Statistics and Significant Figures

C. Zeros at the end of numbers (sometimes referred to as terminal zeros) may or may not be significant. For example, the volume of a beaker may be 3.0 liters. The zero after the '3' tells us that the volume is known within a few tenths of liters. However, if the volume were reported as 3000 ml, then it is unclear whether the uncertainty of the volume is a few tenths of a liter or a few hundred milliliters. Using scientific notation would clear up any ambiguity about the significance of the volume (i.e. 3.0 x 10³ milliliters).