How many significant figures in 1.200?
Four significant figures.
Think of significant figures as the important digits that tell us how precise a number is, and for one point two zero zero the digits one, two, zero, and the last zero all count because the zeros come after a decimal point and after other digits; that means the number shows a measurement precise to the thousandth place. When you write numbers, every nonzero digit is important, zeros between nonzero digits are important, and zeros at the end of a number after a decimal point are important because they show how exact the measurement is. If a zero is only used to place the decimal, like in one hundred without a decimal point, it might not be significant unless you write it with a decimal or use scientific notation to show precision.
A common mistake is thinking that all zeros are never significant, which is wrong for trailing zeros after a decimal; to avoid this, remember that zeros after the decimal and after other digits are significant. Another error is assuming zeros at the end of a whole number are significant when the decimal point is not shown; if you mean them to be significant, write the decimal point or use scientific notation to make it clear. Students sometimes forget to count all digits in numbers written with scientific notation, so when you convert make sure to include the correct number of significant digits from the coefficient.
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How Many Significant Figures in 1.200?
- Significant figures show measurement precision
- Nonzero digits are always significant
- Zeros between nonzeros are significant
- Trailing zeros after decimal are significant
- Whole-number trailing zeros need decimal or notation
Common Mistakes with Significant Figures
- Thinking all zeros are never significant
- Assuming whole-number trailing zeros count
- Forgetting digits in scientific notation
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