sig figs

[connie 2C]

can someone explain when to round off when using sig figs?

[Kehlin Hayes 4C]

The best measure of how many sig figs to use is to look in the question provided and use the smallest amount, it also helps to try and keep the number of sig figs consistent for all measurements.

[Emily_4B]

Yes as the previous post mentioned you want to round off your number of significant figures to the same amount of sig figs that the question has :)

[jeffreygong1I]

You should round off only at the very end and keep everything in the intermediate calculations(or keep, like, 2 extra decimal places, I guess).

[Kimme Chun 1I]

How do I tell what 0's are significant and which aren't?

[gferg21]

If there are zeros before the sig figs (like 0.0001), then all of the zeros are significant. If the number is an integer like 10, the zero is significant because there are no decimals. If it were 10.0, the last zero would not be considered to be significant unless specified by the question. If the number was like 0.100, neither of the zeros after the one would be significant.

[Lauren Bui 1E]

you should use exact values from the periodic table and avoid rounding or using sig figs until the very end. this will minimize rounding error :)

[Rebekah Alfred 1J]

How do I tell what 0's are significant and which aren't?

If you want to practice determining how many significant figures a number has, this could be helpful:
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic-home/arith-review-decimals/arithmetic-significant-figures-tutorial/e/significant_figures_1

[Joanna Mendoza 3J]

Some rules for significant figures: non zero numbers are always significant, any zero between 2 non zero numbers are significant, and trailing zeros after a decimal point are significant.

[Jasmine Kim 1L]

This is what I got from Appendix 1 (1C) in the textbook:
-Addition and Subtraction: round to the lowest number of sig figs after the decimal
-Multiplication and Division: round to the lowest number of sig figs in general

-Zeros between nonzero numbers (ex. 30.1): significant
-Zeros after the decimal (ex. 3.0): significant because they are measured
-Zeros before sig figs that are less than 1 (ex. 0.005): insignificant because they are just placeholders.
-Zeros after a whole number (ex. 100): ambiguous, can be considered as having only 1 sig fig unless there is a decimal (100. has 3 sig figs) or there is scientific notation (1.00 x 10^2 has 3 sig figs).

[Maya Serota 3G]

After reading these posts I am confused about whether or not a zero is considered a sig fig if there is a number like 13.0
Since the zero is trailing the decimal point would it or would it not be a sig fig when doing arithmetic calculations?

[Maya Serota 3G]

Will we be marked down on an exam for using the incorrect amount of sig figs in our answer?

[Paul Hage 2G]

After reading these posts I am confused about whether or not a zero is considered a sig fig if there is a number like 13.0
Since the zero is trailing the decimal point would it or would it not be a sig fig when doing arithmetic calculations?

In the example you gave (13.0), the 0 would be considered a sig fig when doing arithmetic calculations because it comes after the decimal point.

[Mitchell Koss 4G]

Also, do not worry too much as sig figs are not vital to test 1. Try your best but sig figs do not need to be absolutely mastered to score well on test 1

[Mitchell Koss 4G]

13.0=3 sig figs
13=2 sig figs
13000=2 sig figs
13000.=5 sig figs

[Victoria Otuya 4F]

Zeros are not considered a sig fig if it is in front of a decimal. For example, 0.245. Since the zero is in front of the decimal, it would not be counted as a sig fig. So in response the sig fig would be three. If it is still confusing, the link below explains it better than I do.

https://youtu.be/IIQPHC5gZT8

[Chem_Mod]

The best measure of how many sig figs to use is to look in the question provided and use the smallest amount, it also helps to try and keep the number of sig figs consistent for all measurements.

This is generally a great practice, however, there are slightly different sig fig rules for addition/subtraction versus multiplication/division.

Check out page 6 and 7 of this link for more info http://tournas.rice.edu/website/documen ... Rules1.pdf

[Chem_Mod]

How do I tell what 0's are significant and which aren't?

Here's a link with a good trick for remembering which 0's are significant. https://www.kentchemistry.com/links/Mea ... igfigs.htm

[Robin Cadd 1D]

Adding/Subtracting --> round to the least precise # (i.e. 4.23+4.542 = ? ; Your answer should have 2 decimal points)
v.
Mutiplying/Dividing --> # of sig figs in answer = least # of sig figs in whatever you're multiplying (i.e. 4.0*2 =8)

[rachel liu 3k]

Does anyone know if points will be taken off due to sig figs? My high school chem teacher was super specific on SFs.

[Tiffany Chao 2H]

When doing the actual work for the problem, don't round off and try to keep intermediate answers 3-4 decimal places. However, at the very end, you want to round off based on the lowest number of sig figs. If you don't know the rules for sig figs, I'd suggest you to look at Professor Lavelle's website link called, "Everything you want to know about Sig Fig"