CHAPTER 4

SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

'Thc numbcrs that we dcal with in gencral chcmisrry can bc dividcd

into two broad catcgorics. Somc numbtrs arc' by thcir naturc, cxact'
Whcn wc lay thai thcrc'arc'&ao cruciblcs ory'r.'a bcakcrs in a laboratory
tockcr. *c indicatc cxactly how many such itcms vic havc' ' Othcc numbcrs
arc increctl whcn wc'rcfer to a "100 ml bcakcr," wc do not imply thar ir
has a volumc o[ cxactly 100 millilitcrs- I[ wc fill thc bcakcr with watcr we
may find that it holds as tittlc as 90 ml or as much as I l0 ml'
. Animponant tyPc of cxact numbcr is onc that is uscd to rctatc units
within thc samc mcasuring 3ystcm. Whcn wc say that:

Itt - 12in
lA - I x l0-'crir
thc numbcrs 12 and I x t0-' irc cxact; ahcf arisc bccausc of thc way thc
inch and thc Angstrom (A) arc dc6ncd. On thc othcr hand, thc numbcrs
which arc uscd to relatc units in two diffcrcnt mcasuring systcms arc in'
exact. Forcxamplc, whcn wc say that

I in'= 2.54 cm

wc do not mcan that onc inch is cxactly cqual to 2-54 ccntimetcrs. Thc
two units, thc ccntimctcr and thc inch. arc dcfincd indcpcndcntly of onc
anothcr; thcrc arc apprctiiakl12.54 ccntimctcrs in onc inch'
Numbcrs which arisc from cxpcrimcntal mcasurcmcn(s arc always in-
cxact. Thc unccrtainty in a measurcmcnt dcPcnds uPon thc skill of thc
cxpcrimcntalist and lhc scnsitiyitl of rhc instrumcnt hc uscs. If
w6 p616
askcd to wcigh out a samplc o[ sodium chloridc on a triplc bcam balancc,
4t
 CHAPTER 1
42
Pcrhaps wc
we migh( bc ablc ro cstablish its wcight to within 0'01 g'
would rcPon that it wc-ighcd 1

2.65 + 0.01g

lf wc nccdcd to know the mass morc accur:rtcly, wc'could usc a batancc

with a sinsitivity of 0.001 g, in which casc wc might find that the ramplc
wcighcd:
+ 0.001g
..?.632
Analyticalbalanccscapablcotwcighingto+O'0OOIgarcrcadilyavailabtc;
,rsir,i such a balancc, wc mighr rcPof thc mass to bc:

I 2.6518 * 0.0001 g

thc validity
From thc standpoint o[a pcrson who is trying to estimatc
,.p.", it in anothcr laboratory, it is imponant that
of an.cxpcrimcnt.or-to
*. rpi.iry ,t. ,rnc.n"ir,ty associatcd with e mcasurcmcnr' One way to do
thc *0'01'
t,ti, i. ,o ."...,hc'+ notaiion just'shoirn' .Frcqucntty' wc omit
*0.00t, and so gn, and simPlY rcPon:

2$is; 23529i 2-6518 g

with rhc undcrstanding.rhat there is an urctlainty o! ont unit ;a $c

qil !igi/,' '
wc irnpty
il;; ;. say tha( " srlplc of sodium chloride wcighs'"2'65'g"'
rhat its mass is bctwccn 2'64 g and 2'66 g'
Thcprccisiono[mc,sur-cmcntssuchasthiscanalsobcdcscribcdin
,..-, oi,i . numbcr of signiGcant 6gurcs' wc rhat in "2'65 g" thcrc
-slY
is cxpcrimcntally sig-
arc thrcc signiFcant 6g,,..s; cach ofthc rhrcc digits
g" "2'6518 g" arc guotcd ro 4 and 5
ni6cant. Thc masscs "2'6i2 and
;;;.;",'il,rr.r r.rp..,i'.lyl implying succcssivcly highcr dcgrccs of'
prccision.
Wc shall 6nd thc conccPr of rigniEcant figurcs a
vcry usclul onc in
nor only of individual mcasurcmcnts' but
.rp..rring rhc rcproducibiliri'.
quantitics bascd upon 5uch mcasurcmcnts' In this chap-
or;"i'.rrt"tcd
"tJo *. ,t rtt b. corrccmcd sirh rhc usc of significant figurcs as a mcasurc of
,"r.
cxpcrimcnral prccision' Larcr. in Chaprcr ll'
wc will- Prcscnt a morc
sophisticatcd lrc.trrEr[ of rhis toph bard on raristical principlcs'

