Practice Precision in Math

Use these practice problems to test your method after reviewing the concept explanation and worked examples.

Quick Recap

The degree of exactness in a measurement or calculation, reflected in the number of significant digits reported.

How many decimal places matter? Measuring in inches vs. millimeters.

Example 1

medium
A student measures a pencil three times and gets 15.2 cm, 15.1 cm, 15.3 cm. Another instrument gives 15.18 cm, 15.20 cm, 15.19 cm. Which set of measurements is more precise? Which is more accurate if the true length is 15.5 cm?

Example 2

hard
Add 12.3 cm and 4.56 cm, applying the rule for precision in addition.

Example 3

easy
Which measurement is more precise: 7 m, 7.0 m, or 7.00 m? How many significant figures does each have?

Example 4

medium
Multiply 3.4 cm \times 2.15 cm, applying the significant figures rule for multiplication.
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