Significant figures are defined as the figures that are present in a number. It expresses the magnitude of a quantity to a specific degree of accuracy.
There are some rules to detect the significant figures in a number:
All digits ranging from 1 to 9 are always considered significant.
Every non-zero number is always considered significant. For example, 274, 2.74, and 27.4 all have three significant figures.
All zero’s that are present between the integers is always considered significant. For example, 5007, 5.007, and 50.07 all have four significant figures.
All zero’s preceding the first integer is never considered significant. For example, 0.0089 has two significant figures.
All zeros that are present after the decimal point are always significant. For example, 4.800, 48.00, and 480.0 all have four significant figures.
<u>Rule applied when numbers are added or subtracted:</u>
The number having less number of significant figures after the decimal point will determine the number of significant figures in the final answer.
