significant figure
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English
[edit]Noun
[edit]significant figure (plural significant figures)
- (mathematics) A digit that is meaningful with respect to the precision of a measurement; that is, excluding any leading zeroes, trailing rounding or placeholder zeroes, and non-zero digits not warranted by the accuracy of a derivation or measurement.
- Synonym: significant digit
- The speed was calculated by dividing 2314 metres by 71 seconds and reported as 32.5915 m/s, but since both the distance and time were measured only to the nearest whole number, there were actually only two significant figures in this result, i.e. 32.
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see significant, figure.
Translations
[edit]a digit that is meaningful with respect to the precision of a measurement
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See also
[edit]Further reading
[edit]Significant figures on Wikipedia.Wikipedia