Topic 2 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES (SFs or Sig Figs)

NOTES
How to determine the number of significant figures (sf) a measurement has
** Any non-zero number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) is ALWAYS significant. **
1. "Sandwiched" zeroes (zeroes in between two non-zero numbers) are ALWAYS
significant. EXAMPLE: 103 has 3 SFs 5007 has 4 SFs
2. “Leading” zeroes (zeroes to the left of a non-zero number) are NEVER
significant. EXAMPLE: 0.000375 has 3 SFs
3. “Trailing” zeroes (zeroes to the right of non-zero numbers) are significant ONLY if a
decimal point is written in the number. (Note: The decimal point can be located
anywhere in the measurement.) EXAMPLES: 50 has 1 SF 50. has 2 SFs 50.0 has 3 SFs
PRACTICE EXAMPLES:
a. 25 cm b. 30015 cm
c. 0.00123 in d. 400 g
e. 400. m f. 0.94600 mL
g. 2.70 x 1025 atoms h. 0.070500 km

Rules For Deciding How Many SFs an Answer Should Have...

** When multiplying or dividing...
Your answer must have as many SFs as the number in the problem with the fewest
(lowest) number of SFs.
EXAMPLE: 9.34 cm x 4.5 cm = calculator says 42.03
(3 SF) (2 SF) Must round to 2 SFs --> so, answer is 42 cm 2.
EXAMPLE: 2.494 m x 3.02 m x 5.125 m = calculator says 38.60085
(4 SF) (3 SF) (4 SF) Must round to 3 SF --> 38.6 m 3

** When adding or subtracting... Your answer must have as many places to the right of
the decimal point as the number in the problem with the fewest number of places to
the right of the decimal. EXAMPLE: 2.194 g + 25.84 g + 5.7210 g = calculator says
33.755
(3 places) (2 places) (4 places) Must round to 2 places --> 33.76 g
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SIGNIFICANT FIGURES WORKSHEET
Part 1 - Determine the number of significant figures in the following numbers.
1.) 0.02 ____ 2.) 0.020 ____ 3.) 501 ____ 4.) 501.0 ____ 5.) 5,000 ____
6.) 5,000. ____ 7.) 6,051.00 ____ 8.) 0.0005 ____ 9.) 0.1020 ____ 10.) 10,001 ____
PART 2 – Rewrite/round each of the following numbers so that it has 3 significant figures.

1.) 0.03006 _______________ 2.) 0.00041193 _______________ 3.) 10,800,000. ______________

4.) 0.90149 _______________ 5.) 2.195 x 102 _______________ 6.) 2.998 x 1021______________

7.) 0.007997 ______________ 8.) 8048 _______________ 9.) 90,185 _____________

10.) 699.5 ______________

Part 2- ROUNDING & SIGNIFICANT FIGURES WORKSHEET
Perform the following operations expressing the answer with the correct number of
significant figures. 1.) 1.35 m x 2.467 m =
2.) 1,035 m2 =
42 m
3.) 0.021 cm x 3.2 cm x 100.1 cm =
4.) 150 km3 =
4 km2
5.) 1.252 mm x 0.115 mm x 0.012 mm =
6.) 1.278 x 103 m2 =
1.4267 x 102 m
7.) 55.46 g - 28.9 g =
8.) 12.01 mL + 35.2 mL + 6 mL =
9.) 0.15 cm + 1.15 cm + 2.051 cm =
10.) 505 kg - 450.25 kg =
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DENSITY NOTES
The formula for density is: D= mass/volume
Remember... volume of a rectangular solid is (length x width x height)
EXAMPLE: A cube-shaped sample of gold has a mass of 65.78 grams. If each side of the
cube measures 1.50 cm, what is the density of gold?
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======= Part 3-DENSITY PROBLEMS WORKSHEET (round your answers to the
correct # of SFs)
1.) Determine the density of a rectangular piece of concrete that measures 3.7 cm by 2.1
cm by 5.8 cm and has a mass of 43.8 grams.

2.) Determine the density of a piece of granite that measures 5.02 cm by 1.35 cm by 2.78
cm and has a mass of 30.64 grams.

3.) Determine the density of a brick in which 49.92 grams occupies 4.01 cm 3.

4.) Gold has a density of 19.32 g/cm 3. Find the mass of 6.39 cm3of gold.

5.) Determine the volume of 6.37 grams of magnesium if its density is

1.29 g/cm3. 6.) Determine the volume of 15.64 grams of iron if its

density is 2.27 g/cm3.

7.) A graduated cylinder contains 30.0 mL of water. An object is placed in the cylinder
and the water level moves to 46.7 mL. Find the density if the mass of the object is
121.3 grams.

