Significant Figures Calculator – Sig Fig
Perform mathematical operations on significant figures with our calculator. Get step-by-step solutions or use the built-in sig fig counter!
Rounded0.00457to 3 significant figures
Figures in your input6trailing zeros without a decimal point are ambiguous
Scientific notation4.57 × 10^-3
Order of magnitude-3
Decimal places kept5
At each precision
| Sig figs | Value |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.005 |
| 2 | 0.0046 |
| 3 | 0.00457 |
| 4 | 0.004568 |
| 5 | 0.0045678 |
| 6 | 0.0045678 |
| 7 | 0.0045678 |
| 8 | 0.0045678 |
The method
keep the requested count of meaningful digits
Which digits count
- Non-zero digits always count.
- Zeros between non-zero digits count: 1.005 has four.
- Leading zeros never count: 0.0045 has two.
- Trailing zeros count only when a decimal point is present. "1200" is ambiguous — usually read as two — while "1200." has four.
Scientific notation removes the ambiguity entirely, which is why scientific work prefers it: 1.20 × 10³ says three figures without any doubt.