Measurement

in scientific
work activities
By Ari Christian, S.Pd.
Have you ever seen a measuring instrument like the one pictured above?
What measuring instruments have you used?
Are there any measuring instruments around you?
On this occasion, you will learn to take measurements in scientific work.
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you are expected to be able to:

1. Classify various kinds of measuring instruments based on the quantity being measured.

2. Measure using the appropriate measuring instrument.

3. Perform data processing of measurement results using the rules of significant figures.

4. Write down measurement results using the rules of scientific notation.

5. Determine the uncertainty value in repeated measurements.

6. Design an experiment to investigate a case related to measurement.

A. Variety of measuring instruments

Have you ever taken a measurement?

Have you understood what measurement is?

Measurement is comparing the size of an unknown object with

a measuring instrument that is considered a standard size.
B. Quantity, Units, and Dimensions
While studying, you must have often taken measurements with a ruler. How do you measure
using a ruler? Look at the picture below.

What is the result of the measurement in the picture?

Write it down on the board! What did you write?
You have written two components, namely quantities and units. What are quantities and
units?
B. Quantity, Units, and Dimensions

1. Quantity and units

A quantity is something that can be measured and has a unit.

A unit is something whose value is predetermined as the basis for making

measurements.

Physical quantities can be further divided into base quantity and derived
quantity.
B. Quantity, Units, and Dimensions
a. Base Quantity

Base quantities are physical quantities that cannot be expressed in relation to other physical quantities.
There are seven base quantities in science. They are called SI base units, as in the following table:
B. Quantity, Units, and Dimensions
b. Derived Quantity

From these seven base quantities, quantities such as area, volume, density, force, weight and others
can be derived. These quantities are called derived quantities.
B. Quantity, Units, and Dimensions
b. Use of multiples of ten

Metric Conversions

Conversion between various metric units is common in science in order to report quantities more

conveniently. For example, the S.I. unit for length is the meter (m), but if we were to report atomic radii

in meters the number would be incredibly small. It is common however to report atomic radii in

picometers (pm). So how do we convert between such quantities? The first job is to learn the decimal

prefixes and how they correspond to the base unit.

B. Quantity, Units, and Dimensions
How many centimeters are there in 2.5 meters?

How many meters are there in 0.530 km?

How many millimeters are there in 0.236 meters?

B. Quantity, Units, and Dimensions
b. Dimensions

It is defined as the property which shows the relationship between the various types of physical
quantities with the help of base quantities.
B. Quantity, Units, and Dimensions
Example:

Dimensions of velocity
01 velocity =

[v ] =  [v ] = [L] [T]−1  [v ] = LT−1

B. Quantity, Units, and Dimensions
Example:

02 Dimensions of Force

Force = Mass x Acceleration

[F ] = [M] [L] [T]−2 [F ] = MLT−2

B. Quantity, Units, and Dimensions
Example: 03 Dimensions can be used to prove the similarity of two quantities and to determine
units of derived quantities.

Provede the equivalence between work and kinetic energy

Work = Force x Distance

[W] = [M] [L] [T]−2 [L]

= [M] [L]2 [T]−2
= ML2T−2

Kinetic Energy = mv 2

[E] = [M] [L]2 [T]−2

[E] = ML2 T −2

Based on these dimensions, it is known that the amount of work and the amount of
kinetic energy are the same.
B. Quantity, Units, and Dimensions

04
Example: The determine the units of derived quantities

Pressure =

P =

[P] = [M] [L] [T]−2 [L]−2

= [M] [L]−1[T]−2
= ML−1T−2

So, the unit of pressure Is kgm−1s−2

B. Quantity, Units, and Dimensions

EXERCISES
1. Determine the dimensions of the following quantities: 
a. Work
b. Acceleration
c. Density
d. Volume