# 1.5 Measurement uncertainty, accuracy, and precision  (Page 2/11)

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Whenever you make a measurement properly, all the digits in the result are significant. But what if you were analyzing a reported value and trying to determine what is significant and what is not? Well, for starters, all nonzero digits are significant, and it is only zeros that require some thought. We will use the terms “leading,” “trailing,” and “captive” for the zeros and will consider how to deal with them.

Starting with the first nonzero digit on the left, count this digit and all remaining digits to the right. This is the number of significant figures in the measurement unless the last digit is a trailing zero lying to the left of the decimal point.

Captive zeros result from measurement and are therefore always significant. Leading zeros, however, are never significant—they merely tell us where the decimal point is located.

The leading zeros in this example are not significant. We could use exponential notation (as described in Appendix B) and express the number as 8.32407 $×$ 10 −3 ; then the number 8.32407 contains all of the significant figures, and 10 −3 locates the decimal point.

The number of significant figures is uncertain in a number that ends with a zero to the left of the decimal point location. The zeros in the measurement 1,300 grams could be significant or they could simply indicate where the decimal point is located. The ambiguity can be resolved with the use of exponential notation: 1.3 $×$ 10 3 (two significant figures), 1.30 $×$ 10 3 (three significant figures, if the tens place was measured), or 1.300 $×$ 10 3 (four significant figures, if the ones place was also measured). In cases where only the decimal-formatted number is available, it is prudent to assume that all trailing zeros are not significant.

When determining significant figures, be sure to pay attention to reported values and think about the measurement and significant figures in terms of what is reasonable or likely when evaluating whether the value makes sense. For example, the official January 2014 census reported the resident population of the US as 317,297,725. Do you think the US population was correctly determined to the reported nine significant figures, that is, to the exact number of people? People are constantly being born, dying, or moving into or out of the country, and assumptions are made to account for the large number of people who are not actually counted. Because of these uncertainties, it might be more reasonable to expect that we know the population to within perhaps a million or so, in which case the population should be reported as 3.17 $×$ 10 8 people.

## Significant figures in calculations

A second important principle of uncertainty is that results calculated from a measurement are at least as uncertain as the measurement itself. We must take the uncertainty in our measurements into account to avoid misrepresenting the uncertainty in calculated results. One way to do this is to report the result of a calculation with the correct number of significant figures, which is determined by the following three rules for rounding    numbers:

#### Questions & Answers

what are oxidation numbers
pls what is electrolysis
Electrolysis is the process by which ionic substances are decomposed (broken down) into simpler substances when an electric current is passed through them. ... Electricity is the flow of electrons or ions. For electrolysis to work, the compound must contain ions.
AZEEZ
thanks
Idowu
what is the basicity of an atom
basicity is the number of replaceable Hydrogen atoms in a Molecule. in H2SO4, the basicity is 2. in Hcl, the basicity is 1
Inemesit
how to solve oxidation number
mention some examples of ester
do you mean ether?
Megan
what do converging lines on a mass Spectra represent
would I do to help me know this topic ?
Bulus
oi
Amargo
what the physic?
who is albert heistein?
Bassidi
similarities between elements in the same group and period
what is the ratio of hydrogen to oxulygen in carbohydrates
bunubyyvyhinuvgtvbjnjnygtcrc
yvcrzezalakhhehuzhbshsunakakoaak
what is poh and ph
please what is the chemical configuration of sodium
Sharon
2.8.1
david
1s²2s²2p⁶3s¹
Haile
2, 6, 2, 1
Salman
1s2, 2s2, 2px2, 2py2, 2pz2, 3s1
Justice
1s2,2s2,2py2,2
Maryify
1s2,2s2,2p6,
Francis
1s2,2s2,2px2,2py2,2pz2,3s1
Nnyila
what is criteria purity
cathode is a negative ion why is it that u said is negative
cathode is a negative electrode while cation is a positive ion. cation move towards cathode plate.
king
CH3COOH +NaOH ,complete the equation
compare and contrast the electrical conductivity of HCl and CH3cooH
The must be in dissolved in water (aqueous). Electrical conductivity is measured in Siemens (s). HCl (aq) has higher conductivity, as it fully ionises (small portion of CH3COOH (aq) ionises) when dissolved in water. Thus, more free ions to carry charge.
Abdelkarim
HCl being an strong acid will fully ionize in water thus producing more mobile ions for electrical conduction than the carboxylic acid
Valentine
differiante between a weak and a strong acid
david
how can I tell when an acid is weak or Strong
Amarachi
an aqueous solution of copper sulphate was electrolysed between graphite electrodes. state what was observed at the cathode
write the equation for the reaction that took place at the anode
Bakanya
what is enthalpy of combustion
Bakanya
Enthalpy change of combustion: It is the enthalpy change when 1 mole of substance is combusted with excess oxygen under standard conditions. Elements are in their standard states. Conditions: pressure = 1 atm Temperature =25°C
Abdelkarim
Observation at Cathode: Cu metal deposit (pink/red solid).
Abdelkarim
Equation at Anode: (SO4)^2- + 4H^+ + 2e^- __> SO2 + 2H2O
Abdelkarim
Equation : CuSO4 -> Cu^2+ + SO4^2- equation at katode: 2Cu^2+ + 4e -> 2Cu equation at anode: 2H2O -> 4H+ + O2 +4e at the anode which reacts is water because SO4 ^ 2- cannot be electrolyzed in the anode
Niken