Significant figures

Hi I’m wondering if putting an incorrect number of significant figures will affect my grade

Significant figures are only likely to affect your grade if the question specifically asks for them eg. “Give your answer to an appropriate number of significant figures”. This is quite rare, but best practice is to always give your answer to the lowest number of significant figures in the data you were given. If a question gives you vf=1.3m/s (2sf), vi=3.44m/s (3sf), and t= 0.56 s(2sf), an acceleration you calculate using a=(vf-vi)/t should be stated to two signficant figures.

I would avoid rounding intermediate steps in a calculation. Instead round once at the end.

Hope this helps.

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