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Meaning of "significant figures" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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PRONUNCIATION OF SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

significant figures play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Significant figures is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES SIGNIFICANT FIGURES MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Significant figures

The significant figures of a number are those digits that carry meaning contributing to its precision. This includes all digits except: ▪ All leading zeros; ▪ Trailing zeros when they are merely placeholders to indicate the scale of the number; and ▪ Spurious digits introduced, for example, by calculations carried out to greater precision than that of the original data, or measurements reported to a greater precision than the equipment supports. Significance arithmetic are approximate rules for roughly maintaining significance throughout a computation. The more sophisticated scientific rules are known as propagation of uncertainty. Numbers are often rounded to avoid reporting insignificant figures. For instance, if a device measures to the nearest gram and gives a reading of 12.345 kg, it would create false precision to express this measurement as 12.34500 kg. Numbers can also be rounded merely for simplicity rather than to indicate a given precision of measurement, for example to make them faster to pronounce in news broadcasts. Arithmetic precision can also be defined with reference to a fixed number of decimal places.

Definition of significant figures in the English dictionary

The definition of significant figures in the dictionary is the figures of a number that express a magnitude to a specified degree of accuracy, rounding up or down the final figure. Other definition of significant figures is the number of such figures.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

signifiable
significance
significance test
significancy
significant
significant digits
significant other
significantly
significate
signification
significative
significatively
significativeness
significator
significatory
significs
signified
signifier
signifies
signify

WORDS THAT END LIKE SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

attendance figures
audience figures
dentures
enrolment figures
facts and figures
features
futures
manufactures
measures
performance figures
pictures
plumbing fixtures
population figures
sales figures
Scriptures
the Coal Measures
the pictures
trade figures
unemployment figures
viewing figures

Synonyms and antonyms of significant figures in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «significant figures» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

Find out the translation of significant figures to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of significant figures from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «significant figures» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

显著数字
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

cifras significativas
570 millions of speakers

English

significant figures
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

महत्वपूर्ण आंकड़े
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

الشخصيات الهامة
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

значительные цифры
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

algarismos significativos
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

উল্লেখযোগ্য পরিসংখ্যান
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

chiffres significatifs
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Angka penting
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

signifikanten Stellen
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

有効数字
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

유효 숫자
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Tokoh sing penting
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

con số đáng kể
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

குறிப்பிடத்தக்க புள்ளிவிவரங்கள்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

लक्षणीय आकडे
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Önemli rakamlar
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

cifre significative
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

cyfr znaczących
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

значні цифри
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

cifre semnificative
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

σημαντικά στοιχεία
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

beduidende syfers
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

signifikanta siffror
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

viktige tall
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of significant figures

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «SIGNIFICANT FIGURES»

The term «significant figures» is quite widely used and occupies the 45.439 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
79
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «significant figures» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of significant figures
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «significant figures».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «SIGNIFICANT FIGURES» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «significant figures» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «significant figures» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about significant figures

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «SIGNIFICANT FIGURES»

