Measurements

Measurement

You are making a measurement when you

Check you weight
Read your watch
Take your temperature
Weigh a cantaloupe

What kinds of measurements did you

make today?
 Standards of Measurement

When we measure, we use a

measuring tool to compare some
dimension of an object to a
standard.
Some Tools for Measurement
 Learning Check
From the previous slide, state the tool (s) you
would use to measure
A. temperature ____________________
B. volume ____________________
____________________
C. time ____________________
D. weight ____________________
 Learning Check
What are some U.S. units that are used to
measure each of the following?
A. length
B. volume
C. weight
D. temperature
 Answer:

Some possible answers are

A. Length inch, foot, yard, mile

B. Volume cup, teaspoon, gallon, pint, quart

C. Weight ounce, pound (lb), ton

D. Temperature F, C, K

 Metric System (SI)

 Is a decimal system based on 10

 Used in most of the world
 Used by scientists and hospitals
 The Seven Base SI Units
Quantity Unit Symbol
Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg
Temperature kelvin K
Time second s
Amount of mole mol
Substance
Luminous Intensity candela cd
Electric Current ampere a
 SI Unit Prefixes
Name Symbol Name

tera- T 1012
giga- G 109
mega- M 106
kilo- k 103
deci- d 10-1
centi- c 10-2
milli- m 10-3
micro- μ 10-6
nano- n 10-9
pico p 10-12
Stating a Measurement
In every measurement there is a

Number
followed by a

 Unit from measuring device

 Learning Check
What is the unit of measurement in each of the
following examples?

A. The patient’s temperature is 102°F.

B. The sack holds 5 lbs of potatoes.
C. It is 8 miles from your house to school.
D. The bottle holds 2 L of orange soda.
 Learning Check
Identify the measurement in metric units.
A. John’s height is
1) 1.5 yards 2) 6 feet 3) 2 meters

B. The volume of saline in the IV bottle is

1) 1 liters 2) 1 quart 3) 2 pints

C. The mass of a lemon is

1) 12 ounces 2) 145 grams 3) 0.6 pounds
 Solution
A. John’s height is
3) 2 meters

B. The volume of saline in the IV bottle is

1) 1 liter

C. The mass of a lemon is

2) 145 grams
Conversion of
Units
Convert the following units:

1. 5km m
2. 22 kg g
3. 8m ft.
4. 26 m km
5. 18200 s hr
 Limits of
Measurement
 Accuracy - a measure
of how close a
measurement is to the
true value of the
quantity being
measured.
Example:
 Who is more accurate when
measuring a book that has a true
length of 17.0cm?

a. 17.5cm
b. 16.8cm
c. 15.0cm
Example:
 Who is more accurate when
measuring a book that has a true
length of 26.8cm?

a. 25.5cm
b. 26.0cm
c. 26.6cm
d. 27.9cm
 Precision – a measure of
how close a series of
measurements are to one
another. A measure of
how exact a
measurement is.
Example:
Who is more precise when measuring
the same 17.0cm book?

a. Susan
17.0cm, 16.0cm, 18.0cm, 15.0cm

b. Amy
15.5cm, 15.0cm, 15.2cm, 15.3cm
Learning Check: State
whether the picture is
accurate, precise or both.
Accurate Precise Both
Significant
Figures
Significant Figures
 The significant figures in
a measurement include all
of the digits that are
known, plus one last digit
that is estimated.
 Rules – Significant Digits
 1. All nonzero numbers are significant.
Ex: 456 – 3 sig.
 2. All zeros between numbers are significant.
Ex: 408 – 3 sig.
 3. If decimal present, zero’s to the left are not
significant.
Ex: 0.0078 – 2 sig.
 4. If decimal present, zero’s to the right are
significant.
Ex: 0.090 – 2 sig.
 5. If no decimal, zero’s on end are not significant.
Ex: 34500 – 3 sig.
 How many sig. figs.?
a. 100
b. 10302.00
c. 0.001
d. 10302
e. 1.0302x10 4
Answer:
a. 3
b. 7
c. 1
d. 5
e. 5
Scientific
Notation
 Scientific Notation
 Used for expressing very large
or very small values.
 convert to decimal by moving
the decimal the number of places
indicated by the exponent.
Learning Check
1. 4,850,000 =
2. 0.009283 =
3. 78,050,222 =
4. 0.768562 =
5. 3,560,000,000 =