Chapter 2 Homework problems

Uncertainty
1. Please fill in the blanks in the table below:
Helpful tip: uncertainty is located in the same decimal place as the last
significant figure.
In the first question 300 ft has one significant figure in the hundred’s
decimal place. This means that the uncertainty is +/- 100 ft.
Another way to think about it is to write out the measurement, right below
plop a 1 in the same decimal place as the last sig figs and add zeros as
needed. Like so:
Measurement: 300 ft
Uncertainty: +/- 100 ft
# of sig. figs. Decimal place of last uncertainty
sig figs.

300 ft 1 300 ft +/- 100 ft

hundred’s

0.0310 3 0.0310 +/-.0001

Ten thousandth’s

5.60 x 10^5 3 560000 +/- 1000

thousand’s

2. Please fill in the blanks in the table below:

measurements # of sig. figs. Decimal place of last uncertainty

sig fig.

3.0 x 10^3 2 3000, hundred’s +/- 100

0.0020 2 Ten thousandth’s +/-.0001

360,010 5 tens +/- 10

Significant figure calculations

Helpful tip: the rules for addition and subtraction are based on uncertainty while the
rules for multiplication and division are based on the number of significant figures. They
are not the same rules.
1. 3500 + 552 = 4100 or 4.1 x 10^3 This is an addition problem. We need to find
the largest uncertainty in the measurements and apply that to the answer. The
 uncertainty is in the same decimal place as the last sig fig (highlighted in yellow).
3500 has an uncertainty of +/-100 while 552 has an uncertainty of +/- 1. 100 is
larger than 1 so the answer needs to have an uncertainty of +/- 100 too. That
means the last sig fig in the answer must be in the hundreds place.
2. 5.60 x 10^3 x 7.300 x 10^-1 = 4090
3. 4.3 x 10^-1 - 2.30 x 10^-2 = ? .43 -.0230 = .407 answer = 0.41
Uncertainties are .01 .0001 so the answer has an uncertainty of .01
Making a measurement
Helpful tip: measurements always include all of the digits you are certain of plus one
guess. This means two things:
a. For machines like a scale, the uncertainty is already included in the reading. Just
record what is shown on the scale.
b. For beakers, graduated cylinders, and other tools which are not machines, record
the measurement to one decimal place smaller than the markings on the tool.
1. What is the measurement for each of the following?
a. A beaker marked to the 10 ml markings has a liquid with the bottom of the
meniscus sitting on the 50 mL line.
50. mL Yes, that decimal point matters! If you wrote 50 mL or 51 mL or
anything other than 50. mL, your answer would be incorrect. Since the
beaker is marked by 10 mL marks, then the last sig fig in the
measurement must be in the next smallest decimal place, the one’s.
Don’t forget to include the units!
b. A scale which reads to the tenth’s decimal place reads 34.6 g. 34.6 g
Since a scale is a machine, you would just record the reading and include
the units. No extra guesses here as the machine has already done the
guess for you.
c. A graduated cylinder marked by hundredth mL is filled to the 100 mL
mark. 100.000 mL

2. What is the measurement for each of the following?

a. A beaker marked to the 100 ml markings has a liquid with the bottom of
the meniscus sitting on the 500 mL line. 5.0 x 10^2 mL
b. A scale which reads to the ten’s decimal place and shows 450 g. 450 g
c. A graduated cylinder marked by tenth mL is filled to the 100 mL mark.
100.00 mL

Dimensional Analysis
For this section here are the unit conversions you may use. Yes, there are others which could
take fewer calculation steps, but the purpose of these problems is to practice tracking your unit
conversions so guess what...you get to use these! For each question you will need to show
each step of the unit conversion (no shortcuts...) to get credit.

