UNITS

AND
MEASUREMENT
SI Units
 Math- the language of Physics
 SI Units – International System
 MKS
Meter m
Mass kg
Time s
 National Bureau of Standards
 Prefixes
 The Seven Base SI Units
Quantity Unit Symbol
Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg
Temperature kelvin K
Time second s
Amount of mole mol
Substance
Luminous candela cd
Intensity
Electric Current ampere A
Derived SI Units (examples)
Quantity unit Symbol
Volume cubic meter m3
Density kilograms per kg/m3
cubic meter
Speed meter per m/s
second
Newton kg m/ s2 N
Energy Joule (kg m2/s2) J

Pressure Pascal (kg/(ms2) Pa

SI Unit Prefixes for Length
Name Symbol
gigameter Gm 109
megameter Mm 106
kilometer km 103
decimeter dm 10-1
centimeter cm 10-2
millimeter mm 10-3
micrometer μm 10-6
nanometer nm 10-9
picometer pm 10-12
Scientific Notation

Mx 10 n

 M is the coefficient 1<M<10

 10 is the base
 n is the exponent or power of
10
 Other Examples:
 5.45E+6 or

 5.45 x 10^6

 5.45 X 106
Numbers less than 1 will have a
negative exponent.

A millionth of a second is:

0.000001 sec 1x10-6

1.0E-6 1.0^-6
 Factor-Label Method of Unit
Conversion
 Example: Convert 5km to m:
 Multiply the original measurement by a
conversion factor.

NEW UNIT
85km x 1,000m = 85,000m
1km
OLD UNIT
 Factor-Label Method of Unit
Conversion: Example
 Example: Convert 789m to km:

789m x 1km =0.789km= 7.89x10-1km

1000m
 Convert 75.00 km/h to m/s

75.00 km x 1000 m x 1 h = 20.83m/s

h 1 km 3600 s
Limits of Measurement

 Accuracy and Precision

 Accuracy - a measure of how
close a measurement is to the
true value of the quantity
being measured.
Example: Accuracy
 Who is more accurate when
measuring a book that has a true
length of 17.0cm?
Susan:
17.0cm, 16.0cm, 18.0cm, 15.0cm

Amy:
15.5cm, 15.0cm, 15.2cm, 15.3cm
 Precision – a measure of how
close a series of measurements
are to one another. A measure of
how exact a measurement is.
Example: PRECISION
 Who is more precise when
measuring a book that has a true
length of 17.0cm?
Susan:
17.0cm, 16.0cm, 18.0cm, 15.0cm

Amy:
15.5cm, 15.0cm, 15.2cm, 15.3cm
 Example: Evaluate whether the
following are precise, accurate or both.

Accurate Not Accurate Accurate

Not Precise Precise Precise
Significant Figures

 The significant figures in a

measurement include all of
the digits that are known,
plus one last digit that is
estimated.
Centimeters and Millimeters
Finding the Number of
Significant Figures:
 Non-zero digits are always
significant.
 Any zeros between two significant
digits are significant.
 A final zero or trailing zeros in the
decimal portion ONLY are
significant.
 How many sig figs?
a.100 e. 0302.00

b. 0.001 f. 0.0050100

c.10302 g.1.0302x104

d. 0.00100 h. 1235
 Sig Figs in
Addition/Subtraction
Express the result with the same
number of decimal places as the
number in the operation with the least
decimal places.
Ex: 2.33 cm
+ 3.0 cm
5.3 cm
(Result is rounded to one decimal place)
Sig Figs in
Multiplication/Division
 Express the answer with the same
sig figs as the factor with the least
sig figs.
 Ex: 3.22 cm
x 2.0 cm
6.4 cm2
(Result is rounded to two sig figs)
Solving Word Problems

 Analyze
 List knowns and unknowns.
 Draw a diagram.
 Devise a plan.
 Write the math equation to be used.
 Calculate
 If needed, rearrange the equation to solve for
the unknown.
 Substitute the knowns with units in the
equation and express the answer with units.
 Evaluate
 Is the answer reasonable?
 Problem A piece of copper has a
mass of 57.54 g. It is 9.36 cm
long, 7.23 cm wide, and 0.95
mm thick. Calculate density
(g/cm3).

Density  mass (g)

volume (cm3)
Strategy
1. Get dimensions in common units.

2. Calculate volume in cubic centimeters.

3. Calculate the density.

SOLUTION
1. Get dimensions in common units.
1cm
0.95 mm • = 0.095 cm
10 mm

2. Calculate volume in cubic centimeters.

(9.36 cm)(7.23 cm)(0.095 cm) = 6.4 cm3
Note only 2 significant figures in the answer!

3. Calculate the density.

57.54 g 3
= 9.0 g / cm
6.4 cm3
 Learning Check

A. Which answers contain 3 significant figures?

1) 0.4760 2) 0.00476 3) 4760
B. All the zeros are significant in
1) 0.00307 2) 25.300 3) 2.050 x 103

C. 534,675 rounded to 3 significant figures is

1) 535 2) 535,000 3) 5.35 x 105
Learning Check

In which set(s) do both numbers contain

the same number of significant figures?
1) 22.0 and 22.00
2) 400.0 and 40
3) 0.000015 and 150,000
Learning Check

State the number of significant figures in each of the

following:
A. 0.030 m 1 2 3
B. 4.050 L 2 3 4
C. 0.0008 g 1 2 4
D. 3.00 m 1 2 3
E. 2,080,000 bees 3 5 7
 Learning Check

A. 2.19 X 4.2 =
1) 9 2) 9.2 3) 9.198

B. 4.311 ÷ 0.07 =
1) 61.58 2) 62 3) 60
C. 2.54 X 0.0028 =
0.0105 X 0.060
1) 11.3 2) 11 3) 0.041
Learning Check

Which diagram represents the liquid layers in

the cylinder?
(K) Karo syrup (1.4 g/mL), (V) vegetable oil
(0.91 g/mL,) (W) water (1.0 g/mL)
1) 2) 3)

V W K
K V
W
K V W
 Learning Check

What is the density (g/cm3) of 48 g of a metal if the

metal raises the level of water in a graduated cylinder
from 25 mL to 33 mL?
1) 0.2 g/ cm3 2) 6 g/m3 3) 252 g/cm3

33 mL
25 mL
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