Question

Which figures are not significant? *

trailing zeros to the left of an invisible decimal point
leading zeros to the right of a decimal point
leading zeros to the left of a decimal point
all of the above
none of the above

Answer 1

Trailing zeros without a decimal point, and leading zeros whether to the right or left of a decimal point, are not considered significant figures in scientific measurement. Hence, 'all of the above' is the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

The figures that are not significant include:

• Trailing zeros to the left of an invisible decimal point: These zeros are not significant unless specified by a decimal point or scientific notation indicating their significance.
• Leading zeros to the right of a decimal point: They are placeholder zeros and never considered significant.
• Leading zeros to the left of a decimal point: Similar to the zeros to the right of a decimal point, they are placeholder zeros and are not significant.

In summary, in the options provided, all listed types of zeros are not significant. Therefore, the correct choice is 'all of the above'.

Answer 2

leading zeroes to the left of a decimal point. and trailing zeros to the left of an invisible decimal point.

Step-by-step explanation:

• All nonzero digits are significant figures. Example: 713 has three significant figures. 18,991 has five significant figures.
• Zeros located between two nonzero digits are significant figures. Example: 505 has three significant figures. 17,009 has five significant figures.
• Zeros at the ends of numbers are only significant if there is a decimal point in the number. Example: 502.00 has five significant figures (5,0,2,0,0). 5020 has three significant figures (5,0,2) 100,000 has one significant figure (1)
• Zeros that come before the first nonzero digit are not significant. Example: 0.0007 has one significant figure (7). 0.0970 has three significant figures (9,7,0)