4.1 COUNTING SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

sig-
Frcgucntly, *r ert laccd rvith ttrc pro'blcm of dcciding how-many
nificanrngrrr.t,-h.r.ertirrenumbcrwhi:lrariscsfromaricxpcrimcntpcr'

E
S'GN'F'Q{NT f'GURES 43

formcd by anothcr pcrson. [n many casct. lhcrc is no ambiguity' Whcn

wc 6nd in a tablc thc atomic wcight of catcium listcd as {0'08, wc trust
that it is known to four significant 6gurcs-
Whcn cithcr thc 6rst or thc last digit in an cxpcrimcntal quant itv .is
zcro. thc numbcr of significant figurcs may noi bc immcdiatcly obwious.
Cammon scnsc is an invaluablc guidc hcrc. Whcn wc 6nd thc atomic
wcight of krypton listcd as 81.80, it should bc clcar that.it is knowh to lour
significant figurcs. If thc zcro wcrc not signiEcant. thcrc rvould brc no
rcason for inctuding it. Writing '81.80" implics that thc iruc valuc o[ thc
atomic wcight of krypton tics bctwccn 8J.79 and 81.8 I '
In a slightly lcss obvious casc, supposc wc arc told that thc volume of a
ccrtain objcct is 0.02461 litcrs. Is thc zcro immcdiately to thc right o[ the
dccimal point significan(? A momcnt! rcflcction should convincc you that
it is not; in this casc, rtc <cro it uscd imp$ to jx rtc poritioi ol ihc dccina! point-
To makc this conclusion mor obvious. suPPosc lvc wcrc to c'tprcss thc
volumc in millilitcrs rathcr than.litcrs. Sincc I lircr - 1000 ml. thc volumc
would now bc 24.61 ml, with four significant Fgurcs clearlv indicarcd.
Sincc wc cannot changc thc prccision of a mcasurcmcnt by changing thc
units in which it is rcponcd. lhcrc must also bc four signiEcant figurcs
in rhc quantity 0.02461 litcrs.
Supposc wc arc told to wcigh out i00 g of sodium chloride for a ccr'
tain cxpcrimcnt- To how many lignificant figurcs arc wc (o makc this
mcasurEmcnt: onc? two? thrcc? Unfonunatcly' wc cannot ansrver lhis
qucrtion unlcss wc arc ablc ro rcad thc mind of thc pcrson who rvrotc thc
dircctions for thc cxpcrimcnt. Hc might havc mcant to wcigh out roughly
a quantity bctwccn 400 and 600 g, i.c., 500 * 100 g. lf so. therc is one sig'
niEcant 6gurc. On thc othcr hand. wc may bc cxpcctcd ro wcigh lo 4 l0 g
(2 significant 6gurcs). Thcn again, pcrhaps wc are suPPoscd to wcigh to
thc ncarcs( gram, in which casc thc numbcr "500" has thrcc signiEcant
figurcs. About all wc can do in cascs likc rhis is to wish that thc Person
giving rhc dirccrions had cxprcsscd thc mass in' standard cxponential
notation as:

5 x l0tg (l significant figurc)

or: 5.0 x l0'g (2 significant figurcs)

or: 5.00 x l0r g (3 significant 6gurcs)

in which casc thcic would havc bccn no ambiguiry.

Exompl.e 4.1 How many significant figurcs arc thcrc in:

r. x l0-r g
1.204 c. 0.NZE| g
b. 3:16O x l0'A d. 810 ml
 CHAPTER 1
Solution
a. All digirs arc significanr; 4.
b. Atl digits arc 3igni6cant; 4.
c. Ttrrcc- The zcros scrvc onty to 6x thc position of rhc
dccirnal poinu
d. Pcrhaps2 (8.1 x l0r mt)or3 (8.t0 x lOt ml).