8.) A ball has a mass of 6.03 kilograms and a volume of 10.57 cm 3. Find the density of the

ball.

9.) A piece of wood has a mass of 5.75 grams and a volume of 0.95 cm 3. Find its density.

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====== PERCENT ERROR NOTES

Formula for % error: | accepted value - experimental value | x 100

accepted value
EXAMPLE: A student measures a sample of matter to be 9.67 grams. The teacher tells
the class that the actual mass of the sample is 9.82 grams. What is the student’s
percent error?

UNIT CONVERSIONS NOTES

T G M k h da base d c m m n p

EXAMPLES OF BASE UNITS ARE:

How to set up a unit conversion:
number and unit you are given appropriate # and unit you’re converting to
1 appropriate # and unit you are given
These numbers and units refer to a conversion factor
The numbers and units in a conversion factor must be equal to each other.
There will be different numbers and units, but the amounts must represent the same
thing. An example of a conversion factor: 12 eggs = 1 dozen (difft. #s and difft. units, but
values are =)
To solve a unit conversion problem:
~ Multiply the numbers across the top of the set up.
~ Then, divide by the number on the bottom of the set up.
To set up conversion factors for metric system unit conversions:
1.) Decide on the units for the numerator and denominator of the
conversion factor. Example: Problem asks to convert 4.5 grams (g) to
milligrams (mg)
Set up: 4.5 g mg = The unit on the bottom right side of the set-up
g should be the same as the given unit– always!!!
2.) To set up conversions between metric prefixes, look at the units in the conversion
factor. The larger scale unit will have a “1” next to it in the equality statement/conversion
factor.
Example: grams are larger than milligrams, so “g” will have a “1” in front of it.
Set up: 4.5 g mg =
1g
3.) The number in front of the other unit will correspond to the number associated with
the prefix.
 Example: milli- corresponds to 1 x 10 -3 (milli- = lowercase m in “mg”, meaning it’s
1000 times
smaller than a gram.)
Set up: 4.5 g 1 x 103 mg =
1g

4.) Multiply 4.5 by 1 x 103. Answer is 4500 or 4.5 x 103 mg.

For volume conversions, remember that 1 cm3 = 1 mL and 1 dm3 = 1 L (These are also
conversion factors.)
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Part 4- UNIT CONVERSIONS WORKSHEET

1.) 360 g to μg 11.) 18.05 m to Mm
2.) 0.00238 cg to g 12.) 3.80 dL to L
3
3.) 13.52 cm to mL 13.) 1.428 x 107 m to km
4.) 0.014 g to cg 14.) 30.2 μL to L
4 3
5.) 2.85 x 10 L to dm 15.) 4.06 x 1012 nm to m
6.) 41.5 mL to L 16.) 1.05 dm3to cm3
7.) 281 cm3to L 17.) 35.85 Mm to m
8.) 4.305 L to dL 18.) 4.32 L to cm3
9.) 61.2 mL to dm3 19.) 6.643 x 10-5km to m
10.) 1.832 L to mL 20.) 6.58 m to nm
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Part A - Unit Conversions
1.) 0.9785 kg to g 2.) 2830 mm to m 3.) 19.3
L to cL 4.) 3.4 g to Mg 5.) 6.75 x 105cm3to dm3
Part B - Tell the number of significant figures in each of the following
measurements. 6.) 48 cm 7.) 306.2 g
8.) 0.329 m
9.) 83.952 K 10.) 3700 mm 11.) 400.
cm3
12.) 71.60 g 13.) 82.000 g
Part C - Perform each of the following calculations, expressing the answer to the correct
number of significant figures.
14.) 3.482 cm + 8.51 cm + 16.324 cm =
15.) 8.3 m x 4.0 m x 0.9823 m =
16.) 4.93 mm2 =
18.71 mm
17.) 106.5 mL - 32 mL =
Part 5 - Percent Error
18.) Experimental value = 1.24 g, Accepted value = 1.30 g
19.) Experimental value = 22.2 L, Accepted value = 22.4 L
20.) A person attempting to lose weight on a diet weighed 175 lb on a bathroom scale
at home. An hour later at the doctor's office, on a more accurate scale, this person's
weight is recorded as 178 lb. Assuming that there was no real weight change in that
hour, what is the percent error between these readings?

Part 6 – Density
21.) What is the mass of a sample of material that has a volume of 55.1 cm 3and a
density of 6.72 g/cm3?
22.) A sample of a substance that has a density of 0.824 g/mL has a mass of 0.451 g.
Calculate the volume of the sample.