Chapter 1

Introduction Part 2:
Matter and
Measurements

Ms Veronique Joubert
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Learning Outcomes...
 The difference between exact numbers and inexact numbers.
 The difference between accuracy and precision.
 Uncertainties in measured and reported values – significant figures.
 Expressing values in scientific and non-scientific notation.
 Interpretation of measurement units.
 How to do unit conversions.
 Dimensional measurements for area and volume.
 Determination of density for matter.
 Measuring temperature of substances.

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 What are
measurements?
Exact numbers and inexact numbers
Exact numbers
~ values that are known exactly, there is no uncertainty (doubt) in
its measurement.
Eg. 12 eggs in a dozen, 10 mm in 1 cm, 34 students in the class.
Inexact numbers
 Measured values with some degree of uncertainty in them. All
measurements made using measuring apparatus have a degree of error in
them.
 Limitations in measuring equipment, human error, random errors.
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Precision and Accuracy
Precision
~ how close a series of measurements are to one
another.
Accuracy
~ how close a measurement is to the accepted value.

Precision = Consistency
Accuracy = Correct
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 Exercise…
A. B. C. D.

1. High Accuracy 2. High Accuracy 3. Low Accuracy 4. Low Accuracy

Low Precision High Precision Low Precision High Precision

A. 2 B. 4 C. 1 D. 3

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Uncertainties in
Measurements
Significant figures…
 All measured values have some degree of accuracy and uncertainty.
 The more decimal places in a value, the greater its accuracy and smaller its
uncertainty.
4g least accurate/most uncertainty
4.00 g
4.000 g most accurate/least uncertainty

 When rounding calculated numbers, we pay attention to significant figures so we

do not overstate the accuracy of our answers.

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Significant figures…
• All nonzero digits are significant.
1-9
• Zeroes between two significant figures are themselves significant.
101; 2016; 20 505
• Zeroes at the beginning of a number are never significant.
0.0056; 0.5
• Zeroes at the end of a number are significant if a decimal point is written in the
number.
4000 not significant
4000.0 zeroes significant

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Significant figures…
Exercise: Identify the number of significant figures in each value
a. 14.2
b. 205
c. 0.042
d. 14.2000
e. 2500
f. 14.14
g. 0.00310
h. 3.200
i.
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Significant figures…
When addition or subtraction is performed, answers are rounded to the least
significant decimal place.

4.10 cm + 15.1036 cm + 5.040 cm

(2 decimals) (4 decimals) (3 decimals)

= 24.2436 cm

≈ 24.24 cm rounded off to 2 decimals

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Significant figures…
When multiplication or division is performed, answers are rounded to the number of
digits that corresponds to the least number of significant figures in any of the
numbers used in the calculation.

3 sf 4 sf
3.14 g x 2.751 ml
0.640001 ml 6 sf
= 13.49709

≈ 13.5 rounded off to 3 significant figures

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Significant figures…
Multifunctional calculations

(1.254 – 0.58) x 2.35

= (0.674) x 2.35 (note 2 decimal places in parenthesis, inderline them BUT
don’t round off yet, the calculation is not finished)

= 1.5839
= 1.6 (2 significant figures, count the significant figures in the
underlined answer from the parenthesis)

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Significant figures…
Multifunctional calculations

(1.33 x 2.8) + 8.41

= (3.724) + 8.41 (note 2 significant figures in parenthesis, underline them BUT
don’t round off yet, the calculation is not finished)

= 12.134
= 12.1 (1 decimal in final answer - count the decimals in the
underlined answer from the parenthesis)

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Expressing values
in scientific
notation
 Scientific notation
• When numbers are very large or very small, they are written in
scientific notation (exponential form).
• Eg. 10 000 000 or 0.00000001
• The decimal is placed after the first non-zero number.
• x 10exp is added to indicate the size of the value.
• The value of exp is determined by the number of places the decimal
moves.
10 000 000 is written as 1 x 107
0.00000001 is written as 1 x 10-8
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 Scientific notation
Decimal moves to the left  positive exponent Eg. x 105
Decimal moves to the right  negative exponent Eg. x 10-5

250 000
= 2.5 x 105 (2SF) decimal moves 5 places to the left  exponent is 5

0.001862
= 1.862 x 10-3 (4 SF) decimal moves 3 places to the right exponent is -3

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Non-Scientific notation

Positive exponent  decimal moves to the right

Negative exponent  decimal moves to the left

2.85 x 10-2
= 0.0285
7.11 x 105
= 711000

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Measurement units
Measurement Units

Measured quantities have units.

