Trailing zeros (the right most zeros) are significant when there is a decimal point in the number. For this reason it is important to give consideration to when a decimal point is used and to keep the trailing zeros to indicate the actual number of significant figures.

Why are trailing zeros not significant figures?

Trailing zeros after a number are not significant unless there's a decimal point. 250 – The trailing zeros (those to the right of the non-zero numbers) are also placeholders and thus do not add to the precision of the measurement. Thus, there are only two significant digits from the 2 & 5.

Are trailing zeros scientific notation significant?

Trailing zeros in a number containing a decimal point are significant. ... Therefore, any zeros after the decimal point are also significant. Example: 0.00 has three significant figures. Any numbers in scientific notation are considered significant.