CH01IU

Lecture 02
MEASUREMENT

1 / Chemistry for Engineers (CH011IU) | Lecture 02 | Semester 2: 2021-2022

Measurement

Measurement is the comparison of a physical quantity

to be measured with a unit of measurement

A physical A unit of measurement

quantity (mass, length, time, etc. )

Record the measurement:

 Measured number
 The unit

 Ex: 1.5 cm

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Measurement
True value
Precision: refers to the closeness of the set of
values obtained from identical measurements of
a quantity. Measurement

Accuracy: refers to the closeness of a single

measurement to its true value

Precision and Accuracy: precision and

accuracy are both achieved when results are
close to each other and to the desired value.

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Precision and Accuracy

Precision: poor Precision: good Precision: good

Accuracy: poor Accuracy: poor Accuracy: good

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Measurement

Steel rod

Recorded values:
5.54 cm
5.55 cm
5.56 cm

The spread of values indicates the precision with

which a measure can be made by this ruler
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Significant figures
To indicate the precision of a measured number (or result of
calculations on measured numbers)  Significant figures:

Are those digits in a measured number (or result of a calculation

with measured numbers) that include
 all certain digits plus
 a final digit having some uncertainty.

5.54 cm, 5.55 cm, 5.56 cm

Report: 5.54 cm
 The first two digits (5.5) are certain
 The next digit (4) is estimated  has
some uncertainty
 5.541 cm  WRONG

Greater number of significant figures, higher precision

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Significant figures

32.oC
32.3oC
32.33oC
32.333oC
…
32.33333333333333oC

Which one is RIGHT?

• The number of significant figures in

a measurement depends on the
measuring device

• Normally to one tenth of a smallest

unit

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Significant figures

32.33oC 32.3oC

8 / Chemistry for Engineers (CH011IU) | Lecture 02 | Semester 2: 2021-2022

 Significant figures

Number of significant figures refers to the numbers of

digits reported for the value of a measured or calculated
quantity, indicating the precision of the value

e.g., 9.12 cm  three significant figures

9.123 cm  four significant figures

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Significant figures: Rules

Rule 1: Disregard all initial zeros, all remaining

digits including terminal zeros and zeros between
nonzero integers are significant
Examples:
0.03050  4 significant figures
initial terminal zero
zero between nonzero
Exercises:
a) 0.002 has _ significant figures a) 1
b) 0.0202 has _ significant figures b) 3
c) 0.0020 has _ significant figures c) 2
d) 24.00 has _ significant figures d) 4
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Number Notations

Decimal notation:
• One common representation of numbers
• Minus point:
- awkward to represent very large and/or very small numbers
- easy to make foolish mistakes when carrying out arithmetical
operations in this form

Scientific Notation:
• minimizes the tendency to make errors in arithmetical operations

An exponent is a number that shows how many times a given number

(called the base) appears as a factor; exponents are written as
superscripts

Ex: 102
• The number 2 is the exponent;
• The number 10 is the base, which is said to be raised to the second
power
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Significant figures: Rules

Note: a more rigorous way to determine the

numbers of significant figures (sfs) is to convert
the considered number into the scientific
notation

Ex:
• 4800. → 4.800x103 : 4 sfs
• 4800.0 → 4.8000x103 : 5 sfs
• 0.0004800 → 4.800x10-4 : 4 sfs

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Significant figures: Rules

Rule 2: For addition and subtraction, the smallest

number of digits to the right of the decimal set the
significance
Examples: 22.989 770 Rule for rounding to drop all
1.362 + 35.453 insignificant numbers :
+ 3.111 round up for digits ≥ 5,
58.442 770 round down for digits < 5
4.473
Not significant
58.443
Rounding up
0.135 0.217
Exercises:
1) Rounding to 3 significant figures: 0.1352; 0.21674
2) Write answer with the correct number of digits:
12.3 – 1.63 = 10.67
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Significant figures: Rules
Rule 3: For multiplication and division, the
smallest number of significant digits determines
the significance

Examples:
3.26 × 10-5 34.60
× 1.78 ÷ 2.4687
5.80 × 10-5 14.05

Exercises:
Write answer with the correct number of digits:
4.34 × 9.2 = 39.928

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Exact Numbers & Rounding

An exact number is a number that arises when you count

items or sometimes when you define a unit (e.g., 1.0 cow?)

Exact number
Certain digits (usually integer)

Recorded number
Certain digits ONE uncertain digit

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Excercise

Perform the following calculations and round the answer

to the correct number of significant figures

16.3521 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐2 −1.448 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐2

a)
7.085 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

1 𝑔𝑔
(4.80×104 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚) 1000 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
b)
11.55 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐3

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SI Units
In 1960, an international committee met in France to establish the
International System of Units, a metric system now accepted by
scientists throughout the world. The units of this system are called SI
units, from the French Systeme International d' Unites.

The SI system is based on a set of seven fundamental units, or base

units, each of which is identified with a physical quantity

Physical Quantity (dimension) Unit Name Unit Abbreviation

Mass kilogram kg
Length meter m
Time second s
Temperature kelvin K
Electric current ampere A
Amount of subtance mole mol
Luminous intensity candela cd

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SI Units

Common Decimal Prefixes Used with SI Units

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SI Units

Common SI-English Equivalent Quantities

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 The end!

20 / Chemistry for Engineers (CH011IU) | Lecture 02 | Semester 2: 2021-2022