Units, Metric System,

Conversions, Uncertainty,
Significant Figures,
Scientific Notation &
Dimensional Analysis

And not necessarily in that order!

 Warm Up
• You read on the internet that a group identified as the
Pleiadians and other cosmic Beings of Light use
tachyons as their basic source of energy: as a hyper
drive for their beam ships by creating hyperspace
wormholes, for healing, information transmission
and for other purposes. What further information
would you need to know to decide whether or not
this was in the realm of science of not.
 What unit should you use?
Luminous Temp  Kelvin
Intensity 
candela Mass 
24
22 kilograms
20
18

Electricity  16
Length  meters
Ampere 14
12
10
8
6
4
Time  seconds Amount of
substance  mol
 SI Units
• Meter
Standardized: 1983
Measures: Length
Definition: The distance traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 second
• Second
Standardized: 1967
Measures: Time
Definition: The time it takes for a cesium-133 atom to cycle 9,192,631,770 times between two specific quantum states
• Ampere
Standardized: 1948
Measures: Electrical current
Definition: The current required to create a force of 2 x 10-7 newtons per meter between two parallel wires
• Kelvin
Standardized: 1954
Measures: Temperature
Definition: 1/273.16 the temperature of the triple point of water — when it's simultaneously gas, liquid, and solid
• Mole
Standardized: 1971
Measures: Amount of stuff
Definition: The number of atoms in 12 grams of carbon 12 (6.022 x 1023 )
• Candela
Standardized: 1979
Measures: Brightness
Definition: The intensity of a 1/683-watt yellow-green light spread over a square meter, seen from a meter away
• Kilogram
Standardized: 1889
Measures: Mass
Definition: Standard based on a physical sample of platinum-iridium metal held at the International Bureau of Weights &
Measures in Paris, France.
 AHHHH! This
X X chocolate milk is
killing me!
 Metric Conversion Factors
Prefix Multiplied By Symbol Conversions to Know

Giga 109 G 1 gigabase = 1 x 109 base

Mega 106 M 1 megabase = 1 x 106 base
Kilo 1000 k 1 kilobase = 1 x 103 base
Hecto 100 h
Deka 10 da
Base unit: 1 m, L, g
m, L, g, etc

Deci 0.1 d
1 base = 100 centibase
Centi 0.01 c 1 base = 1000 millibase
Milli 0.001 m 1 base = 1 x 106 microbase
Micro 10-6 µ or r 1 base = 1 x 109 nanobase
Nano 10-9 n
 Scientific Notation - Why?
It is easier to write
Calculations are simplified
Significant figures are clear

6.022x10 23

is so much easier to write than

602,200,000,000,000,000,000,000
 Scientific Notation – How?
Converting numbers to scientific notation
Move the decimal point until there is only one digit 0.0034060 
(a non-zero one) to the left of it. 3.4060

Keep track of the number of places you moved the three spaces;
decimal, and write the number as a superscript over 3.4060 x 103
the number ten.
If you moved the decimal to the right, the exponent was moved right;
becomes negative; if to the left, then it remains 3.4060 x 10-3
positive.
All significant figures from the original number five sig figs
must be kept in scientific notation! 3.4060 x 10-3
 sdrawkcaB gnioG
Converting from scientific notation to regular
numbers
Move the decimal point the number of 7.45 x 104  74,500
places left (if negative exponent) or right (if
positive exponent) that is indicated in the
power of ten. Add extra zeros for
placeholders if necessary.
 Vocabulary
Accuracy: how close a measurement is to the known,
accepted or correct value
Example: A student measures the temperature of
boiling water to be 100.0°C
Precision: how close several measurements are to each
other
Example: Six different students measure the
temperature of boiling water to be 98.2°C, 98.1°C,
98.0°C, 98.1°C, 98.3°C, 98.2°C.
 Accurate or precise?

Precise but not accurate Accurate AND precise

Not accurate NOR precise Accurate (on average)

but NOT precise
 Striving for Accuracy &
Precision
For each of the following scenarios…
1. Discuss whether or not the resulting measurements will be precise.
Why?
2. Discuss whether or not we can know if the measurements are
accurate. Why?

