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What are significant figures?
Significant figures are the number of digits in a value, often a measurement, that contribute to the degree of accuracy of the value. We start counting significant figures at the first non-zero digit.
RULES FOR SIGNIFICANT FIGURES
1. All non-zero numbers ARE significant. The number 33.2 has THREE significant figures because all of the digits present are non-zero.
2. Zeros between two non-zero digits ARE significant. 2051 has FOUR significant figures. The zero is between a 2 and a 5.
3. Leading zeros are NOT significant. They're nothing more than "place holders." The number 0.54 has only TWO significant figures. 0.0032 also has TWO significant figures. All of the zeros are leading.
4. Trailing zeros to the right of the decimal ARE significant. There are FOUR significant figures in 92.00.
5. Trailing zeros in a whole number with the decimal shown ARE significant. Placing a decimal at the end of a number is usually not done. By convention, however, this decimal indicates a significant zero. For example, "540." indicates that the trailing zero is significant; there are THREE significant figures in this value.
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