rounding, sig. fig., etc.

[Zellmer, Robert]

I always get questions about sig. fig., rounding (whether
I use the special "round even" rule, etc.). I have several links I
use for 1250, 1210 and 1220 dealing with these topics. You
will find 1250 links at the "Helpful Tidbits" link for Chem 1250,

Helpful Tidbits for 1220<https://www.asc.ohio-state.edu/zellmer.1/chem1220/faq/faq_1220.htm>

I use the round-even rule when getting rid of an exact 5 or 5 followed
by zeros, such as rounding 1.85 to the tenths place. You are dropping
the "5". The number being rounded is exactly halfway between the two
numbers so there's no reason to always round up. However, you don't
really need to worry if you didn't do this in 1210. Even if you don't
do this it should not affect you getting the correct answers on the exams
or losing points on the quizzes or labs. Actually, if you use Excel to do
your calculations and the report sheets you can't use this rule (Excel
doesn't have a function to do this easily).

For quizzes and exams on Carmen it doesn't use the round-even rule.
In the long run it's not going to affect your results or receiving credit.
For numeric questions we tell you how many decimal places to include
in your answers, which may not even coincide with the correct s.f.
Instructions for how to enter a number are given right in a problem.

You still may find these files useful, especially if you don't remember
sig. fig. rules or had trouble with them the first time around.

There's also a link dealing with s.f. for logarithms which you will need
to understand for several experiments and lecture material. You should
make sure you understand this before the BAR exp. Sig. fig. for logs can
be tricky at first but are easier than you think.

After having stated this, I will tell you the textbook and solutions manual
do not use the round-even rule. Thus, there may be times if you round
even your answer might be a little different in the last significant digit.

These are just some of the useful links there. Take a look.

Helpful Tidbits for 1250<https://www.asc.ohio-state.edu/zellmer.1/chem1250/faq/faq_1250.htm>

Dr. Zellmer
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