Scenario #1:
An instrument is mis-calibrated, and one person uses it to take the same
measurement multiple times.
Scenario #2
Many people use the same correctly calibrated instrument to take the
same measurement multiple times.
Scenario #3
One person takes the same measurement multiple times but uses many
different instruments of the same type.
 Estimating
• Precision can also refer to how well you can know a
measured number or how many decimal places (sig.
figs) you can give a measurement
• Not all measuring devices have the same precision.
Not all measurements will be whole numbers. It is
important to be able to estimate and interpolate.
• Look back at your warm up data, convert your
marking measurements to centimeters
• How much precision (how many digits) can you
really claim to know?
 Significant Figures
Why aren’t all figures significant?
Rules Examples
1. All non-zero digits are always significant. All counting numbers are 8.314 Latm/molK
significant and have an infinite number of significant figures. 22.4 L/mol
1842 Gunn students
2. Zeros between non-zeros are always significant. 2005 years
$10.99
12.011 g/mol carbon
3. Zeros in front of non-zeros are not significant. 0.028
0.00001
09 September
4. Zeros at the end of a number and to the right of a decimal are 1.0000 mm
significant. 2.80 years
5. Zeros at the end of a number and to the left of a decimal may or may not 2000
be significant. 2000 AD
Hints: Zeros that are counted or measured are significant; 2000 gallons
Zeros that hold places are not. 2.0x103 gallons
Use scientific notation or a decimal point for clarity. 2000. gallons
 Atlantic Pacific Rule
a. Decimal present → count from the
Pacific side
Decimal absent → count from the
Atlantic side

b. Find the first non-zero digit

c. All other digits are significant
 Practice
0.0026701 m 5
How many
significant figures in 19.0550 kg 6
each of the
3500 V 2
following numbers?
1,809,000 L 4

0.86250 g 5
 Warm Up!
Warm Up: How many significant figures
are in the following numbers ?
2.0051, 2099623002, 0.00203020400, 0.1
5000, 100,000.00000, 20409595000.0,
0.0000000000001
 Measurement - Volume
Always use a
graduated cylinder
Bring it to your eye
level
Read the bottom of
the meniscus
Report the smallest
calibration plus one
21.6 ml
estimated digit
 Measurement -
Temperature
Mercury adheres better to
itself than the glass, so the
meniscus goes the other 24

way. 22
20

Read the top of the 18

16

meniscus. 14
12

Report the smallest 10

8
calibration plus one 6
4
estimated digit
 Measurement - Mass
On an electric
balance, report all
the digits,
knowing that the
last digit contains
an estimate
0.042 g
 Measurement - length
Use a ruler with the
finest markings
practical for the
application.
Line the object up
with the ‘0’.
Report the smallest
calibration plus one
estimated digit
 Math with Significant Figures
Operation Rule Example

Addition or Keep the number of significant figures to the 102kg + 1.2kg = 103.2kg  103kg
Subtraction least measured place value.
10.99m - 0.564m = 10.426m  _____

Multiplication or Keep the number of significant figures of the 102kg * 1.2kg = 122.4 kg2
Division number with the fewest digits. 120 kg2 or 1.2x102 kg2

10.99 ÷ 0.564 = 19.4858416  _____

Combination of Follow the rules for order of operations 0.185(1,627.3 + 450) – 8 = ??

operations. (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally) and keep 0.185(2077.3) – 8  0.185(2077)–8
track of the number of significant figures you 384.3005 – 8  384 – 8
would have at each step, but don’t round until 376.3005  376
the end.
Remember counting numbers are infinitely
10(26.127*0.95 + 15.5*0.05) = ??
significant!
(assume 10 is a counting number)
 Appropriate Metric Units
• For each of the following, assign appropriate units of
metric measurement. Use any necessary prefixes.
Length of a bus
Mass of a dog
Volume of your key chain & keys
Width of the United States
Mass of a pencil
Volume of water in a lake
Depth of a tissue box
Mass of a grain of sand
Volume of water in a tub
Width of a wire
 Dimensional Analysis
Problem: How many seconds are in a year?

• Identify your starting and ending units. Know where

you are starting from and where you are going to.
Starting unit: year? ?
ending unit: seconds

2. Write down your starting value on the left hand side of

your work space, and your ending value on the right
hand side. Always include units for everything!
1 year seconds
3. Identify any other information you may
need.
1 year = 365.25 days 1 day = 24 hours
1 hour = 60 minutes 1 minute = 60 seconds
4. Write down each conversion with the numerator
(top value in the fraction) being the unit you want
to be in, and your denominator (bottom value in the
fraction) being the unit you want to get out of or
cancel out.
 365.25days   24hours   60 min   60 sec 
       
 1 year   1day   1hour   1 min 
 5. When finished, carefully inspect your work
to ensure that all values are correct, have
units, and that all units cancel out except for
the last one which is the one you want to be
in.
 365.25days  24hours   60 min   60 sec 
1 year      = ? sec
 1 year  1day   1hour   1 min 

6. Finally, multiply all values across the top and

divide by all values multiplied across the
bottom.
3.1558 x 10 sec
7