Why should I use significant figures in chemistry?
1 Answer
Jun 9, 2018
Significant figures reflect reasonable expectations in experimental process as based upon the measuring devices used.
Explanation:
Significant figures in chemistry reflect the accuracy and precision of the experimental process being used. In general, the quantitative results obtained from the use of several measuring devices having varying degrees of accuracy should be expressed in terms of the device having the lowest degree of accuracy. Such establishes reasonable expectations for data reproducibility using a specified experimental process. An excellent 10 minute video on counting and applying significant figures is found at
