1-3 with Microsoft word.

Significant figures A common problem facing all beginning science students is using significant figures correctly. A significant figure is one that is either known precisely or can be estimated accurately. When looking at a number it is important to recognize how many significant figures it contains because this tells you much about the kind of instrument that was used to make the measurement. The following guidelines indicate whether or not a digit is significant: (1) All non-zero digits are significant digits Example 1: 345.76 has five significant digits. (2) Zeros are significant if they: (a) are the last digit of a measurement as long as they are to the right of the decimal point (b) come between two other significant digits. Example 2: 3.70 has three significant digits. The zero is significant because it is the last digit. Example 3: 340.61 has five significant digits. The zero is significant because it falls between the 4 and the 6 which are both significant Example 4: 1.500 has four significant digits. The first zero is significant because it is between two other v digits. The second zero is significant because it is the last digit. (3) Zeros are not significant if they act as placeholders. Example 5: 0.035 has two significant digits. The zeros are placeholders for locating the decimal point. Example 6: 0.01060 has four significant digits. The first two zeros are placeholders and are not significant. The third zero is significant because it falls between two other significant digits. The fourth zero is significant because it is explicitly included as the last digit in a measurement