Numbers in Science

HOME

Course Chapters

Calculator Fundamentals

Mathematics Review

Section Tests

Useful Materials

Glossary

Online Calculators

Redox Calculator

Kinetics Arrhenius Calculator

Thermodynamics Calculator

Nuclear Decay Calculator

Linear Least Squares Regression

Newton's Method Equation Solver

Compressibility Calculator

Units Conversion Calculator

Nomenclature Calculator

Related Information Links

Texas Instruments Calculators

Casio Calculators

Sharp Calculators

Hewlett Packard Calculators

Credits

Contact Webmaster

Problem 1 Solution

There are 365.25 days in a year and 1440. minutes in a day. How many significant digits are in 365.25? How many are in 1440?

365.25 has 5 significant digits,  1440. has 4 significant digits

Solution Steps for Problem 1

The key: Remember the definition of significant digits. When a number is reported, the decimal point matters, but "place holding zeros" do not count.

In the first case, there are clearly 5 significant digits.

In the second case, since the number is followed by a decimal point, that means that the 0 in the units place is significant. Plus you know that there are 24 * 60 minutes exactly in a day by definition, so there are exactly 1440. minutes, and you can be sure that this is a counting number, not a measurement.

Try another problem like this one.

Next Try It Out Problem.

Developed by

The Shodor Education Foundation, Inc.
in cooperation with the Department of Chemistry,
Appalachian State University