LEARNING Unit II— MEASUREMENTS AND MATHEMATICAL OPERATIONS

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this unit, the students are expected to:

1. Differentiate precision and accuracy;
2. Illustrate the importance of measurement in chemistry.
3. Establish the correct use of units and master the process of unit conversions.

Time Frame: Week 4-5

Lesson 3.1 SCIENTIFIC MEASUREMENTS

The process of comparing one quantity with another is known as measurement. Measurements
are used to describe such quantities as length, weight, area, volume and time.
Measurement is a quantitative description of a fundamental property or physical phenomenon.
When we measure, we compare an unknown quantity with a certain standard called unit of measurement.

Accuracy, Uncertainty, Precision

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Calibration
 It is the process of standardization of measuring instrument, by comparing or checking the
measuring instrument against an accurate standard to determine any deviation and correct for
errors. A calibration assures that a device will produce an accurate and precise result.

Accuracy in measuring
 Accuracy is the degree of conformity of a measured or calculated quantity to its actual value. The
smallest the division of the measuring instrument the more accurate.
 It refers to the closeness or exactness of a measurement in the theoretical value.

Uncertainty in measuring
 It indicates the maximum difference between the measured value and the true value. The
uncertainty of a measured value depends on the measurement technique used.

Precision
 The degree to which further measurements or calculations shows the same or similar results.
 The results of calculations or a measurement can be accurate but not precise; precise but not
accurate; neither or both.
 A result is called valid if it is both accurate and precise.

Lesson 3.2 SIGNIFICANT DIGITS

 In measurement, all digits that we are sure of, plus one that is uncertain are called significant
digits.

3.2 UNITS

 Units give numbers a particular meaning.

 Units exactly identify the quantity of a measurement.
 Units provide a shorter way of writing down measurements.
 Units can be most helpful when you are converting from one system of measurement to another
like English and Metric.
  Unit can also help you catch errors when you write down and substitute numbers into equations.
This is called dimensional equivalence.

UNITS
1 kilometer (km) 1000 meters (m)
1 meter (m) 100 centimeters (cm)
1 centimeter (cm) 0.39 inch (in.)
1 mile (mi) 5280 feet (ft.)
1 foot (ft.) 12 inches (in.)
1 inch (in.) 2.54 centimeters (cm)
1 square mile (m2) 640 acres (a)
1 kilogram (kg) 1000 grams (g)
1 pound (lb.) 16 ounces (oz.)
1 fathom 6 feet (ft.)

1. The English System of Measurements- also called British System. It is commonly used in English
speaking countries.
- Measurement used for length is foot, the standard of which was not particular as it referred to
the length of a King Henry VIII’s foot.
- Another disadvantage is that it often needs to use to units to express only one measurement.
- Third major problem with this unit is that they lack any systematic relationship between units.
Relationships among English Units

Length Volume Mass

12 inches(in.) = 1 foot (ft) 2 pints (pt)= 1 quart (qt) 16 ounces (oz) = 1 pound (lb)
3ft = 1 yard (yd) 4qt = 1gallon (gal) 2000 lb= 1 ton
1760 yd= 1 mile (mi) 42 gal= 1 barrel (bbl)

2. The Metric System of Measurements – used in most of the world and in sciences for measurement
for length, volume and mass.
- The principal metric unit for length is meter.
- Volume is the space that a sample matter occupies and its principal metric unit is the liter.
- Mass is the quantity of matter that a sample contains. Principal metric unit for mass is the gram.
- Metric units form the basis of the SI system, after the French Système International
(International System). The fundamental units of the SI system have very precisely defined
standards based on certain known properties of matter and light. For example, the unit of one
meter is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458th of a second.
This system relates all units of measurement to seven bases of fundamental units. This means that they
cannot be described in terms of anything else.

Quantity Name of Units Symbol

Length Meter m
Mass Kilogram kg
Temperature Kelvin K
Time Second s
Amount of Substance Mole mol
Electric current Ampere A
Luminous intensity candela cd

Derived Units – simply combinations of fundamental units

 Quantity Name of Units Symbol Derivation
Frequency Hertz Hz 1/s
Force Newton N Kg∙m/s2
Pressure Pascal Pa N/m2
Work, Energy Joule J N∙m
Power Watt W J/s
Electric charge Coulomb C A∙s
Electric Potential Volt V w/A

Metric Prefixes

The metric prefixes, which are exactly multiples of 10 of the basic unit. A convenient feature of
metric system is there is an exact relationship between length and volume. The SI unit for volume is the
cubic meter (m3). Since this is rather large volume for typical laboratory situations, liter is used.
One liter is defined as the volume of one cubic decimeter (1L=1 dm3). On a smaller scale, 1
milliliter is the exact 1 cubic centimeter (1mL= 1cm3=1cc). Thus, the units milliliter and cubic centimeter
can be used interchangeably when expressing volume.

Multiple prefix
1, 000,000,000,000,000,000 (1018) exa-
1, 000,000,000,000,000 (1015) peta-
1, 000, 000, 000, 000 (1012) tera-
1, 000, 000, 000 (109) giga-
1, 000, 000 (106) mega-
1, 000 (103) kilo-
100 (102) hecto-
10 (101) deca-
1/10 (10-1) deci-
1/100 (10-2) centi-
1/1,000 (10-3) milli-
1/1,000,000 (10-6) micro-
1/1,000,000,000 (10-9) nano-
1/1,000, 000, 000, 000 (10-12) pico-
1/1,000, 000, 000, 000, 000 (10-15) femto-
1/1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (10-18) atto-

Dimensional analysis is a technique used in solving problems including the conversion of units. The
units are always written so that they cancel out and the final unit is obtained.

Unit required =unit given x conversion factor

A conversion factor is a fraction wherein the numerator and denominator are equivalent but are
expressed in different units. This conversion factor does not affect the true value of the original
measurement.

Example 1: Convert 8.5 km railways to meters. 1km=1000m.

 ___meter= 8.5km x = 8500m.

Example 2: The volume of a block of wood is 18 cubic centimeters, what is its volume in cubic
meter? 1m=100cm.
____ cubic meter = 18cm3 x = 0.000018 m3

Example 3: How many kilometers are there in 876 cm?

1km= 1000m 1m=100cm
_____km= 8.76 cm x x = 0.0000876km

 Converting temperature from one scale to another involves equations, and here they are for three
units:

Temperature Conversion Equations

CONVERSION EQUATION
Celsius to Fahrenheit °F= °C x 9/5 +32
Fahrenheit to Celsius °C= (°F-32) x 5/9
Celsius to Kelvin K= °C + 273.16

A degree is the unit of measurement for the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales, but it is not used
with the Kelvin scale. This is because the unit of measurement for the Kelvin scale is called a
kelvin and not a degree. One degree on the Celsius scale is equivalent to one kelvin on the
Kelvin scale.