Significant Figure 有效数字 科学计数法.pdfVIP

Copyright ? by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Holt ChemFile: Problem-Solving Workbook 14 Significant Figures Significant Figures A lever balance used to weigh a truckload of stone may be accurate to the near- est 100 kg, giving a reading of 15 200 kg, for instance. The measurement should be written in such a way that a person looking at it will understand that it repre- sents the mass of the truck to the nearest 100 kg, that is, that the mass is some- where between 15 100 kg and 15 300 kg. Some laboratory balances are sensitive to differences of 0.001 g. Suppose you use such a balance to weigh 0.206 g of aluminum foil. A person looking at your data table should be able to see that the measurement was made on a balance that measures mass to the nearest 0.001 g. You should not state the measurement from the laboratory balance as 0.2060 g instead of 0.206 g because the balance was not sensitive enough to measure 0.0001 g. To convey the accuracy of measurements, all people working in science use significant figures. A significant figure is a digit that represents an actual measurement. The mass of the truck was stated as 15 200 kg. The 1, 5, and 2 are significant figures because the balance was able to measure ten-thousands, thou- sands, and hundreds of kilograms. The truck balance was not sensitive enough to measure tens of kilograms or single kilograms. Therefore, the two zeros are not significant and the measurement has three significant figures. The mass of the foil was correctly stated as 0.206 g. There are three decimal places in this measure- ment that are known with some certainty. Therefore, this measurement has three significant figures. Had the mass been stated as 0.2060 g, a fourth significant fig- ure would have been incorrectly implied. Rules for Determining Significant Figures All are nonzero digits. The measurement has three significant figures. All digits that are not zeros are significant. Zeros may or may not be significant. To deter