Are we allowed to round when showing work?

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EricZhao3G
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2019 12:16 am

Are we allowed to round when showing work?

Postby EricZhao3G » Wed Oct 09, 2019 12:17 am

Let's say I didn't have one long line of dimensional analysis and instead first found one number before later using it again to calculate a final answer. Is it fine to show my work as rounded, even if I keep it exact in my calculator?

claribel charway 1I
Posts: 55
Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2019 12:15 am

Re: Are we allowed to round when showing work?

Postby claribel charway 1I » Wed Oct 09, 2019 8:12 am

I believe so. I usually do the same thing but on the test I'm going to show all my unrounded answers just in case. The most important thing is that you're not rounding before the final answer.

Lauren Tanaka 1A
Posts: 109
Joined: Sat Aug 17, 2019 12:18 am

Re: Are we allowed to round when showing work?

Postby Lauren Tanaka 1A » Wed Oct 09, 2019 10:38 am

I think it should be fine if you leave a rounded answer for the purposes of showing your work. However, do make sure that you use the unrounded answer for your calculations this will make the answer closer to the exact answer.

Robin Cadd 1D
Posts: 113
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:16 am

Re: Are we allowed to round when showing work?

Postby Robin Cadd 1D » Wed Oct 09, 2019 11:15 am

Yes, that's fine.

AArmellini_1I
Posts: 107
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2019 12:15 am

Re: Are we allowed to round when showing work?

Postby AArmellini_1I » Wed Oct 09, 2019 11:18 am

That's fine but while showing your work at least make sure to show your calculated value (at the shortest) at the required sig figs. But again like everyone has said, continue using the expanded value throughout your work

Diana Chavez-Carrillo 2L
Posts: 122
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:18 am

Re: Are we allowed to round when showing work?

Postby Diana Chavez-Carrillo 2L » Wed Oct 09, 2019 2:22 pm

I would personally say to write out your calculations exactly as you input them on your calculator ( unrounded) because if you do by any chance make a mistake with your sig figs in your final answer then your TA will look at your work (for partial credit) and by providing the unrounded values they will see your thought process and that you understood the concept and importance of not rounding until the very end.

Maya Beal Dis 1D
Posts: 100
Joined: Sat Aug 17, 2019 12:16 am
Been upvoted: 2 times

Re: Are we allowed to round when showing work?

Postby Maya Beal Dis 1D » Thu Oct 10, 2019 8:26 am

When using dimensional analysis, when you round it in the end make sure you round it to the same amount of significant figures as the value with the least amount of significant figures that you used in you calculations.

105335337
Posts: 103
Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2019 12:15 am

Re: Are we allowed to round when showing work?

Postby 105335337 » Thu Oct 10, 2019 9:28 am

Within your work, follow the sig figs, but when using your calculator, do not cut off the rest of the numbers. It will seriously skew your results.


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