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

[Brian Whatcott <betwys1@SBCGLOBAL.NET>]

At 11:36 AM 9/22/2005, you wrote:
> Greetings everyone.  I hope the beginning of the school year is off to a
> good start for everyone.
>
> I have a question that one of my students asked me and I was unsure of the
> answer.  So, I figured I'd come to the experts.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.?
>
> If you need more clarification, please let me know.  Any help would be
> appreciated.
>
> Have a great day!
> Dwight
> Ashland, OH


I like that concept - absolute resolution and absolute accuracy
  expressed as significant figures!

And if a unitary item has natural, you might say absolute, sub-divisions,
then their fractional expression would also be absolute,
so I can easily say that 1 dollar and 27 cents is exactly  $1.27000'

But an orange does not seem to sub divide exactly.

The segment count may vary - I have seen small "baby" segments exposed.
  For me, this implies that 2.5 oranges is only that - an approximate halving.

Brian

Brian Whatcott    Altus OK    Eureka!
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