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Lesson 2 “King Henry Died Drinking Chocolate Milk”

MEASUREMENT
k h da unit d c m
Metric System
English System
(SI)

Basic SI units
Physical Quantities Name Abbreviation
Mass kilogram kg
Length meter m
Time second s
Temperature Kelvin K
Electric Current Ampere A
Amount of Substance mole Mol
Luminous Intensity candela Cd English System
Measurement Abbreviation
foot Ft
Some Derived Units Used in SI System inch In
Measurement Unit mile Mi
Volume m3 gallon Gal
Density kg/m3 pound Lbs
Velocity m/s yard Yd
Force N ounce Oz
Energy J ton T

The Common Prefixes Used in the SI System

Prefix Abbreviation Factor
T 1012 Accuracy vs. Precision
Tera
Giga G 109
Mega M 106 I. Precision
Kilo K 103  The precision of a series of measurements is an
Hecto H 102 indication of the agreement among repetitive
Deka da 101 measurements.
Deci d 10-1
Centi c 10-2 Example: Which set is more precise?
Milli m 10-3
Micro µ 10-6 18.2 , 18.4 , 18.35
Nano n 10-9 17.9 , 18.3 , 18.85
Pico p 10-12 16.8 , 17.2 , 19.44
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II. Accuracy
 Accuracy is the description of how close a measurement
is to the correct or accepted value of the quantity Rules of Significant Figures
measured.
I. Rules for Counting Significant Figures
Example: Who is more accurate when measuring a book that 1. Non-Zero Integers. Non-zero integers always count as significant.
has a true length of 17.0 cm? Examples.
13.78 4 SF
Christopher: 17.0 cm, 16.0 cm, 18.0 cm, 15.0 cm 1.3325 5 SF
Christian: 15.5 cm, 15.0 cm, 15.2 cm, 15.3 cm
2. Zeros. There are three classes of zeros:
a. Leading zeros- are zeros that precede all the non-zero digits.
These do not count as significant figures.
Examples:
0.0004536 4 SF
0.0987689 6 SF

b. Captive zeros- are zeros between non-zero digits. These always

count as significant figures.
Examples:
1.00345 6 SF
2.045 4 SF

c. Trailing zeros- are zeros at the right end of the number. They are
only significant if the number contains a decimal point.
Regardless of precision and accuracy, all measurements have a Examples:
degree of uncertainty. This is usually dependent on two factors- the 8000 1 SF
limitation of the measuring instrument and the skill of the person making the 500. 3 SF
measurement 30.00 4 SF

3. Exponential digits in scientific notation are not significant.

Examples:
1.12 x 106 3 SF
12.00 x 104 4 SF

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2.11 x 6.2 = 261.082

Think and Try: Least precise

How many significant figures are in each of the following? Measurement (2 SF)

_______1. 0.0012 Final Answer: 260 since 6.2 has the least number of significant
_______2. 437,000 figure.
_______3. 900.0
_______4. 106 3.85 / 1.2 = 3.2083
_______5. 1.0012
_______6. 1.00 x 103 Final Answer: 3.2 since 1.2 has the least number of significant
_______7. 2.01050 figure.
_______8. 100
_______9. 30150
Think and Try:
_______10. 0.001060 Perform the following mathematical operations.

II. Rules of Significant Figures in Mathematical Operation

__________________1. 1.45 x 12.02
A. Addition and Subtraction- the result has the same number
of decimal places as the least precise measurement used in
the calculation. __________________2. 12.786 + 1.23

Example: __________________3. 79.74 – 9.137

67.45
3.9  This measurement has the least number of decimal places.
__________________4. 485 / 9.231
+ 457.454
528.804
__________________5. (8178 / 42.3) x 6.2
Final answer: 528.8 since 3.9 has the least number of decimal
places.
Note: In most calculations, you will need to round off numbers to
obtain correct significant figures.

B. Multiplication and Division- the number of significant

figures in the result is the same as the number in the least
precise measurement used in the calculation.

Example:

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Example:
1. What is the density of a 1,075 g rock if its volume is 334.5 mL?

Density 2. The density of Titanium is 4.54 g/mL. What is the volume in mL of

- It is the property of matter commonly used by chemist as 163 g of Titanium?
an “identification tag” for a substance defined as the
mass of substance per unit volume of the substance.

- Density= Mass / Volume

- D= m/v
Think and Try:
Densities of Various Common Substances at 20 C 0 Calculate the density of each of the following in g/ml.
Substance Density (g/m
(g/mL)
Aluminum 2.70 a. A piece of metal with a mass of 8,500 g displaces 0.180 ml when
Benzene 0.880 placed in water.
Copper 8.96
Ethanol 0.789
Gold 19.32
Hydrogen 0.000084
Iron 7.87
Lead 11.34
Magnesium 1.74
Mercury 13.6
Oxygen 0.00133 b. A 95.0 g block of wood whose dimensions are L= 7.8 cm, W= 5.2
Silver 10.5 cm, and thickness= 3. 18 cm?
Sodium Chloride 2.16
Water 0.9982

Note
1 mL 1 cm3

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