Five significant figures.
The number three point one four one six has five significant figures because every nonzero digit counts as significant and the zero rules do not apply here. Each digit shown, three, one, four, one, six, represents a measured or known value, so together they tell us the precision of the number. You can think of significant figures like the number of meaningful digits that someone trusted when they wrote the number down. If a digit is written, it is assumed to contribute to how precisely the quantity is known.
A common mistake is thinking only the digits after the decimal point count, which is not true because digits before the decimal also matter if they are nonzero; remember, three in this case counts too. Another error is believing trailing zeros without a decimal point are significant, but they can be ambiguous unless a decimal or notation clarifies them; the fix is to use scientific notation or a decimal point to show intent. Some students forget that every nonzero digit is significant, so a short tip is to count all nonzero digits first and then apply rules for zeros.
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How many significant figures in 3.1416?
- Count every written digit
- Nonzero digits always significant
- Digits show measurement precision
- Written digits indicate known value
Common mistakes with significant figures
- Thinking only digits after decimal count
- Treating trailing zeros as significant ambiguously
- Forgetting nonzero digits are significant
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