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Rules for rounding off numbers. If the digit to be dropped is greater than 5, the last retained digit is increased by one. For example, 12.6 is rounded to 13. If the digit to be dropped is less than 5, the last remaining digit is left as it is. For example, 12.4 is rounded to 12.
There are three rules on determining how many significant figures are in a number: Non-zero digits are always significant. Any zeros between two significant digits are significant. A final zero or trailing zeros in the decimal portion ONLY are significant. Focus on these rules and learn them well.
Scientific notation, significant figures and rounding . Scientific or Standard Notation is best used to express very large or very small numbers in a compact, easy to read form, but can be used on any numbers. Simply, the basic format of the notation is + n-> a positive index indicates a large number. a 10× n
Use the order of mathematical operations to determine which order to apply the rules for addition/subtraction (determine the number of sig figs for that step) or the rules for multiplication/division.
Significant Figures and Rounding – Explanations and Examples Read pages 18-22 in your Lab Manual for a more thorough discussion of the meaning of significant figures and how it relates to accuracy, precision, and error.
Applies when there is only one figure after the number of decimal places or significant figures being considered and that figure is a 5. Rule: Round to the nearest even number
The following rules are used to round-off final answers to their correct number of digits. If the digit following the last number to be retained is less than 5, all the unwanted digits are discarded and the last number is left unchanged.