Discover the use of significant figures in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to significant figures and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Chemistry: The Molecular Science
A set of measurements is limited by the precision of the least-sensitive instrument used in the experiments. The mass is known to five significant figures, but there are only three significant figures in the volume. Thus only three significant figures  ...
John Olmsted, Gregory M. Williams, 1997
2
General Chemistry, Enhanced Edition
To indicate the precision of a measured number (or result of calculations on measured numbers), we often use the concept of significant figures. Significant figures are those digits in a measured number (or in the result of a calculation with ...
Darrell Ebbing, Steven D. Gammon, 2010
3
Essential Laboratory Mathematics: Concepts and Applications ...
Margin Problems How many significant figures? l. 2.62 m 2. 0.00268 L 3. 2.3600 dL 4. 0.036050 s 2.3 Significant Figures Numbers obtained from a measurement are approximate values. There is always some uncertainty due to the limitations ...
Catherine W. Johnson (MAed/Math.), Catherine W. Johnson, Daniel L. Timmons, 2003
4
Principles of Chemistry: The Molecular Science
2.4 Uncertainty and Significant Figures Measurements always include some degree of uncertainty, because we can never measure quantities exactly or know the value of a quantity with absolute certainty. Scientists have adopted standardized ...
John Moore, Conrad Stanitski, Peter Jurs, 2009
5
The World of Chemistry: Essentials: Essentials
The 53° thermometer can only measure this temperature to three significant figures, which are the number of digits that can be measured with certainty, plus one more that is estimated. Suppose the temperature of 52.7°C is measured during a ...
Melvin D. Joesten, John L. Hogg, Mary E. Castellion, 2006
6
Physics by Example: 200 Problems and Solutions
This leads to a convenient rule of thumb that if a set of experimental data are specified to N significant figures, a result obtained by combining the .data will also be valid to N significant figures. However, this simple rule must be used with  ...
W. G. Rees, 1994
7
Chemistry and Chemical Reactivity, Enhanced Edition
The number 2.34 g has only three significant figures and implies the 4 is uncertain, when in fact the balance reading indicated the 4 is certain. In the case of the width of the piece, you found it to be 2.50 cm, where 2.5 is known with certainty, ...
John Kotz, Paul Treichel, John Townsend, 2009
8
Maths for Advanced Physics
2.6 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES The significant figures in a number are all the digits except any zeros before the first non-zero digit. For example: 42, 4.2, 0.0042 and 4.2 xl06 all have 2 significant figures 402 and 4.02 have 3 significant figures The  ...
Andrew Lambert, 1993
9
Barron's SAT Subject Test in Chemistry
For instance, if an instrument that measures to the nearest mile is used, the number 3,000 miles has four significant figures. If, however, the instrument in question records miles to the nearest thousands, there is only one significant figure.
Joseph A. Mascetta, 2006
10
Competition Science Vision
Significant figures in the measured value of a physical quantity tell the number of digits in which we have confidence. Larger the number of significant figures obtained in a measurement, greater is the accuracy of the measurement. The reverse ...

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «SIGNIFICANT FIGURES»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term significant figures is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Learning from a walk through the fund graveyard
Exchange-traded fund issuers and acolytes like to flaunt significant figures — nearly $3 trillion in assets under management globally, $2 trillion in the United ... «Pensions & Investments, May 15»
2
Mike Huckabee Would Be a More Important Candidate Than You …
If he runs, he will be one of the most significant figures in the primary season, with the ability to deny a crucial segment of voters or even states to another ... «New York Times, Apr 15»
3
Tax Day: GOP Sen. Presses Obama Administration On Criminal …
Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced it would not seek criminal contempt charges for one of the most significant figures in the IRS' targeting of ... «Breitbart News, Apr 15»
4
Significantly Insignificant: The 'Absurd Precision' of Location Marketing
Sportswriter Gregg Easterbrook frequently addresses this obsession with significant figures in his “Tuesday Morning Quarterback” column for ESPN.com. “When ... «Street Fight, Jan 15»
5
The Golden State Warriors' Family Tree: Visualizing franchise history
The trees are an interesting way to visualize the franchise's history in a quick snapshot of how the most significant figures rank against each other. You can read ... «Golden State of Mind, Jan 15»
6
Correct Use of Significant Figures
In analytical chemistry, certain basic concepts are really helpful to the analyst when working with analytical data. This article focuses on significant figures and ... «Azom.com, Jul 14»
7
Djuna Barnes Talks to James Joyce In Paris
A Portrait of the Man Who is, at Present, One of the More Significant Figures in ... A Portrait of the Man Who is, at Present, One of the More Significant Figures in ... «Vanity Fair, Jun 14»
8
Scott Elementary students portray significant figures in black history …
After months of preparation, the students were able to embody the spirits of significant figures in black history, including Bill Cosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Nelson ... «The Flint Journal, Mar 14»
9
Who's Biggest? The 100 Most Significant Figures in History
When we set out to rank the significance of historical figures, we decided to not approach the project the way historians might, through a principled assessment ... «TIME, Dec 13»
10
Jesus tops list as most significant figure in history; Mohammed at 4th
Jesus Christ tops the list of the top 10 most significant figures in human history, as based on opinions circulated over Wikipedia over a span of months and as ... «Washington Times, Dec 13»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Significant figures [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/significant-figures>. Apr 2024 ».
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