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[Phys-L] Re: infinite sig. figs.



----- Original Message -----
From: "Dwight K. Souder" <crvhs_dks@CRESTVIEW-RICHLAND.K12.OH.US>
To: <PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2005 12:36 PM
Subject: infinite sig. figs.


We were covering significant figures, their rules, and determining how
many
sig. figs. there are when adding/subtracting and multiply/divide them.
One
of the rules I stated about sig.figs. was if something was counted, then
it
has an infinite number of sig.figs. The example I gave was, if you count
12
people, there are not 2 sig. figs., but it is an infinite number of sig.
figs. (12.0000...). The reason was that you cannot have a fraction of a
person...you either have a person or you do not, there are no in-betweens.

Seems good to me.

It's been a few days, but I believe the question asked was, if you counted
12.5 oranges, is it still an infinite number of sig. figs. or are there 3
sig. figs.?

I would say 3 because that last digit is, at best, an estimate.
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