Practice question · Multiple choice
A measurement of 2.50 cm claims more than one of 2.5 cm, though the numbers are equal. What does that extra digit assert?
Hints
- Ask what the last written digit says about the instrument.
- Which ruler produced each number?
Show the answer
C. That the hundredths place was actually resolved
Why
Notation carries a claim about precision. Reporting more digits than the apparatus resolves overstates what was learned, which is why significant figures propagate through a calculation.
Practise Measurement, Uncertainty, and Error Analysis
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