Honors Chemistry 1.6 Working with Numbers
I. Significant Figures/Digits A. Def – all digits known plus one estimated one. 1. Measurements must have sig figs. 2. Be as accurate as you can.
2. Rules (pg.25-26) #1 All other/non-zero numbers are significant a. ex: 1,4,7… #2 Zeros may or may not be significant… a. leading zeros are not significant (sig fig) b. captive zeros are significant 2033 (sig figs)
c. After any non-zero number, trailing zeros following the decimal point are significant. ? (sig figs) 2.000? (sig figs) d. Zeros that set the decimal point are not significant. 470,000? (sig figs) 12,345,000 ? (sig figs) e. Zeros that show accuracy are significant. 470,000.? (sig figs) 12,345,000. ? (sig figs) 4.00? (sig figs)
3. Rounding with Sig Figs -Express the following #’s to 3 sig figs = 422,000 = 1 = 1.00 8222 = 8,220 0.42 =.420
4. Scientific Notation + Sig figs A. All #’s in the coefficient are counted as significant. B. Ex: x 10 3 = sig figs 5
5. Adding and subtracting A. The answer should be rounded to the same number of decimal places as the measurement with the least number of decimal places. B. Ex: (not )
6. Multiplication and Division A. The answer must not contain more sig figs than the least # of sig figs. B. Ex:3.1 x (not )
II. Percent Error Formula This number never counts towards sig figs
B. Examples 1. In class you determine the melting point of salt is 755 deg C. The actual value is deg C. What is your percent error? [|755 – | / ] x 100 = 6.2% error
In Class Problems 1. How many sig figs? a. 123 metersb meters c. 40,506 kgd x 10 3 kg 2. a b a. 3.4 x b / x x 10 4
In Class Answers: 1. a) 3 b) 3 c) 5 d) 4 2. a) b) a) 18 b)