Arithmetic

When numbers, functions, or vectors are manipulated,theyalwaysobey

certain properties, regardless of the types of the objects involved. Ele-
ments may be added or subtracted only if they are in the same universe
set. Elements in different universes may sometimes be multiplied or
divided, but the result may be in a different universe. Regardless of the
universe sets involved, the following properties hold true:
1. Associative laws. a 1 (b 1 c) 5 (a 1 b) 1 c, a(bc) 5 (ab)c
2. Identity laws. 0 1 a 5 a, 1a 5 a
3. Inverse laws. a 2 a 5 0, a/a 5 1
4. Distributive law. a(b 1 c) 5 ab 1 ac
5. Commutative laws. a 1 b 5 b 1 a, ab 5 ba
Certain universes, for example, matrices, do not obey the commuta-
tive law for multiplication.
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES AND PRECISION
Number of Significant Figures In engineering computations, the
data are ordinarily the result of measurement and are correct only to a
limited number of significant figures. Each of the numbers 3.840 and
0.003840 is said tobegivencorrecttofourfigures;thetruevaluelies
in the first case between 0.0038395 and 0.0038405. The absolute error is
less than 0.001 in the first case, and less than 0.000001 in the second;
but the relative error is the same in both cases, namely, an error of less
than one part in 3,840.
If a number is written as 384,000, the reader is left in doubt whether
the number of correct significant figures is 3, 4, 5, or 6. This doubt can
be removed by writing the number as 3.84 3 10 5 , or 3.840 3 10 5 , or
3.8400 3 10 5 , or 3.84000 3 10 5 .
In any numerical computation, the possible or desirable degree of
accuracy should be decided on and the computation should then be so
arranged that the required number of significant figures, and no more, is
secured. Carrying out the work to a larger number of places than is
justified by the data is to be avoided, (1) because the form of the results
leads to an erroneous impression of their accuracy and (2) because time
and labor are wasted in superfluous computation.
The unit value of the least significant figure in a number is its preci-
sion. The number 123.456 has six significant figures and has precision
0.001.
Two ways to represent a real number are as fixed-point or as floating-
point, also known as scientific notation.
In scientific notation, a number is represented as a product of a man-
tissa and a power of 10. The mantissa has its first significant figure
either immediately before or immediately after the decimal point, de-
pending on which convention is being used. The power of 10 used is
called the exponent. The number 123.456 may be represented as either
0.123456 3 10 3 or 1.23456 3 10 2
Fixed-point representations tend to be more convenient when the
quantities involved will be added or subtracted or when all measure-
ments are taken to the same precision. Floating-point representations
are more convenient for very large or very small numbers or when the
quantities involved will be multiplied or divided.
Many different numbers may share the same representation. For ex-
ample, 0.05 may be used to represent, with precision 0.01, any value
between0.045000and0.054999.Thelargestvalueanumberrepresents,
in this case 0.0549999, is sometimes denoted x*, and the smallest is
denoted x * .
An awareness of precision and significant figures is necessary so that
answers correctly represent their accuracy.
Multiplication and Division A product or quotient should be written
with the smallest number of significant figures of any of the factors
involved. The product often has a different precision than the factors,
but the significant figures must not increase.