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Teacher Resources Needed for LessonCopies of the following worksheets:Rounding with Addition and SubtractionRounding with Multiplication and DivisionScientific NotationSignificant Digit WorksheetRounding Answers and Scientific Notation

Calculating with Significant DigitsIn this course you will often take measurements and use them to calculate other quantitiesMust be careful to keep track of which digits in your calculations and results are significantWe do this because your results of your calculations should not imply more certainty than your measured quantities justifyExampleRules for Reporting Significant Digits in CalculationsRule 1: Multiplying and DividingThe value with the fewest number of significant digits, going into the calculation, determines the number of significant digits that you should report in your answer.Rule 2: Adding and Subtracting:The value with the fewest number of decimal places, going into the calculation, determines the number of decimal places that you should report in your answer.Rules for Reporting Significant Digits in CalculationsRule 3: RoundingTo get the appropriate number of significant digits (rule 1) or decimal places (rule 2), you may need to round your answer.If the first digit to be dropped is 4 or less, the preceding digit is not changed. (example: 8.674 is rounded to 8.67)If the first digit to be dropped is 5, the preceding digit is increased by 1. (example: 8.675 123 is rounded up to 8.68)If the first digit to be dropped is a lone 5 or a 5 followed by zeros, the preceding digit is not changed if it is even, but is increased if it is odd. (example: 8.675 is rounded up to 8.68, but 8.665 is rounded down to 8.66)When solving multistep problems record all the digits until the final answer to avoid rounding error

Practice Problem (as a class)A student measured a rectangular shaped sample of iron and found it to be 6.78 cm long, 3.906 cm wide, and 11 cm tall. Determine its volume to the correct number of significant digits.Practice Problem (as a class)Suppose that you measure the masses of four objects as 12.5 g, 145.67 g, 79.0 g, and 38.438 g. What is the total mass of the objects?

Homework!!!Complete the following worksheets:Rounding with addition and subtractionRounding with multiplication and divisionScientific NotationScientific NotationConverting Numbers into Scientific NotationConverting Numbers into Scientific NotationPractice ProblemsCopy the following into your notes and convert them into scientific notation:

9 523 4580.000 001 952756 300 000 0000.000 000 000 000 123150.23Practice ProblemsCalculations Involving Scientific NotationCalculations Involving Scientific NotationHomework!!!Complete the following worksheets:Scientific NotationSignificant Digit Worksheet