Video Transcript
Determine the number of significant
figures in the following measurement, 0.007. Determine the number of significant
figures in the following measurement, 14540.00. Determine the number of significant
figures in the following measurement, 8.0 times 10 to the fifth. Determine the number of significant
figures in the following measurement, 57.0320. Determine the number of significant
figures in the following measurement, 600.24.
Starting with our first number,
0.007, we identify seven as significant because it’s a nonzero digit. The other digits, based on the rule
that leading zeros are not significant, are not significant figures themselves. So, this number has one significant
figure.
Looking at our next number,
14540.00, we know the one, four, five, and four are significant since they’re
nonzero. And the three trailing zeros,
because this number has a decimal point, are also significant. This means that all seven figures
in this number are significant.
In the third number, 8.0 times 10
to the fifth, eight is significant because it’s nonzero. And the zero is significant because
it trails a number that has a decimal. The reported exponent, 10 to the
fifth, does not add precision to this number. So, it has two significant
figures.
In the fourth value, 57.0320, we
highlight the nonzero numbers as significant. The first zero is also significant
because it’s surrounded by nonzero numbers. And the last zero is significant as
well because it’s a trailing zero in a number with a decimal point. So, all six of the figures in this
number are significant.
Looking at our last number of
600.24, the six, two, and four are significant because they’re nonzero numbers. And the two zeros are also
significant because they have nonzero numbers on either side. This means there are five
significant figures in this number.