: Occasionally, you may bc askcd a qucsri6n such as. ..How many

grams of carbon dioridc can be produccd from onc gram of carbon?" tn
a casc rhil whcrc lhc numbcr is writtcn outr you are to assumc
such as
rhar it is cracr. Esscnrially,
you are bcing.asked a rhetoricat gucsrion,
"How much carbon dioxidc could bc produccd from onc gram of carbon if
ir could bc wcightcd our exacrly?t' For calcutation purposcsi wc assumc
an inGnite number of significant figurciiii tiic numbcr ..onc,,' just as wc
consider the number "l2" in thc dcfining equation:

lft-12;n
to hivc an inhnirc numbcr ofsignificanr 6gurcs.

EX.ERC'SES

-. Givc thc numbcrof significanr figurts in:

: l- 12.82 lir 6- 0.0559 g
2. 3.19 x tOrr aroms 7.2.92 x t02 g
3. 4.300 x l0-'cm 8. 4.1 lit
. 4. 0.00641 g 9. 0-0002 cm
5. 8.2134 x l0-! m t0. 450 g

4.2 MULTIPTICATION AND DIVISION

Mosr of thc quanritics that wc mcasurc in rhc laborarory arc not cnd
rcsults in thcmsclvcs; rhey art used to catculate othcr quanritiis. Wc may,
lor cxamplc. mukipl,r. rhc lcngth of a picce of tin foil by its widrh to dctcr-
minc iis arca. ln anorhcr casc, wc may dividc the mass of a sample by its
volumc ro dcrcrminc irs dcnsiry.
Whcn wc muhiply or dividc lwo cxpcrimental guanrirics, both of
which arc incxacr. thc producr or quoticnr is incxacr. Thc rlucstion ariscs
as lo hou'grcar an crror is inrroduccd by thcse opcrations. To answcr this
qucslionr ir wilt bc h:lpful ro work through a spccific cxamplc. I.ct us
supPose that wc havc mcasurcd thc mass and votumc of a..samplc and
(ound them to bc i-80 *0.0t g and 2.6 +0.1 ml,
rcspectively. Thc dcnsiry,
louod by dividing mass by volumc. ihould bc approximarcty (5.S012.6l
g/ml. Howcvcr, raking inro accounr thc unccrtaintics in the expcrimcntal
 45
S'GN'ACANT f'GURE5
quantitics. wc rcalizc rhat thc dcnsity might bc as largc
as (5'81/2'5)
yml or as small as (5.7912-71 glml. Carrying out thcsc divisions' wc
obtain:
2)2.'-' 2'Zl"'' 2'14"'
2.5)ffi 2-6)130 2:1516

C,omp:ring thcsc thrcc guoticnts, wc concludc that

thc dcnsity is (2'2
rhc vblumc' is known to 2
*O.f)S/rit. ln othcr words. thc dcnshy. tikc
significrnt figurcs.
This cximplc illustratcs a.gcncral rulc for rhc muliplicarion.or
divi-
sionofincxact n,rmb.rs. ln gcicral. wc should rctain in thc
product or
quoticot thc number of sigiificant figurcs prcscnt in thc lcert prccise
o'f th" or*birs. Applying this rulc. rvc dcducc that:

(6.t0 x'lO') (2.08 x l0-') has 3 significanr figurcs in ansivcr

5.92 x l-0 has 2 signihcant figurcs in anstvcr

8.21r-te4 has 2 significaot figurcs in answcr

Thc rule statcd abovc can savc us considcrablc timc in carr.ving

out
8'2 by 3' l9't'
multiptications or divisions. Supposc wc arc askcd to'dividc
6gures; vrc
rcalizingthat.thc answcr can bc givcn only ro nvo.significant
g4 pcrformiog rhe division. rhcrcby sa ving
.igt , .;r,a off l. t to J.2 bclorc
considcreblc qimc.i' '

Ercmplc Carry out thc. follorving opcrations' rctaining thc

4.2
' ootrbcr lrumbcrof signiEcant 6gurcs:
a. 6.19 x 2.8
b- 3.18/1.702
c. (a.10 x 1.02 x l0r)/1.5

