Engineering Fundamentals: An Introduction to Engineering, 4th ed.c

6.6 Significant Digits (Figures) 145

digits, since they are used to show the position of the decimal point. As another example, the

number of significant digits for the number 1500 is not clear. It could be interpreted as having

two, three, or four significant digits based on what the role of the zeros is. In this case, if the

number 1500 was expressed by 1.5 10

3

, 15 10

2

, or 0.015 10

5

, it would be clear that it

has two significant digits. By expressing the number using the power of ten, we can make its

b) 3.350.05 inches

c) 7.50.5 inches of water

a) 711 °F

■Figure 6.4 Examples of recorded measurements.

Source:Saeed Moaveni

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