Are there simpler rules for counting significant digits?

I need your help. In my honors chemistry class one of the topics were are studying are significant digits. Our teacher told us of an easy way to figure out the significant digits instead of trying to remember all of the rules. It is called "The Atlantic Pacific Rule." Would you please explain the rule to me? FEYE32

	Vocabulary
	scientific notation significant digit

The Atlantic-Pacific Rule says:

If you're not in the Americas, you may prefer the following less colorful way to say the same thing:

Ignore leading zeros.
Ignore trailing zeros, unless they come after a decimal point.
Everything else is significant.

The rule is easy to use and to remember, but it lets you count significant digits without having the slightest idea what they really are.

If you feel comfortable with scientific notation, the simplest rule for counting significant digits is:

"Convert the number into scientific notation. Any leading or trailing zeros the decimal point bumps past in the conversion will vanish. Everything else is significant."

Writing measurements in scientific notation shows that the significant part of the measurement doesn't change when you change units. For example, 2.0 cm = 2.0 × 10^-2 m = 2.0 × 10¹ mm = 2.0 × 10⁴ µm, all with 2 significant digits.

Here are some examples that apply both rules. The nonsignificant zeros are colored blue.

Number Atlantic-Pacific rule Scientific notation rule

0.001010 decimal point Present: ignore zeros on the Pacific side. 4 sig. digits. In scientific notation: 1.010 × 10^-3. 4 sig. digits. The decimal point moved past the three leading zeros; they vanished.

0.30000 decimal point Present: ignore zeros on the Pacific side. 5 sig. digits. In scientific notation: 3.0000 × 10^-1. 5 sig. digits. The decimal point bumped past the leading zero; it vanished.

100.0000 decimal point Present: ignore zeros on the Pacific side (none!) 7 sig. digits. In scientific notation: 1.000000 × 10². The decimal point moved past two zeros, but they aren't trailing zeros; they're in the middle of the number. 7 sig. digits.

12303000 decimal point Absent: ignore zeros on the Atlantic side. 5 sig. digits. In scientific notation: 1.2303 × 10⁷. The decimal point moved past the trailing three zeros; they vanished. It moved past the zero between the threes, too, but that's not a trailing or leading zero; it stays. 5 sig. digits.

References

H. M. Stone, "Atlantic-Pacific sig figs (INS)", J. Chem. Educ., 66, 829 (1989).

Author: Fred Senese senese@antoine.frostburg.edu

General Chemistry Online! Are there simpler rules for counting significant digits?

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Last Revised 02/23/18.URL: http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/measurement/faq/print-simple-sigfig-rules.shtml

Number	Atlantic-Pacific rule	Scientific notation rule
0.001010	decimal point Present: ignore zeros on the Pacific side. 4 sig. digits.	In scientific notation: 1.010 × 10^-3. 4 sig. digits. The decimal point moved past the three leading zeros; they vanished.
0.30000	decimal point Present: ignore zeros on the Pacific side. 5 sig. digits.	In scientific notation: 3.0000 × 10^-1. 5 sig. digits. The decimal point bumped past the leading zero; it vanished.
100.0000	decimal point Present: ignore zeros on the Pacific side (none!) 7 sig. digits.	In scientific notation: 1.000000 × 10². The decimal point moved past two zeros, but they aren't trailing zeros; they're in the middle of the number. 7 sig. digits.
12303000	decimal point Absent: ignore zeros on the Atlantic side. 5 sig. digits.	In scientific notation: 1.2303 × 10⁷. The decimal point moved past the trailing three zeros; they vanished. It moved past the zero between the threes, too, but that's not a trailing or leading zero; it stays. 5 sig. digits.