- 5 significant
- 0 not significant
- 0 may or may not be
Worked example
0.04050
0.04050 has 4 significant figures. Zeros before the first non-zero digit only place the decimal point, so they are not significant. A zero between two non-zero digits is always significant. A zero at the end, after a decimal point, is significant: it shows the reading was taken to that precision.
In a results table, write every value in a column to the same number of decimal places, even when that changes the significant figures. Give a calculated answer to the significant figures the question asks for, or to the fewest in the data you used.