CHEM 001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Trailing Zero, Significant Figures, Decimal Mark

• School: College of The Sequoias
• Department: Chemistry (CHEM)
• Course: CHEM 001
• Professor: Rodriguez

Document Summary

These do not count as significant figures: 0. 048 has 2 sig figs, captive zeros are zeros between nonzero digits. These always count as significant figures: 16. 07 has 4 sig figs, trailing zeros are zeros at the right end of the number. They are significant only if the number contains a decimal point: 9. 300 has 4 sig figs, 150 has 2 sig figs, has 3 sig figs. (be aware, but avoid this!) Exact numbers have an infinite number of significant figures: 1 inch = 2. 54 cm, exactly (neither limits the number of sig fig when used in calculations). Example: 300. written as 3. 00 102. Number of significant figures can be easily indicated. Fewer zeros are needed to write a very large or very small number. In a series of calculations, carry the extra digits through to the final result, then round. Is less than 5, the preceding digit stays the same.