• Do you get the

same amount of
Scientific Measurements meat on your
sub at Firehouse
Subs of Easley
as you do at
Firehouse Subs
of Clemson?

What scientific measurements? What is a standard?

• A standard is an exact quantity
that people agree to use for
comparison.
–Measurements using the same
standards can be compared to each
other.

The Metric System SI Base Units

• SI units – are universally accepted and
understood by scientists throughout the
world.
– All kilograms used throughout the world must
be exactly the same as the kilogram kept in
France
• Each type of SI measurement has a base
unit. For example, the meter is the base
unit of length.

1
 SI Base Units H. SI - International System of Units
Quantity Unit Symbol 1. Based on multiples of 10
Measured 2. Common metric prefixes:
Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg
a. mega- (M) 1 000 000 x
Time second s b. kilo- (k) 1 000 x
Electric ampere A c. hecto- (h) 100 x
Current d. deka- (da) 10 x
Temperature kelvin K
e. deci- (d) 0.1 x (1/10)
Amount of mole mol
Substance f. centi- (c) 0.01 x (1/100)
g. milli- (m) 0.001 x (1/1000)
h. micro- (u) 0.000 000 001 x

SmartNotebook Activity
Conversion Factors
• Conversion factors are used to change one unit
to another. A conversion factor is a ratio that is
equal to one. For example, there are 1,000 mL
in 1 L so the conversion factor is

1,000 mL = 1

1L

Example Conversion Factor Conversion Factors (cont.)

• 1.255 L X 1,000 mL = 1,255 mL • 2.3 km X 1,000 m X 100 cm X 10 mm =
1L 1 1 km 1m 1 cm

• 125 g X __1 kg_ = .125 kg

1,000 g 2, 300, 000 mm
• 3,682 cm X _1 m__ = 36.82 m
100 cm

2
 Measuring Distance
• In scientific measurement,
length is the distance between
two points.
• The SI unit of length is the
meter (m)
Measuring Mass
• In scientific measurement, mass is a
measure of the quantity of matter in
an object.
• The SI unit of mass is kg. Mass is
commonly measured in grams.
Units are very important!
Measuring Volume
• In scientific measurement, volume is
the amount of space occupied by an
object
• The SI unit of volume is m3. Volume
is commonly measured in mL.
(1mL=1cm3)
Measuring Density
• In scientific measurement, density
is the mass per unit volume of a
material.
• Density= mass/volume
Resources
• http://www.firehousesubs.com/section.cfm?id=25