SCIENTIFIC MEASUREMENT

The Metric System

 Measuring
• The numbers are only half of a
measurement.
• It is 10 long.
• 10 what?
• Numbers without units are
meaningless.
• How many feet in a yard?
• A mile?
• A rod?
 The Metric System

• Easier to use because it is a decimal

system.
• Every conversion is by some power of 10.
• A metric unit has two parts.
• A prefix and a base unit.
• prefix tells you how many times to divide
or multiply by 10.
 Base Units

• Length - meter - more than a yard - m

• Mass - grams - about a raisin - g
• Time - second - s
• Temperature - Kelvin or ºCelsius K or ºC
• Energy - Joules- J
• Volume - Liter - half of a two liter bottle- L
• Amount of substance - mole - mol
 Prefixes
• kilo k 1000 times
• deci d 1/10
• centi c 1/100
• milli m 1/1000
• micro μ 1/1000000
• nano n 1/1000000000
• kilometer - about 0.6 miles
• centimeter - less than half an inch
• millimeter - the width of a paper clip wire
 Volume
• calculated by multiplying L x W x H
• Liter the volume of a cube 1 dm (10 cm)
on a side
• 1L = 1 dm3
• so 1 L = 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm
• 1 L = 1000 cm3
• 1/1000 L = 1 cm3
• 1 mL = 1 cm3
 Volume

• 1 L about 1/4 of a gallon - a quart

• 1 mL is about 20 drops of water or 1 sugar
cube
 Mass

• Weight is a force. Mass is the amount of

matter.
• 1 gram is defined as the mass of 1 cm3 of
water at 4 ºC.
• 1000 g = 1000 cm3 of water
• 1 kg = 1 L of water
 Mass

• 1 kg = 2.5 lbs
• 1 g = 1 paper clip
• 1 mg = 10 grains of salt
 Converting

k h D d c m
• how far you have to move on this chart,
tells you how far, and which direction to
move the decimal place.
• The box is the base unit, meters, Liters,
grams, etc.
 Conversions

k h D d c m
• Change 5.6 m to millimeters
●starts at the base unit and move three
to the right.
●move the decimal point three to the right

56 00
 Conversions

k h D d c m
• convert 25 mg to grams
• convert 0.45 km to mm
• convert 35 mL to liters
• It works because the math works, we
are dividing or multiplying by 10 the
correct number of times.
 Conversion factors

• “A ratio of equivalent measurements.”

• Start with two things that are the same.
One meter is one hundred centimeters
• Write it as an equation.
1 m = 100 cm
• Can divide by each side to come up with
two ways of writing the number 1.
Conversion factors

1m = 100 cm
100 cm 100 cm
Conversion factors

1m
100 cm
= 1
Conversion factors

1m =
100 cm 1
1m 100 cm
=
1m 1m
Conversion factors

1m
100 cm
= 1
100 cm
1 =
1m
 Conversion factors

• A unique way of writing the number 1.

• In the same system they are defined
quantities so they have unlimited
significant figures.
• Equivalence statements always have this
relationship.
• big # small unit = small # big unit
• 1000 mm = 1 m
 Write the conversion factors
for the following
• kilograms to grams
• feet to inches
• 1.096 qt. = 1.00 L
 What are they good for?

• We can multiply by one creatively to

change the units .
• 13 inches is how many yards?
• 36 inches = 1 yard.
• 1 yard = 36 inches

• 13 inches x 1 yard =
36 inches
 What are they good for?
■ We can multiply by one creatively to
change the units .
■ 13 inches is how many yards?
■ 36 inches = 1 yard.
■ 1 yard =1
36 inches
■ 13 inches x 1 yard =
36 inches
 Conversion factors

• Called conversion factors because they

allow us to convert units.
• Really just multiplying by one, in a creative
way.
• Choose the conversion factor that gets rid
of the unit you don’t want.
 Sample Problems
• Perform the following unit
conversions:
• 12 in. to centimeters
• 3.76 hr to minutes
• 137 J to calories
• 0.085490 atm to pascals
 Sample Problems
• Perform the following unit
conversions:
• 0.001348 g to milligrams
• 3560 N to kilonewtons
• 5.29 cs to seconds