Solurion
a. Sincc wc arc justificd in rctaining only lwo significant
and
figurcs in our answcrr wc round off bcforc multiplying
writc :
6.2x2-8-17
b. ,.t81t.702 - 3.r8/1.70 = 1.87
c. (4.1 x 3.0 x lor)/1.5 = 8.2 x

rcrain onc GxlE diSir in errying

out e mulriplicltion or divi'
'&{uypoplc Prctcr ro
riori. ta riir cesc. rhcy would round oll !- l9a ro i' 10 tttLtt U
tlr.r1 t'ftipll'
crrry oul.llrc.
proccdurc will chrnge' et
carion.rod rounii of,thc.nswir lo 2 rigniG<lnt nsur1' lait.
mo:t. tk hst digir of rhc lnswcr. pcrheps by er much ti z or J unrt!'
 CHAPIER .{

Wc can usc the rulcs govcrning significant figurcs'to griidc us in dc-

sisninq laboratory cxpcrimcnts- If wc arc to carry out two or Elo(c
rnCa'

,r?-Irrrt and .ornbin. thcm by muttiplying or dividing ro obrain a 6nal

..rult. thc prciision of that rcsult will bc governed by that of thc lcast
or."ir. -."rurcmcnt. Supposc wc arc askcd to dctcrminc thc dcnsity o[ a
a rriplc bcam balancc (+0-01 g) and a graduatcd cylindcr
liquid. using-Thc
(+0.1-rnl). prccision o[ thc dcnsity will bc limitcd by thc compara-
'If wc nccd ro Inow
i;raf r"ri. unccnainty in thc volumc mcasuFcmcnl
,r,. j.ntiiy -or..r"",iy, wc must rcsort lo a morc prccisc dcvicc lor mca-
su.ing ,olumcs. such as a pipct or volumctric flask
(*0'01 ml)' lt would
I wc could improvc thc prccision by using-an
L. t"ii".io,r, to suPPosc that
analytical batancc capablc of wcighing to *0'0001 g and thcn mcasuring
volumc to +0.1 ml! '
givcn
Onc final commcnt is in ordcr conccrning thc rulc that wc havc
for dctcrmining thc numbcr o[ significant figurcs in a product or a quo-
ticnr. It is, at bcst, an approximation, albcit a convcnicnt onc' At timcs'
it can tcad to absurd situarions- Lct us suppose ihat two studcnts' '
askcd
to dctcrrnine rhc dcnsity ofa liquid, obtain thc following icsutts:

' M"si t voir-. Dcnsity

Studcnt'l 10.209 l0.l ml t-0t g/ml
Studint 2 "'t0.10 g 9.9 ml l-01 g/ml

dcnsity,
Should thc sccond srudcnt drop rhc list digit in his calculatcd
rcponing it as 1"0 g/ml, sincc thcrc arc only rwo significant'figurcs in his
volumc? Common scnsc tetls us that hc should not' Lfuc thc othcr stu'
dcnt, hc has mcasurcd thc volumc to about * t pcr ccnt' lt is quitc
rca-
sonable for him lo rcPorr his ans*cr to *l Pcr ccnt, i'c'' is l'01 g/mt
rathcr than 1 .0 g/ml, which would imply an unccrtainty of * 10 pcr ccnt'.
Situations as cxtrcmc as this do not arisc too frcquently' Thcy
do'
thc limitarions of using significant figurcs as a mcasure
howcvcr, point out
of prccision, and suggcst thar a morc cxad trcatmcnt of cxperimcntal
crrors would bc in ordcr (Chaprcr t I )'

EXERC'SES

Carry out thc following oPcration:r' giving answcrs lo thc corrcct

numbcr of signi6canr 69urcs.
1. (2.49 x l0-') (3.8t) 5. 7.1716.2
2- 6.4023 x 19 6. 8.73l5.r.98
6-18 x 1.92
3. 0.00481 x 212 7-
--n x l0-')
o'ffi(8.10 x l0') (4.43
4. (3.18 x l0-r)'

