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Significant Figure Checking for Assignments

Numerical questions displaying this icon WebAssign will check your answer for the correct number of significant figures require your students to answer with the correct value specified to the correct number of significant digits. If needed, you can turn off significant figure checking, change the tolerance at the last significant digit, or give partial credit if the student's answer is given with too many significant digits.

Note This information describes how to use the new Assignment Editor.

If needed, click Try the New Assignment Editor in the original Assignment Editor to enable this improved experience now.

Note Many textbook questions, even in physics and chemistry, do not check significant figures. Only questions displaying WebAssign will check your answer for the correct number of significant figures are affected by significant figure checking options.

WebAssign uses the following rules to calculate the correct number of significant digits. If you teach using different rules, consider turning off significant figure checking.

Operation Rule Examples

Addition

Use the fewest number of decimal places specified in any of the operands.

2.46 + 6.1743 = 8.63

Subtraction

Use the fewest number of decimal places specified in any of the operands.

3.1415 - 2.2 = 0.9

Multiplication

Use the fewest number of significant figures specified in any of the operands.

1530 × 4.0 = 6100
1530 × 4 = 6000

Division

Use the fewest number of significant figures specified in any of the operands.

444 ÷ 4 = 100
444 ÷ 111 = 4.00

Exponentiation

Use the same number of significant figures as the base.

210 = 1e3
2.00010 = 1024

Logarithms

Use the same number of decimal places in the result as the number of significant figures in the number you are taking the logarithm of.

log10(27) = 1.43
ln(0.026) = -3.65

Antilogarithms

Use the same number of significant figures in the result as the number of decimal places in the number you are taking the antilogarithm of.

103.43 = 2700
e-3.65 = 0.026