 Indicate the identity of a measurement
Eg. g (mass), ml (volume), cm (length), C (temp)
 Indicate the size of a measurement
Eg. Ton (very big) → kg → g → mg → g (very small)

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Measurement Units

Addition and subtraction

Units must be the same, they do not cancel each other out.
5g + 3g = 8g (not 8 g2)
6 ml – 3 ml = 3 ml (not 3, they do not cancel out)

5 km + 20 m = both distance measurements must be in same unit

5000 m + 20 m = 5020 m

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 Measurement Units
Multiplication and division
• Units do not have to be the same.
2m x 5m = 10 m2 (not 10 m)
2 g x 5 ml = 10 g.ml
2 g  5 ml = 0.4 g/ml or 0.4 g.ml-1
• Units that are the same above and below a calculation line can cancel out.
10 g  2g = 10 g = 5 (not 5 g or 5 g2)
2g
• If the units are not the same but the indicate the same identity for the measurement,
than the units must be converted to be the same.
40 ml x 2 L = not 80 ml.L
40 ml x 2000 ml = 80 000 ml2 or 0.04 L x 2 L = 0.08 L2
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SI Units
 Système International d’Unités
 Uses a different base unit for each quantity.
 The base unit is the basic unit in which a measurement is expressed for a
specific measured entity, it is also referred to as the SI unit:

Quantity Base unit Abbreviation

Length meter m
Mass gram g
Time seconds s
Volume litre L
Chemical quantity mole mol
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Conversion of Units

 Measurement units can be represented by two systems: the metric system

and the imperial system.
 The metric system is the international system (SI units) used in science to
express measurements.
 Units of a measurement can be converted within a system (eg. g  kg) or
between measurements systems (eg. km  miles).

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Conversion of Units
Derived units for measurement – Imperial system

Measurement English to metric Metric to english

Length 1 in. = 2.54 cm 1 m= 39.37 in
1 yd= 0.9144 m 1 km = 0.6215 mile
1 mile =1.609 km
Mass 1 lb = 453.6 g 1 kg = 2.205 lb
1 oz = 28.35 g
volume 1 gal = 3.785 L 1 L = 1.057 qt
1 qt =946.4 ml
1 oz (fluid) = 29.6 ml

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 Conversion of Units Derived units for measurement – Metric system
Prefix Symbol Factor Example
Giga G 109 1 Gm = 1 x 109 m 1 m = 1 x 10-9 Gm
Mega M 106 1 Mm = 1 x 106 m 1 m = 1 x 10-6 Mm
kilo k 103 1 km = 1 x 103 m 1 m = 1 x 10-3 km (0.001 km)
hecta h 102 1 hm = 1 x 102 m 1 m = 1 x 10-2 hm (0.01 hm)
deca da 101 1 dam = 1 x 101 m 1 m = 1 x 10-1 dam (0.1 dam)
base unit -----
deci d 10-1 1 dm = 1 x 10-1 m 1 m = 1 x 101 dm (10 dm)
centi c 10-2 1 cm = 1 x 10-2 m 1 m = 1 x 102 cm (100 cm)
milli m 10-3 1 mm = 1 x 10-3 m 1 m = 1 x 103 mm (1000 mm)
micro µ 10-6 1 µm = 1 x 10-6 m 1 m = 1 x 106 µm (1 000 000 µm)
nano n 10-9 1 nm = 1 x 10-9 m 1 m = 1 x 109 nm
pico p 10-12 1 pm = 1 x 10-12 m 1 m = 1 x 1012 pm 26
Conversion of Units

desired unit
Given unit   desired unit
(starting with) given unit
(ending with)

Conversion factor

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Conversion of Units
Example:
Convert 117 cm to m Conversion factor: 1m = 100 cm

