73
8.2
Use Just Enough Significant Digits
Do you really need to provide numbers accurate to 0.0001? Only use relevant significant digits!
• Graphs created in spreadsheet software sometimes contain useless digits on the
axes (e.g. 1.00, 2.00, 3.00 instead of 1, 2, 3). Make sure you set that up properly
• Equations from trend lines created in spreadsheet software also often contain
way too many significant digits. Fix that directly on your graph, or within your
slide (overwrite the info)
• In tables, use the minimum number of significant digits that will suffice to clearly
differentiate all values. Especially given that using too many digits will result in
having to use smaller fonts to fit everything
8 Maths
8.2
Use Just Enough Significant Digits
Do you really need to provide numbers accurate to 0.0001? Only use relevant significant digits!
• Graphs created in spreadsheet software sometimes contain useless digits on the
axes (e.g. 1.00, 2.00, 3.00 instead of 1, 2, 3). Make sure you set that up properly
• Equations from trend lines created in spreadsheet software also often contain
way too many significant digits. Fix that directly on your graph, or within your
slide (overwrite the info)
• In tables, use the minimum number of significant digits that will suffice to clearly
differentiate all values. Especially given that using too many digits will result in
having to use smaller fonts to fit everything
8 Maths