Physics Practical: Significant Figures Rules and Worked Examples

These two pages of notes explain significant figures for physics practical work. They set out three rules for counting significant figures: how non-zero digits and zeros between them are treated, why leading zeros never count, and when trailing zeros count. Next come the rules for rounding results. Sums and differences keep the decimal places of the least precise value, while products and quotients keep the fewest significant figures. A worked example of mixed operations shows why learners should round only at the end of a calculation. Notes in the margins explain each step, and conversion factors are described as exact values.