what does this mean? Easy question!

I had to make a data table for a lab report. The comment after a recieved the grade was "Careful of significant figures, you are only able to report these values with two significant figures."

Question

what does this mean? Easy question!


I had to make a data table for a lab report. The comment after a recieved the grade was "Careful of significant figures, you are only able to report these values with two significant figures."

anonymous · Answer

What does this mean?

nikolas · Answer

Have you learned about scientific notation yet? Significant figures are the "important" digits in a number - for example, 1100 and 11000 both have two significant figures, because they can be shortened to 1.1 x 10^3 and 1.1 x 10^4 . In scientific calculations you can (usually) only use up to the same amount of significant figures as your original data - otherwise you risk making rounding errors or inaccurate observations. Here are some websites where you can learn more: http://www.chem.sc.edu/faculty/morgan/resources/sigfigs/index.html http://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/exponents-radicals/v/significant-figures