,r--:
 S'GN'F'Q{NT F'GUf,ES

4,3 ADDITTON AND SUBTRACTION

Whcn wc add (or subtract) incxact numbcrs, wc apply thc gcncral
principlc that thc sum (or diffcrcncc) cotaaol haoc aa abnlutc Ptcciion trcakr
rtan rtd of ttu lcad prccir numbcr usd in lhc compulalion. To illustrarc this
point, supposc wc add 1.32 g of sodium chloridc and 0.006 g of potass ium
chloridcto28gofwatcr. How should wc cxprcss thc total mass of thc rc-
sulting solution? .Thc implicd precisions of thcsc masscs arc 0.0 t g.
0.001 g, and I g, rcspcctivcly.
sodiumchloridc: 1.32 * 0.01 g
. Potassiumchloridc: 0.006 * 0.001 g
28 + lg
iotal mass: 29 * lg
Thc ium o[ thc masscs cannot bc morc prccisc than that of (hc watcr
(* t S). Wc should writc thc total mass as 29 g, ra(hcr than 29.3 g,
29.126 5,, or somc othcr numbcr.
You will notc from this cxamplc that in adding (or subtracting) cx'
pcrimcrttal quantitics, it is aot true that thc numbcr of signiEcant figurcs in
thc answcr is govcrncd by thc quantity having thc fcwci;t signiFcant
. figurcs. Thi mass of potassium chloridc is known to only I significant
..6gurc; whilc thc sum can bc cxprcssed to 2 significant 6gurcs. It is thc
absolutc prccision (* I g of watcr) which dctcrmincs thc numbcr of sig-

' Exomptc 4.3 Carry out the following opritions, being carcful
- to givc answir: to thc corrcct numbcr ofsignificant figurcs:
. i. 6.829+2.lllg+ 12689
b. 213 g - 0.01 g
c: 5.19 x'10-r cc + l.8l cc + 2-19 x l0r cc
Solution
a. Sincc "1268g" has thc lowcst absolurc prccision (* I g),
thc sum cannot havc a grcatcr prccision. Thcrcforc. wc
write:
7g+2g+12689't2779
b. Thcquantiry2l3gis known only ro - I g, so subtracting
' 0.01 g [rom it has no cffcci. 213 g - 0 g - 213 g
c. In ordcr to obtain thc sum. wc 6rst writc out thc numbcrs
in dccimal lorm:

5.19 x l0-r cc - .0.0519 cc * 0.0001 cc

l.8l cc + 0.01 cc
-2.19 x tOt cc - 2t9 cc + I cc
48 : CHAPTER 1

Sincc thc sum cannot havc a prccision grcatcr than t cc. wc writc:

2cc + 2l9cc - 22t cc

EXERC'SES

t.9-10+6.23t-? 5. 2.02xtor-9.6xlot-3
2. 8-t62 - 2-39 - ?" . 6. 3.18xl0-t+l-6xtO-t-7
3. 4-30+ 29.1 + 0.345 - ? 7. (6.40x12.1).-2.19-?'
4. 6-23 a 915 - 12.7 - ?. .8. 3.t8x2.4+0.12_?
, t-92

4.4 ROUNDING OFF NUMBERS

. In calculations from crpcrimcntal data, it is .oftcn ncccssary lo drop
onc or .morc digirs to obtain an answcr with rhc appropriate numbcr o[ '
signiFcanr 6gurcs.., Ttrc rulcs which :rrc followcd in rounding off arc; . . ., . .. .
1.. II thc.fi.rst. {igit droppcd is less than 5, lcavc thc prcccding digir .
. unchangcd.
2. If rhc first digit droppcd is grciter than 5, incrcasc the prcccding
digit by l.
1.. tf tnc'6rsr digit droppca'is 5. lcave thc prcciding digit unchanged
if ir ir by t'if ir'rs cven. (This mcans that. on the
is odd; incrcasc
averagc, wc witl incrcasc thc retained digir half of rhe rimc and
lcavc ir unchangcd half of thc rimc.)

