The simple rule is: no more significant figures than the least accurate of the values in the computation. For multiplication and division, the result should have as many significant figures as the measured number with the smallest number of significant figures. For addition and subtraction, the result should have as many decimal places as the measured number with the smallest number of decimal places. (Rounding off can be tricky, but that would be another thread)
because you are stupid...
If your question was 'what is 216 to one significant figure', the answer would be 2. This is because the two means two hundred. If your number was 0.216 and you had to round it to one significant figure it would also be 2, but if your number is 0.203 and you had to round it to two significant figures you would say 20 this is because you only count the zeros as significant figures after an actual number. For example; 0.31 to two significant figures would be 31 but 0.301 to two significant figures would be 30.
You make you're calculations using has many (or more) significant figures as requested without any further considerations until you get to the final result... You reduce the final results significant figures to the requested one or add zeros at the end to match it if it is an exact result
The number of significant figures in 5100 kg depends on how the number is presented. If it is written as 5100 with no decimal point, it typically has two significant figures. However, if it were presented as 5.100 x 10^3 kg or 5100. kg, it would imply four significant figures. Therefore, the context or notation used is crucial to determining the exact count.
The rules for identifying significant figures when writing or interpreting numbers are as follows: All non-zero digits are considered significant. For example, 91 has two significant figures (9 and 1), while 123.45 has five significant figures (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). Zeros appearing anywhere between two non-zero digits are significant. Example: 101.1203 has seven significant figures: 1, 0, 1, 1, 2, 0 and 3. Leading zeros are not significant. For example, 0.00052 has two significant figures: 5 and 2. Trailing zeros in a number containing a decimal point are significant. For example, 12.2300 has six significant figures: 1, 2, 2, 3, 0 and 0. The number 0.000122300 still has only six significant figures (the zeros before the 1 are not significant). In addition, 120.00 has five significant figures since it has three trailing zeros.
addition multiplication division subtraction
When adding or multiplying numbers, the result should have the same number of decimal places as the number with the fewest decimal places. For addition, the result should have the same number of significant figures as the number with the fewest significant figures. For multiplication, the result should have the same number of significant figures as the number with the fewest significant figures.
Three - all nonzero digits are not significant.
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You count the number of figures from left to right starting with the first number different from 0. Example: 205 has 3 significant figures 0.0000205 has 3 significant figures 0.000020500000 has 8 significant figures
When performing addition and subtraction operations with measurements of different significant figures, the result should be rounded to the same number of decimal places as the measurement with the fewest significant figures.
because you are stupid...
see the link below
The number 1.84 x 103 has three significant figures, 1.84. The 103 part of the number does not count when determining significant figures.
Students often struggle with determining the correct number of significant figures to use when adding or multiplying numbers. This can lead to errors in calculations and incorrect final answers. Additionally, students may find it challenging to properly round their final answers to the correct number of significant figures. Understanding the rules for significant figures and applying them correctly can be a common challenge for students in these types of problems.
The answer depends on what operations were used. There should normally not be more significant figures in the answer than in any of the numbers used in the calculation.
When performing mathematical operations with significant figures, the result should be rounded to the least number of decimal places in the original numbers. Addition and subtraction should be rounded to the least number of decimal places, while multiplication and division should be rounded to the least number of significant figures.