Significant Figures - Vocabulary Flashcards

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Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and rules about significant figures from the notes.

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12 Terms

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Significant figures

Digits in a measured number that include all certain digits plus a final digit with some uncertainty.

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Uncertainty (final digit)

The last significant digit that has some uncertainty.

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Leading zeros

Zeros on the left of the first nonzero digit; they never count as significant figures.

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Enclosed zeros

Zeros between nonzero digits; they count as significant figures.

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Trailing zeros

Zeros on the right; count as significant figures only if there is a decimal point present; otherwise, they do not.

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Exact numbers

Numbers that have infinite significant figures.

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Decimal places

Digits to the right of the decimal point; used to express precision and determine uncertainty in addition/subtraction.

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Addition/subtraction rule for sig figs

For sums/differences, the result should have the same decimal-place precision as the number with the largest uncertainty.

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Multiplication/division rule for sig figs

For products/divisions, the result should have the same number of significant figures as the factor with the fewest significant figures.

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Logarithm (base-10) and sig figs

If L = log A, the number of decimal places in L equals the number of significant figures in A.

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Antilogarithm and sig figs

If A = antilog L (A = 10^L), the number of significant figures in A equals the number of places after the decimal in L.

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Common logarithm

The base-10 logarithm, denoted as log.