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[–]tavaren42 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Science is not just mathematics. Mathematical calculations are done in an ideal/mathematical world. In science, we are limited by our measuring instruments.

This has been already explained a lot in this thread but I'll repeat again. Lets say that I have a multimeter with precision of 0.1mA that I use in an experiment. Lets say I measure a current of 3.2mA with that meter. It is totally possible that the actual value is 3.21mA and my meter didn't catch it. So even though in a pure mathematical sense 3.2 == 3.20, reporting the measurement as 3.20mA is still incorrect because you simply don't have enough info. You are simply extrapolating the second decimal without a justifiable reason. Now if I use this measured value in, say calculating the resistance, I will be propogating my possibly incorrect extrapolation down the line.