Chem 16 Handout: Units of Measurement and Dimensional Analysis (JVObligacion)

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Units of Measurement and Dimensional Analysis

Units of Measurement

Mass and Weight

*Mass- the measure of the quantity of matter a body
contains
-SI unit: kilogram (kg)

-> the mass of a body DOES NOT CHANGE as position
changes

*Weight- measure of the gravitational attraction of the
earth for the body
- weight = (mass)(acceleration due to gravity)
-SI unit: Newtons (N)

-> the weight of a body CHANGES as position changes

i.e. The mass of a watermelon on earth is the same as its
mass in the moon whereas but its weight on earth is
greater than its weight on the moon

-> In Chemistry, when we say weight, we actually
mean mass but since we usually deal with chemical
reactions at constant acceleration due to gravity (the
acceleration due to gravity on earth is always 9.81
m/s
2
!!!), mass and weight are used interchangeably.
Nevertheless, we should keep in mind that the two are
not identical.

Length

SI unit: meter (m)

Volume

*Volume- is a measure of how much 3D space a
substance (i.e. solid, liquid or gas) occupies
- volume = (length)(width)(height)
- for a cube, volume = (length of the side)
3

-SI unit: liter (L)

-> since volume is a measure of how much 3D space a
substance occupies, its unit should be (dimensions)
3
i.e.
cm
3
, dm
3
, m
3
, etc. Note that the SI unit of volume, the
liter (L), is equal to 1 dm
3
.

Example (1): Calculate the volume in cm
3
of a box that
is 252.56 cm wide, 18.23 cm deep, and 6.50 cm tall.

Solution:

( )( )( )
3
cm 927 , 29 cm 23 . 18 cm 56 . 252 cm 50 . 6 volume = =

Dimensional Analysis

-> The units must ALWAYS accompany the numeric
value of a measurement, whether we are writing about
the quantity, talking about it, or using it in calculations

i.e. it would be nonsense to say that the length of the
wire is 5.3! We must specify units with the number, for
instance 5.3 inches, 4.7 feet, 4.7 meters, etc.

* Dimensional Analysis/ Unit Factor Method- a
method of performing calculations by multiplying an
expression by a quantity equal to unity (1).

- this is based on the fact that multiplying an expression
by 1 does not change the value of an expression


-> Note that the other units (hours) cancel to give the
desired unit (days)

Example (2): A Snickers
TM
bar has a weight of 57
grams, has a length of 4 inches and a volume of 49 mL.
What are its weight, length and volume in SI units? (1 m
= 39.37 inches)

Solution:
kg 057 . 0
g 1000
kg 1
g 57 weight =
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Chem 16 Handout: Units of Measurement and Dimensional Analysis (JVObligacion)

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m 102 . 0
g 37 . 39
m 1
in 4 length =
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=
L 049 . 0
mL 1000
L 1
mL 49 volume =
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=

Example (3): One liter is exactly 1 dm
3
. How many
cubic inches are there in 1 L? (1 m = 39.37 inches)

Solution:

3
3 3
3
in 0 . 61
m 1
in 37 . 39
dm 10
m 1
L 1
dm 1
L 1 =
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Percentage, Density and Specific Gravity,
Temperature

Percentage

* Percentage- used to describe the amount of sample as
a fraction of 100

i.e.

% 100 x
sample part s 100
Carbon part s 49
, generally more or
% 100 x
sample kg 100
Carbon kg 49
% 100 x
sample g 100
Carbon g 49
mass by Carbon % 49
=
=
=


Example (4): A metal alloy contains 94.78% zinc and
5.22% copper. The mass of the alloy was found to be
9.12 grams. How many grams of zinc does this alloy
contain?

Solution:

zinc g 64 . 8
alloy g 100
zinc g 78 . 94
alloy g 12 . 9 zinc g =
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Density and Specific Gravity

*Density- mass per unit volume

V
m
D or
volume
mass
density = =


-> densities are usually expressed as g/cm
3
for liquids
and solids and as g/L for gases.

*Specific Gravity (Sp. Gr.)- ratio of a substances
density to the density of water, both at the same
temperature

water
ce tan subs
D
D
. Gr . Sp =


-> the density of water is 1.000 g/mL at 3.98
o
C, the
temperature at which the density of water is greatest.
Variations in the density of water with changes in
temperature, however, are small enough that we can use
1.00 g/mL up to 25
o
C without introducing significant
errors into our calculations.