Allowed conversions for HW #2:

Any metric conversion on the Things to Memorize sheet
Any conversion from table 2.2 in your textbook
12 inches = 1 foot
1 cm3 = 1 mL
1 micron = 1 micrometer
Work using other conversions will not count (...so just use the allowed conversions)

1. The smoke plume from the West Coast forest fires of 2020 stretches 50,000 ft up from
the surface of the earth.
a. Use the measurements for each level of the atmosphere shown on this NASA
graph to identify which layer of the atmosphere the smoke level has reached
(troposphere, stratosphere, etc.). Show your calculations to back up your
conclusion. To answer this you need to convert 50,000 ft to km so you can
determine where the plume would fit in the atmosphere. When converting it’s a
great idea to identify what conversions you’ll need first. For this problem we
need:
12 in = 1ft
39.4 in = 1m
1000 m = 1km
We need to cancel out ft and get to km so our conversion looks like this:
50,000 ft x 12 in/ 1ft x 1 m/ 39.4 in x 1 km/ 1000 m = 15.22
When we check out sig figs, 50,000 ft has one 1. 15.22 is rounded to 20 km.
Answer: 20 km, stratosphere (if you read the info. Below the chart) or
troposphere (if you just looked at the chart)
b. If the Earth’s atmosphere extends 3.0 x 102 miles up, how many ft would the
plume need to reach to leave the atmosphere?
3.0 x 102 miles x 1 km/.621 mi x 1000 m/ 1km x 39.4 in/1m x 1ft/ 12 in = 1.6 x
10^6 ft
2. The air quality index (AQI) for Everett was recently recorded as 162 micrograms/m 3 for
particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5). That’s pretty unhealthy. Choose a
space you occupy regularly (room, car, etc.) and measure the length, width, and height
of the space. If that’s a challenge, just use 10.0 ft by 10.0 ft by 12.0 ft as your
dimensions. If the air in your space had the same AQI as for Everett, how many grams
of particulate matter are present?
10.0 ft x 10.0 ft x 12.0 ft = 1200 ft3 = volume of air
1200 ft3 x (12 in /1ft)3 x (1 m/ 39.4 in)3 x 162 microg/m3 x 1g/10^6 micrograms =
0.00549g
3. The COVID-19 virus is passed via water droplets containing the virus when someone
exhales, sings in the shower, has the giggles, etc. (reference article link ). N95 masks
filter 95% of particles which are 1.18 x 10-5 inches or larger. Use this information to
answer the following questions:
a. What size of water droplet in nm could pass through the N95 mask?
1.18 x 10^-5 in x 1m/39.4 in x 10^9 nm/ 1m = 299 nm. A water droplet smaller
than 299 nm could pass through the mask.
b. The COVID-19 virus particle (when it’s all by its lonesome without a water vapor
buddy) has a diameter of 1.25 x 10-4 mm. Can the virus particle pass through the
N95 mask? (yes, you probably know the answer to this one...but show me the
math)
1.25 x 10^-4 mm x 1m/1000 mm x 39.4 in/ 1m = 4.93 x 10^-6 in. Good news?
Even though a single virus is small enough to pass through the mask, it’s never
alone outside of the body in the air. It’s always contained in water droplets which
makes it large enough to be blocked by the mask.
c. Carbon dioxide particles are 0.33 nm in diameter. Can a carbon dioxide particle
pass through the N95 mask? Yes, 0.33nm is a lot less than 299 nm. What does
that suggest about the claim that wearing a mask makes people sleepy due to
the carbon dioxide we exhale?

4. More practice (less real world examples, but hey...sometimes you just need to do some
problems that will look like the questions on the quiz...)
a. I’ve been reading the Outlander series this summer and noticed that weights of
people are given in units of stone. One of the characters weighs 17 stone. If 1
stone = 6350g, how many lbs does the character weigh?
17 stone x 6350 g/ 1 stone x 1lb/ 454 g = 240 lb
b. How many km/hr is 50.0 mm/sec?
50.0 mm/sec x 1m/ 1000 mm x 1 km/ 1000 m x 60 sec/ 1min x 60 min/ 1hr =
0.180 km/hr
c. How many quarts of substance are present in a 0.0020 kg sample with a density
of 1.48 g/mL?
0.0020 kg x 1000 g/ 1kg x 1 mL/ 1.48 g x 1L/ 1000 mL x 1 qt/ .946 L = .0014 qt
d. If the density of a substance is 0.590 g/mL, how many kg of the substance are
present in a 5.0 L sample?
5.0 L x 1000 mL/ 1 L x 0.590 g/ 1 mL x 1 kg/ 1000 g = 3.0 kg
e.