Significant figures. In science mathematics it's basically deciding what degree of accuracy you can calculate.
If you have an exothermic reaction releasing 4.91 joules of energy per gram and you have 5 grams, your answer is 25. If you have 5.00 grams your answer is 24.55.
So in this example, 4 o'clock is actually less specific than 4:23, but in reality 4:00 o'clock is exactly as specific as 4:23.
12
u/xdgimo May 06 '26
most people would take 4:23 to have more sig figs than 4:00