The Decimal precision reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Decimal precision

The decimal precision of a measurement or quantity expresses the number of figures that are used relative to the decimal point.

For example, the quantity 1927.3636 can be expressed in various numbers of digits. The number is rounded to its nearest value in the preferred decimal precision.

Five decimal places	1927.36360
Three decimal places	1927.364
One decimal place	1927.4
No decimal places	1927
To the nearest 10	1930
To the nearest 100	1900

Where the decimal precision is specified for a quantity, the number of resulting significant figures will vary depending on the magnitude of the quantity. For example, all the following numbers have the same decimal precision:

1927.36	Six significant figures
987.11	Five significant figures
7.58	Three significant figures
0.02	One significant figure

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