Sig Figs in Tests

[Katherine Li 1A]

Hey, does anyone know if or how Professor Lavalle will grade sig figs in calculations for tests? Thank you!

[905574994]

Hi,

I don't think that he has specifically gone over this but to my understanding, I think we should always round our answer to the same number of sig figs as the given numbers in the question.

[JohnathanH_1H]

This question was brought up in my discussion today, and my TA said usually when rounding for sig figs you should try to match the amount of sig figs in the given information. So say a given mass was like 9.89 grams. You would try to round to have 3 sig figs.

[Ayla3H]

Hi! It makes sense to me that we would have to use the same number of sig figs as provided in the question. However, what if there are different number of sig figs provided? Do we convert our final answer to the lowest or highest number of sig figs provided by the question? Thanks!

[Sarah Wang 1I]

Hi! It makes sense to me that we would have to use the same number of sig figs as provided in the question. However, what if there are different number of sig figs provided? Do we convert our final answer to the lowest or highest number of sig figs provided by the question? Thanks!

If there are different number of sig figs, I think by convention we state our answer using the least number of sig figs provided by the question. However, I vaguely remember there being different rules for multiplication/division and addition/subtraction, so if anyone could clear that up that'd be great :)

[Phoebe Ko 3E]

As other comments have mentioned, I believe we round answers to the same sig figs presented in the question. I also remember that my TA said to not do any intermediate rounding until the very last step to ensure the accuracy of your answer. I hope this helped!

[Jelix Tsan 2H]

If there are different number of sig figs, I think by convention we state our answer using the least number of sig figs provided by the question. However, I vaguely remember there being different rules for multiplication/division and addition/subtraction, so if anyone could clear that up that'd be great :)

For multiplication/division, the number of sig figs our answer will have matches the sig fig number of the given number containing the least amount of sig figs. For addition/subtraction, sig figs in our answer depends on how many decimal places were present in the least precise given value. For example, the answer to 5.0 + 5.67 using sig figs would be 10.7, because our answer will only have 1 sig fig after the decimal.

[Xiang Li 2F]

For a question in the HW of week1, what is the difference between the significant figures of 95,000 and 95.000? How many significant figures do they have respectively?

[Sarthika Chimmula 3H]

For a question in the HW of week1, what is the difference between the significant figures of 95,000 and 95.000? How many significant figures do they have respectively?

95,000 has 2 significant figures, while 95.000 has 5 significant figures. The difference is that in the second number there is a decimal point, and you can only count the zeros that follow after a decimal point after a nonzero number as significant figures. If you have zeros that follow a nonzero number in a number that is not a decimal, then those zeros do not count as significant figures.

[505749458]

Hello!

In terms of significant figures, I would be mindful about what information is given. So if the question gives us a number with 3 sig figs, answer with three sig figs :) So far everything's been multiple choice so we'll see if we'll have to end up using them.

[andrea tarelo 3e]

My TA had mentioned that for now it will not be a significant part of the test since he is focusing right now more on the content that we are learning and not the sigfigs. However, I would keep sig figs in mind and not round until the very end of a problem/calculation.

[Edmond Chu 1C]

I believe Sig Figs are only important for your final answer and during the calculations, it is not as important. I always just do the sig figs at the end because I want my answer as accurate as possible.

[Parinita Jithendra 2A]

I don't think sig figs are stressed for the test since it is multiple choice, but it can be helpful when solving the equation. I also suggest not using sig figs until the end as it helps finding a more accurate answer!

[Daniel Li 3C]

I think on midterm 1 it didn't matter as much because it was all multiple choice, but I wonder how much it will matter in the future. I do think it is a good idea like other people said in this thread to not do sig figs until the end, as to carry out calculations as accurately as possible.

[Alice Weber 3I]

Hi! I don’t think it matters that much because our exams seem to be all multiple choice.

[605778346]

Hi, I believe that we should round our answer to the smallest amount of sig figs given in the equation.

[Maia Holmes Kueny 1C]

No. The tests are multiple choice.