Exomple 4.4 Round off cach of rhc .following to 3 significant

69urcs:
a. 6.167 d. ll35
b. 2.13? c. 6.19468
c- 0.002245

Solulion
a.6.17
b. 2. tl
c. Hcrc, sincc (hc digir to bc rctained, 4, is cvcn. wc incrcasc
it by I to givc 0.00225.
d. dieit to
Thc digit ro bc rctaincd.3,
rctaincd.3. is odd;3130.
odd:3130.
6.19 (thc 6rst digit droppcd, {. is lcss than 5).
 49
STGN'flCANI fJGURES
a(ERC'SES
figurcs:
Round off4.3154652 to rhc following numbcrs of signincant

1.7 5. 1

2.6 6.2
3.5 7. I
4.4

4.5 IOGARIIHMS, ANTILOGAR'ITHMS

prccision ro bc as'
Clcarly, thc prccision o[ a numbcr wilt govcrn thc
so"i"t i, i,.'logarithm' This principle lcads to the gcncral rulc that
d-i
thc samc number of
wcshould rct.ir. ir, thc mantissa of tht logttithm
in thc numbcr itsclf' Thus' wc havc:
tii"in-", ng"res as thcrc erc

' 0.4?71 log3'000 x

1og3.000
l0';5'4771
log 3.00 - 0.4'17 log t'00 x l0' -
3'477

log3.0' - O-48 log3'0 x l0' - 2'a8

'1og1 :0.5 log3xlO-' '0'5-4--3'5
l,.:i:^'':j*:+...',*l;g:-;.]..*..:...,,..--*.d;l....";"._.**:--._.;*--..,...,,,--...:,+.
will bc onc morc
Noticc that, unlcss thc charactcristic is zcro, thcrc
than in thc numbcr itsclt' This is quitc rcasonablc'
aigit in thc loga.ithm
o[ thc dccimal point
siicc thc char-actcristic scrvcs only to 6x rhc position
oc thc powcr o[ 10.
(o a
wh",. -. arc askcd to 6nd thc numbcr corrcsponding -ccrtain
to that statcd abovc' Wc rc-
tog"ri,i-, *"follow a rulc cntircly anatogous
;i;-i; th. ar,tilogarithm thc samc numbcr of significant 6gurc: that
wc havc in the mantissa of thc logarithm'

antilog0.3Ot0- 2.000 antilog5'3010 - 2'000 x l0'

antilog0.301 - 2'00 anrilog l'301 - 2'00 x l0l

antilog 0.30 = 2.0 antilog 2'30 - 2'0 x 102

antilogO-3'2 antilog(0'3 -4) - 2 x l0-'

Erornplc 4.5 Find, using a 4-placc log tablc:

a. log 6.19
.. b. log l.l x l0-'
'c. aniilog 1.62
trE--
CHAPIER 1
50

Solsrion
e. Rcfcrring to thc tablc of logarithms in .Appcndix 2,'wc
'
6nd: '
, log 6.190 - 0.7917

Hcncc, log 6-19 - 0.?92 (3 significant figurcs)

log 1.300 - 0.1139
loq t.3 - 0.1 I
to!t.t * lo-' - o.ll - 4 - -3.89
Sinrrir,g down thc.cotumn labclcd "0," wc find that:
'log4.lO0
- 0.6128

log 4.200 - 0.6?32

Wcdcduccthatthc2.digitnumbcrwhoselogarithmiscloscstto
0.62is 4.2:,

log 4.2 - 0.62

EXERC'SES

Evaluatc to thc corrcct numbcr o[ significant figurcs:

l. log l-602 5. antilog 2.0

2. log3.2 6. ahtilog0.t85
3. log2.l8 x l0r 7. antilog 3.20
4. log4.9 x l0r 8. antilog (-1.902)

,-:1..iIiji:1:j-:"; ;:,1I .:.-r-:i'i,.,) I-:;a'E-ili*Tl;.1'rTffiR$I&iilifil.:i&:]B

PROBLEMS
Obscrvc thc rulcs of significant Fgurcs in cxprcssing you' 'nt*tt''
4.1 A studcnt 6nds rhar a samptc of liquid wcighing 12'562 goccuPio a ;

volume of 8.0,1 cc. Calculatc thc dcnsity of thc liquid.

4.2 A blockof mctat with dimensions 5.2 cm x 2-'l cm x 4'6 crn wcighs
109.82 g. Calculatc rhe dcnsiry of the mctal'