-> in contrast with density, the specific gravity of a
substance is UNITLESS because it is a ratio of 2
densities.

Example (5): A 3.679 mL of mercury has a mass of 50
g. (a) What is its density in g/cm
3
? (b) If 188 g of
mercury is needed for a chemical reaction, what volume
in mL would you use? (c) What is its specific gravity?
(Note: 1 mL = 1 cm
3
)

Solution:

3
cm / g 59 . 13 mL / g 59 . 13
mL 679 . 3
g 50
V
m
D .) a = = = =


mL 83 . 13
mL
g
59 . 13
g 188
D
m
V
V
m
D .) b = = = =


59 . 13
cm / g 00 . 1
cm / g 59 . 13
D
D
. Gr . Sp .) c
3
3
water
mercury
= = =


-> this example demonstrates that the density and
specific gravity of a substance are numerically equal
near room temperature if the density is expressed in
g/mL

Chem 16 Handout: Units of Measurement and Dimensional Analysis (JVObligacion)

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Example (6): A solution contains 4.39% of H
2
SO
4
by
mass. Its specific gravity is 1.31. Calculate the mass of
pure H
2
SO
4
in 500 mL of this solution.

Solution:

Density of solution = Specific gravity
= 1.31 g/mL

( )
4 2
SO H g 75 . 28
n ' sol g 100
4
SO
2
H g 39 . 4
n ' sol mL 1
n ' sol g 31 . 1
n ' sol mL 500
4
SO
2
H mass
=
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=

-> Note that the density of the solution means the mass
of the solution over the volume of the solution and NOT
the mass of H
2
SO
4
over the volume of the solution!!!

Heat and Temperature

*Heat- is a form of energy that always flows
spontaneously from a hotter body to a colder body- it
never flows in the reverse direction.

*Temperature- measure of the average kinetic energy
of the molecules in a body (i.e. the higher the
temperature, the higher the average kinetic energy of the
molecules in a body)
- measures the intensity of heat, the
hotness or coldness of a body.
- Temperature scales: Celsius (
o
C),
Fahrenheit (
o
F), Kelvin (K)

Note: degrees Kelvin are abbreviated as K rather than
o
K are called kelvins.

-> the Kelvin temperature scale is called the Absolute
temperature scale because at 0 K (-273.15
o
C),
molecules in a body will behave perfectly (i.e. there will
be no disorder). 0 K is thus called the absolute zero
temperature.

-> In reality, this absolute temperature cannot be reached

Consider: A metal plate heated to 100
o
C fells hot to
touch whereas a popsicle frozen to -4
o
C feels cold.
Why?

-> because the temperature of the metal (100
o
C) is
higher and the temperature of the popsicle (-4
o
C) is
lower than body temperature (37
o
C).

Temperature scale conversion formulas:

K =
o
C + 273.15
o
F = 9/5
o
C +32
o
C = 5/9 (
o
F-32)

Example (7): What is the absolute temperature in
Fahrenheit scale?

Solution:

Convert K first to
o
C then convert
o
C to
o
F

K
o
C:
o
C = 0 K 273.15 = -273.15
o
C

o
C
o
F:
o
F = 9/5(-273.15) + 32 = -459.67
o
F

=> The absolute zero expressed in Fahrenheit scale is -
459.67
o
F

Problems:

1. A small crystal of sucrose (table sugar) had a
mass of 6.080 mg. The dimensions of the box-
like crystal were 2.20 mm x 1.36 mm x 1.23
mm. What is the density of sucrose in g/cm
3
? (1
m = 100 cm = 1000 mm)

2. An iron ore is found to contain 9.24% hematite
(a compound that contains iron). How many kg
of this ore would contain 6.40 tons of hematite?
(1 ton = 1000 kg)

3. Which has the higher temperature, a sample of
water at 65
o
C or a sample of iron at 65
o
F?

4. At what temperature will a Fahrenheit
thermometer give (a) the same reading as a
Celsius thermometer, and (b) a reading that is
numerically equal but opposite in sign from that
on the Celsius thermometer?