Honors Chemistry
Practice Problems
Significant Figures and
Scientific Notation
Name: _____________________
Date: __________ Block: ______
1. Determine the number of significant figures in the following:
a. 640 cm3
_________
b. 200.0 ml
_________
c. 0.5200 g
_________
d. 1.005 kg
_________
e. 10000 L
_________
f. 20.900 cm
_________
g. 0.00000056 g/L
_________
h. 0.04002 kg/m3
_________
i. 790001 cm3
_________
j. 665.000 kg
_________
k. 60. seconds
_________
l. 9 baseball innings
_________
m. 1 kilometer
_________
n. 47.70 grams
_________
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o. 25 computers
_________
p. 0.0950 meters
_________
q. 1 minute
_________
r. 1000. meters
_________
2. Round each of the numbers in the first column, to three (3) significant figures.
Place the answer in the second column. Take the number from the second column
and put it in correct scientific notation, in the third column:
a. 98.473 liters
_________
_________
b. 0.00076321 centigrams
_________
_________
c. 57.048 meters
_________
_________
d. 12. 17 kilometers
_________
_________
e. 74.983 millimeters
_________
_________
f. 1764.9 milliliters
_________
_________
3. Perform the following calculations and express the results in the correct units and
number of significant figures:
a. 8.7 grams + 15.43 grams + 19 grams
_________
b. 4.32 centimeters x 1.7 centimeters
_________
c. 853.2 liters – 627.443 liters
_________
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d. 38.742 kg ÷ 0.421 m3
_________
e. 5.40 meters x 3.21 meters x 1.871 meters
_________
f. 5.41 m3 + 11 m3 + 87.3000 m3
_________
4. Perform the following conversions:
a. 5.2 cm to mm
_________
b.0.049 kg to g
_________
c. 1.60 mL to µL
_________
d.0.0025 g to µg
_________
e. 0.020 kg to mg
_________
f. 3 kL to dL
_________
g.209 nm to mm
_________
h.35 mm to cm
_________
i. 500,000µg to kg.
_________
5. The greatest distance from the Earth to the Sun during the Earth’s revolution is 152
million kilometers. What is this distance in Megameters?
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6. Perform the following calculations. Express the results in scientific notation with the
correct number of significant figures.
a. 4.74 x 104 km + 7.71 x 103 km + 1.05 x 103 km
________
b. 2.75 x 10-4 m + 8.03 x 10-5 m + 2.122 x 10-3 m
________
c. 4.0 x 10-5 m3 + 6.85 x 10-6 m3 – 1.05 x 10-5 m3
________
d. 3.15 x 102 mg + 3.15 x 103 mg + 3.15 x 104 mg
_________
e. 7.20 x 103 cm x 8.08 x 103 cm
_________
f. 3.7 x 104 mm x 6.6 x 104 mm x 9.89 x 103 mm
_________
g. 8.27 x 102 m x 2.5 x 10-3 mm x 3.00 x 10-4 m
_________
h. 2.290 x 107 cm ÷ 4.33 x 103 s
_________
i. 1.788 x 10-5 L ÷ 7.111 x 10-3 m2
_________
j. 5.515 x 10-4 km ÷ 1.48 x 10-2 min
_________
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7. A technician experimentally determined the boiling point of octane to be 124.1 oC.
The actual boiling point is 125.7 oC. Calculate the technician’s percent error.
8. A student estimated the volume of a liquid in a beaker as 2.0 x 102 mL. the same
liquid measured in a graduated cylinder has a volume of 208 mL. Assuming the
graduated cylinder is more accurate than the beaker; calculate the percent error in the
student’s measurement.
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9. A student measures an object and finds the mass is 110.25g. The correct value is
115.00 g. What is the student’s percent error?
10.
A yard is exactly 3 feet. A meter is 3.2808 feet. If a student used a yardstick
instead of a meter stick and concluded a soccer field was 50. meters wide, what was
his percent error?
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