By Lars Henry
As of last Wednesday, area physics teacher Trent Keynes officially became a “stickler for significant figures.” Although this may sound insignificant, the physics department is now up in arms due to the hard feelings of many angry students. Said honors physics sophomore Sam Schmidt in reference to the test that he bombed, “I had 1.2 and the answer was like 1.22.” Unfortunately, Keynes’ students have nowhere else to turn for assistance. “The person next to me had the same answer too,” Alec Ready of Mr. Keynes’ fifth period class explained. Although his students are sure they didn’t round too early in the problem or forget to change units, the test results reflect a different story. So next time, avoid this problem by double checking your significant figures, even if it’s irrational. Which it usually is.
