Significant figures
Significant figures rules handout
Print an original significant figures reference with zero rules, scientific notation, calculation rules and rounding examples. Choose Letter or A4 and a printed language.
Preview and downloadRead the digits. Keep the precision.
Significant figures worksheets
Learn what each written digit tells you. Count significant figures, calculate with measured values and round the final answer using the right rule.
Choose a worksheetEqual values. Different precision.
4.22 significant digits
4.203 significant digits
Read the last reported placetenths → hundredths
Precision in practice
Read the precision
Use the rules reference, then distinguish leading, interior and significant trailing zeroes in ordinary and scientific notation.
Significant figures
Identify significant digits worksheets
Count significant digits in whole numbers, decimals and scientific notation. Select any combination, generate 20 questions and print a separate answer key.
Preview and downloadPrecision in practice
Calculate, then round
Choose the rule that matches the operation. Keep all working digits until the final answer and state how exact halfway cases are rounded.
Significant figures
Adding and subtracting with significant figures worksheets
Practice two-number sums, three-number sums and subtraction with 20 questions. Round by decimal place, choose a halfway rule and print precision-preserving answers.
Preview and download
Significant figures
Multiplying and dividing with significant figures worksheets
Generate 20 two-factor, three-factor or division problems. Round to the fewest significant digits, preserve meaningful zeroes and download the worksheet with answers.
Preview and downloadChoose a starting point
Begin with one kind of number or calculation. Combine choices when the learner can explain which digits matter and why.
Start with whole numbers
Separate interior zeroes from trailing whole-number zeroes under the stated worksheet convention.
Open this starting point →Read decimal zeroes
Compare leading zeroes with significant zeroes at the end of a reported decimal.
Open this starting point →Read the mantissa
Practice scientific notation with positive, negative and zero exponents.
Open this starting point →Round sums by place
Compare two-addend and three-addend sums while keeping the least precise decimal place visible.
Open this starting point →Round quotients by digit count
Use the least significant-digit count and avoid rounding before the final result.
Open this starting point →Use the school halfway rule
Practice subtraction with exact ties rounded away from zero. The selected rule is printed on the worksheet.
Open this starting point →Two calculation rules to keep separate
Add or subtract
Match the least precise place
12.47 + 3.2 ≈ 15.7
The exact sum is 15.67. The tenths place in 3.2 sets the precision of the answer.
Multiply or divide
Use the fewest significant digits
2.40 × 3.0 = 7.2
The factor 3.0 has two significant digits. Keep two in the final product, even though 2.40 has three.
Keep the full calculation until the end. Rounding an intermediate result can change the final answer.
Make the zeroes visible
Leading zeroes locate the decimal point. Interior zeroes count. Written trailing decimal zeroes also count: 0.0040 has two significant digits.
Whole-number trailing zeroes need a stated convention. On these worksheets, 2400 has two significant digits. To state four clearly, write 2.400 × 10³. The rules handout explains this convention before it appears in practice.
Teaching questions
How many questions are on a worksheet?
Each practice worksheet has 20 questions. Every selected kind appears, with the questions distributed as evenly as possible. The rules handout is a fixed reference.
Can I choose only scientific notation?
Yes. In Identify significant digits, select scientific notation alone or combine it with whole numbers and decimals. Scientific exponents range from −9 through 9.
Which rounding rule is the default?
Exact ties round to even by default. The arithmetic worksheets also offer ties away from zero, often used in school rounding. Both rules round to the nearest value when the result is not exactly halfway.
Why are some answers in scientific notation?
It keeps the requested precision clear when a whole-number answer ends in zeroes, and makes very large or small results easier to read. For two significant digits, 1.0 × 10³ is more explicit than 1000.
Can I print without answers?
Yes. Choose the student-only ready-made download or turn off Include answers in the settings. The rules reference has no separate answer edition.
Can I change the printed language?
Customized sheets support English, German, Albanian, Spanish, Italian, French, Turkish and Norwegian Bokmål. English uses a decimal dot; the other seven use a decimal comma.
Build the supporting skills
Calculate with decimals
Strengthen place-value understanding and written decimal arithmetic.
Decimal worksheets →Practice rounding
Connect a rounding decision with the place being reported.
Rounding worksheets →Prepare the printout
Choose Letter or A4 and print at actual size for clear writing space.
Printing help →