So for this example, you would enter 15.23 * 3.600 into the calculator.2648 to two significant figures is 2700Further explanationThe significant figures of a number are digits that carry meaning contributing to its measurement resolution. To use an exact value in the calculator, give the value to the greatest number of significant figures in the calculation. The number of significant figures is still determined by the accuracy of the initial speed value in m/s - for example, 15.23 * 3.6 = 54.83. For example, when using the speed conversion, you need to multiply the value in m/s by 3.6 if you want to obtain the value in km/h. They can be treated as if they had an infinite number of significant figures. So for this example, the final steps of the calculation are 12.1̲3 + 5.̲848 = 17.̲978 = 18.̲0.Įxact values, including defined numbers such as conversion factors and 'pure' numbers, don't affect the accuracy of the calculation. You shouldn't round the intermediate result and only apply the significant digit rules to the final result. Now, note that the result of the multiplication operation is accurate to 2 significant figures, and more importantly, one decimal place. For example, for the calculation 12.1̲3 + 1.7̲2 * 3.̲4, after the first step, you will obtain the following result: 12.1̲3 + 5.̲848. If, however, you do mixed calculations - addition/subtraction and multiplication/division - you need to note the number of significant figures for each step of the calculation. If performing multiplication and division only, it is sufficient to do all calculations at once and apply the significant figures rules to the final result. If performing addition and subtraction only, it is sufficient to do all calculations at once and apply the significant figures rules to the final result. So the result must also be given to three significant figures: 4.32̲1 * 3.1̲4 = 13.̲56974 = 13.̲6. For example, when performing the operation 4.321 * 3.14, the value with the least significant figures ( 3) is 3.14. The position of the last significant number is indicated by underlining it.įor multiplication and division operations, the result should have no more significant figures than the number in the operation with the least number of significant figures.
For example, when performing the operation 128.1 + 1.72 + 0.457, the value with the least number of decimal places ( 1) is 128.1. There are additional rules regarding the operations - addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.įor addition and subtraction operations, the result should have no more decimal places than the number in the operation with the least precision. For example, if the sample size is 150, the log of 150 is approximately 2.18, so we use 2 significant figures. When dealing with estimation, the number of significant digits should be no more than the log base 10 of the sample size and rounding to the nearest integer. For a very small number such as 6.674 x 10^^-11^^ the E notation representation is 6.674E-11 (or 6.674e-11). To enter scientific notation into the sig fig calculator, use E notation, which replaces x 10 with either a lower or upper case letter 'e'. What if a number is in scientific notation? In such cases the same rules apply. We simply round the entire number to the nearest thousand, giving us 3,454,000. Suppose we want 3,453,528 to 4 significant figures. Now we'll consider an example that is not a decimal. Next, we round 4562 to 2 digits, leaving us with 0.0046.
The trailing zeros are placeholders, so we do not count them. Suppose we have the number 0.004562 and want 2 significant figures. Our significant figures calculator works in two modes - it performs arithmetic operations on multiple numbers (for example, 4.18 / 2.33) or simply rounds a number to your desired number of sig figs.įollowing the rules noted above, we can calculate sig figs by hand or by using the significant figures counter.