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GCSE Chemistry · key term
A digit that contributes to the stated precision of a measured or calculated value, counted from the first non-zero digit.
Used by OCR
Specification CM2.1ii · Paper 1 (Foundation), Paper 3 (Higher)
Revise: Significant FiguresSignificant figures communicate the precision of a value. OCR requires you to give answers to an appropriate number of significant figures across quantitative chemistry, including work with data such as melting points and relative formula masses.
Paper 1 (Foundation), Paper 2 (Foundation), Paper 3 (Higher), Paper 4 (Higher)
A digit that contributes to the stated precision of a value, counted from the first non-zero digit.
Revise: Significant figuresSignificant figures let you report a value at a sensible precision while keeping its size clear.
Read the instruction carefully: it may specify a number of significant figures or decimal places, and these are not the same.
Include any zeros needed to communicate the requested precision: for example, 6.0 has two significant figures, whereas 6 has one.
Check that the rounded answer has the requested number of significant figures and still has the correct unit.
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