What do you mean by a significant figure?
1 Answer
The meaningful digits in a number are called significant figures.
The number of digits in a number is called its number of significant figures. The number of significant figures in a measurement depends upon the least count of the measuring instrument. For example, the length of a scale is 2.17 cm when measured by vernier caliper and 2.176 cm when measured by micrometer screw gauze. Then significant figures are 3 and 4. The more significant figure precious value of a measurement.
Things to remember from Significant Figures & Error Analysis
- The number of digits in a measurement that keeps meaning in a sense either being part of its magnitude or explaining the precision of the measurement is called a significant figure.
- Significant figures explain the accuracy of a measurement.
- The result of a calculation involving approximate measured values of quantities must reflect the uncertainties in the original measured values.
- In addition, or subtraction, care only the numbers right to the decimal point.
- In multiplication and division, care for all the numbers in the problem (not only after or before the decimal point).
- It is important to note that the absolute error has a unit whereas relative and percentage error is unitless.
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