1m 3 Significant figures because

117 cm X  1.17 m the MEASURED value has 3
100 cm significant figures

Convert 241 gal to L Conversion factor: 1L = 0.26 gal

1L
241 gal X  927 L
0.26 gal

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Conversion of Units
Convert 15 g to mg Conversion factor: 1 x 106 g = 1 g = 1 x 103 mg
 1 x 106 g = 1 x 103 mg
1 x 103 mg
15 µg X  0.015 mg = 1,5 x 10-2 mg
1 x 106 g

Convert 7.258 dm to km Conversion factor: 10 dm = 1 m = 1 x 10-3 km

 10 dm = 1 x 10-3 km
1 x 10-3 km
7.258 dm X  0.0007258 km = 7.258 x 10-4 km
10 dm

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Conversion of Units
Convert 35 ml/s to L/min Conversion factors: 1L = 1000 ml
and 1 min = 60 s

35 ml 1L 60 s
X X  2.1 L/min
s 1000 ml 1 min

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Dimensional
Measurements
Area
Rectangle Circle

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Area of a rectangular shape
Area: SI unit = m2 1 m = 10 dm = 100 cm = 0.001 km
=Lxb
=1m x 1m

1 m2 = 1m x 1m
= 10 dm x 10 dm = 100 dm2
= 100 cm x 100 cm = 1 x 104 cm2
= 1000 mm x 1000 mm = 1 x 106 mm2
= 0.001 km x 0.001 km = 1 x 10-6 km2

1 m2 = 100 dm2 = 1 x 104 cm2 = 1 x 106 mm2

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Volume

Cube Cylinder

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 Volume of a cube 1 m = 10 dm = 100 cm = 0.001 km
Volume: SI unit = m3
=lxbxh
=1m x 1mx1m

Relation between L and m3

1 dm3 = 1L
1 m3 = 1000 dm3 = 1000 L
1 cm3 = 1 mL
1 dm3 = 1L = 1000 cm3 = 1000 mL = 0.001 m3

FOR PURE WATER: 1 cm3 = 1 mL = 1 g (H2O)

1 dm3 = 1L = 1000 mL = 1000 g = 1 kg

1 m3 = 1000 dm3 = 1000 L = 1 x 106 cm3 = 1 x 106 ml 36

 Density
 The density of an object is the mass of a substance per volume of space it
occupies.

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 Density

SI Unit:
= g/ml or g/cm3

 Density is directly proportional to the mass of a substance (at constant volume).

 Density is inversely proportional to volume (at constant mass).
 Density of pure water at 20 C (1 atm) = 1.00 g/ml or g/cm3

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 Density
 Density is also temperature dependant  if T ↑ then density ↓ and vice versa.
 Density comparisons between different substances are made at a constant temperature
(25 C if not specified).
 A substance with a smaller density will float on top of a substance with a larger density.

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 Density
• Specific gravity or relative density: the ratio of the density of a
substance to the density of water.
• Spec gravity or SG = dsubstance /dwater
(dwater= 1.00 g.ml-1 )
=g.ml-1/ g.ml-1
=unitless value
If specific gravity > 1; the substance is heavier than water.
If specific gravity < 1; the substance is less heavier than water.

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 Density
Density can be calculated for:
 Gases (mass of gas/volume of container)
 Liquids (mass of liquid/volume of measured liquid)
 Regular shaped solids (mass of object/volume dimension of solid)
 Irregular shaped solids (mass of solid/displaced volume of solid)

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 Temperature
 Temperature is the measurement of how hot or cold a substance is.
 It is a physical property that determines the direction of heat flow, which in
turn is a chemical property.
 Heat energy spontaneously flows from a substance with a higher
temperature to a substance with a lower temperature.
 SI Unit: Kelvin (K).
 Temperature is most commonly expressed in degrees Celsius (C) and in
some instances in degrees Fahrenheit (F).
 Temperature readings can be converted between C, F and K.
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Temperature
A measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a sample.

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Temperature

K = C + 273

C = K − 273

F = (9/5 x C) + 32

C = 5/
9 x (F – 32)

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Can you…
 Tell the difference between exact numbers and inexact numbers?
 Explain the difference between accuracy and precision?
 Count significant figures (SF) and know how to round off to the correct
number of SF in a calculation?
 Express values in scientific and non-scientific notation?
 Interpret measurement units and do unit conversions?
 Understand how area and volume is expressed?
 Determine density and temperature for matter?

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