You wouldn't count them as sigfigs if no decimal point was there. For example - 200 (2 is the only sigfig, while the two trailing zeros are not)
Also, the zeros that are in between other non-zeros would be sigfigs (e.g. 202)

[Ashley Wilson 2L]

In general, non-zero digits are always significant. Zeros are only significant when they are between significant digits, followed by a decimal point, or located to the right of the decimal point.

[Ivy Vo Dis 1C]

Yes, the value 20.00 has four sig figs. The zeros following a decimal count as sig figs if the number to the left of the decimal is positive. For example, 0.006 only has one sig fig. Meanwhile, 1.006 has 4 sig figs.