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Units and Measurement - Chapter 1

This document discusses units and measurement in the metric system. It defines the International System of Units (SI) and the seven base units used including meters, kilograms, seconds and more. It also covers derived units, accuracy vs precision, scientific notation, unit conversions and operations with numbers in scientific notation.

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60 views30 pages

Units and Measurement - Chapter 1

This document discusses units and measurement in the metric system. It defines the International System of Units (SI) and the seven base units used including meters, kilograms, seconds and more. It also covers derived units, accuracy vs precision, scientific notation, unit conversions and operations with numbers in scientific notation.

Uploaded by

c8kewaternotes
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as KEY, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Units and

Measurement

Physical Science
Math and Units
Math- the language of Physics
SI Units – International System
MKS
Length m
Mass kg
Time s
National Bureau of Standards
Prefixes
Base SI Units
Quantity Unit Symbol

Length meter m

Mass kilogram kg

Temperature kelvin K

Time second s

Amount of Substance mole mol

Luminous Intensity candela cd

Electric Current ampere a


Derived SI Units (examples)
Quantity unit Symbol

Volume cubic meter m3


Density kilograms per cubic meter kg/m3

Speed meter per second m/s

Newton kg m/ s2 N

Energy Joule (kg m2/s2) J

Pressure Pascal (kg/(ms2) Pa


Limits of Measurement

Accuracy and Precision


Example: Evaluate whether the
following are precise, accurate or
both.

Accurate Not Accurate Accurate


Not Precise Precise Precise
Accuracy - a measure of how
close a measurement is to the true
value of whatever is being
measured.
Example: Accuracy
Who is more accurate when measuring
a book that has a true length of
17.0cm?
Susan:
17.0cm, 16.0cm, 18.0cm, 15.0cm
Amy:
15.5cm, 15.0cm, 15.2cm, 15.3cm
Precision – a measure of how close a
series of measurements are to one
another. A measure of how exact a
measurement is.
Example: Precision
Who is more precise when measuring the
same 17.0cm book?
Susan:
17.0cm, 16.0cm, 18.0cm, 15.0cm
Amy:
15.5cm, 15.0cm, 15.2cm, 15.3cm
Significant Figures

The significant figures in a


measurement include all of the digits
that are known, plus one last digit
that is estimated.
Centimeters and Millimeters
SI Unit Prefixes
Name Symbol Analogy
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
SI Unit Prefixes for Length
Name Symbol Analogy
gigameter Gm 109
megameter Mm 106
kilometer km 103
decimeter dm 10-1
centimeter cm 10-2
millimeter mm 10-3
micrometer μm 10-6
nanometer nm 10-9
picometer pm 10-12
Scientific Notation

M x 10 n

M is the coefficient 1<M<10


10 is the base
n is the exponent or power of 10
To write a number to scientific notation:

1)Put the decimal after the first non-


zero digit.
Example: To convert 5,668,000 first
write 5.668000
2) To find the exponent count the
number of places from the decimal to
the end of the original number.
In 5.668000 there are 6 places after
the decimal.
So the exponent is 6 or 106
3) Drop the ending (or beginning)
zeros (if any).

So 5,668,000 is written as:

5.668x106
Scientific Notation
Exponents are often expressed using
other notations.
5.668E+6 or
5.668 x 10^6
Numbers less than 1 will have a
negative exponent.

A millionth of a second is:


0.000001 sec 1x10-6
1.0E-6 1.0^-6
Speed of Light

300,000,000 m/sec
Example 1
Express the following in scientific
notation:
73,822 m =
0.001234 g =
34,532.666 s =
0.447600 m =
Example 2
Express the following in standard
numerical form:
4.75 x 10-3 m =
8.99 x 107 g =
1.44 x 101 s =
3.334 x 10-6 m =
Factor-Label Method of Unit
Conversion
Example: Convert 5km to m:

NEW UNIT
5km x 1,000m =5,000m
km
OLD UNIT
Factor-Label Method of Unit
Conversion: Example
Example: Convert 7,000m to km

7,000m x 1 km =0.007m = 7x10-3km


1,000m
Problem Solving Method
1) Make a list of: knowns
unknowns
2) a) If applicable, make a diagram.
b) Write the related formula.
c) Substitute the numbers with
units and check that the units are
uniform.
3) Write the answer with the units.
Multiplication in Scientific Notation
New coefficient= product of coefficients
New exponent= sum of exponents

Perform the following calculations:


(9 x 105)m· ( 7 x 10-6)m=
(3 x 103)m· ( 2. x 103)m=
Division in Scientific Notation
New coefficient= quotient of coefficients
New exponent= exponent of numerator
-exponent of denominator

Perform the following calculations:


12 x 102 kg / 8 x 102 m3=
24 x 104 kg/ 6 x 102 m3=
Addition and Subtraction in Scientific Notation

A. First express each number with the same


exponent as the other
B. New coefficient=sum of coefficients

Perform the following calculations:


3 x 104 + 2 x 104=
5 x 1023 - 1. x 1022=
1.5 x 106 + 2.7 x 103=

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