SI Units

Nature of Science
The
International
System of
Benchmarks:
Use tools and equipment
appropriate to scientific
investigations.
Use metric measurement devices in
an investigation.
Why do we need to be able to
To makemeasure
sense, things?
all measurements
Suppose we wanted need
both . . .
to measure a 2 x 4
for building a house.
Units by themselves
Numbers by themselves
dont make sense.
A and a
ANumber
board is 350 longUnit!
meters .......
long
Any Ideas?
Estimation
Estimation is using your knowledge of
something similar in size or amount to
determine the size of the new object.
o Helps to make a rough
measurement of an
object.
o Usefully when you are in
a hurry and exact
numbers are not
required.
Precision and Accuracy
Precision is a
description of how
close measurements
are to each other.
Accuracy is
comparing your
measurement to the
actual or accepted
value.
Why use the SI System?
In the U.S. we use the
English or use
Scientists Standard
the SI
System, most of the rest
System worldwide
of the world uses the
because:
Metric or SI System.
Measurements are easily understood by all
The SI (International System of Units)
scientists
system is the form
Measurements of measurement
are easier to convert than the
typically used by scientists.
English system
Basic Types of
Measurement
Length: measures distance between objects
Volume: measures the amount of space
something takes up
Mass: measures the amount of
matter in an object
Other Types of measurement include:
time
temperature
density
PH
Measurement System
Comparisons
MEASUREMENT ENGLISH SI SYSTEM
LENGTH Yard / Inch Meter / Centimeter
MASS Ounce / Gram / Kilogram
Pound
VOLUME Quart Liter
TEMPERATURE Fahrenheit Celsius / Kelvin
TIME Second Second
All Measurement systems have standards.
Standards are exact quantities that
everyone agrees to use as a basis of
comparison.
In the English system you have
to remember so many
numbers . . .
12 inches in a foot
3 feet in a yard
5,280 feet in a mile
16 ounces in a pound
4 quarts to a gallon
In the SI System you only have to

remember one number.
The SI System is based on the number 10.
The SI System uses the following
prefixes:
Kilo 1000 This system works with
any
Hecto 100
SI measurement.
Deca 10
The UNIT becomes
UNIT 1 whichever type of
measurement you are
Deci 1/10
making. (mass,
Centi 1/100 volume,
It or length)
is the same system
Milli 1/1000 regardless if you are
measuring length,
mass, or volume.
It works for all types of
measurement.
If your measuring . . .
Length
Mass then
Volume then
thenitititisis the
isthe
meter
gram
the liter(kilo
(centimeter
gram , ,
deca meter
milli gram
(deciliter, ,, etc.)
etc.)
hectoliter, etc.)
cent gra
i the termmindicates the amount,
The first part of
the second part indicates the type of
measurement.
How does converting units
work?
Unlike the English system converting in
the SI System is very easy.
For Example in the English system if you
wanted to know how many inches in 2
miles what would you do?
1. Take the number of miles (2).
2. Multiply it by the number of feet in a mile (5,280).
3. Multiply that by the number of inches in a foot
(12).
ANSWER: 126,720 inches in 2 miles

The SI system is much
easier.
For example in the metric system if you
wanted to know how many centimeters were
in 3 meters, what would you do?
1. Find the unit you have (meters).
2. Find the unit you are changing to
(centimeters).
3. Count the number of units in-between
(2).
4. Move the decimal point that many
spaces, in the same direction you
3 meters 300 centimeters
counted (right).
=
Kilo Hecto Deca UNIT Deci Centi
Milli
More Conversions . . .
2,321.0 millimeters to = 2.321
meters meters
521.0 grams to = 5.21
hectograms hectograms
8.5 kiloliters to = 8,500,000
centiliters centiliters
NOTE: The digits arent changing,
the position of the decimal
is. In the English system the
whole number changes.
Kilo Hecto Deca UNIT Deci

Centi Milli
Things to
Remember
All measurements need a
number and a unit!

Basic units of
Measurement (meter,
liter, gram)
How to convert metric
units
Vocabulary words
Nature of Science
The
International
System of
Basic Types of
Measurement
Length: measures distance between objects
Volume: measures the amount of space
something takes up
Mass: measures the amount of
matter in an object
In SI the basic units are:
Length is the meter
Mass is the gram
Volume is the liter
(liquid)
Temperature is Celsius
Metric Measurement:
Length
Length is the distance between two points.
Does not matter if it is width, height, depth,
etc.
All are length measurements.
The basic unit of length in the SI System is
the
meter.
The meter is about the length of the English
yard
(3 feet).
Area is a variation of a length measurement.
Area is length x width.

Metric Measurement:
Mass
Mass is a measurement of the amount of
matter in an object.
Basic unit of mass is the gram.
There are
454 grams in one pound.
Weight and mass are related, but
NOT the same.
Weight is the pull of gravity on an
object
The greater the mass, the larger the
pull of gravity.
Metric Measurement:
Volume
Volume is a measurement of the amount of
space something
takes up.
The basic unit used for volume is the
liter. This unit is used for the volumes of
liquids.
(L)ength x (W)idth x
Volumes of solids are figured using this
formula:cm x (H)eight
cm x cm = cm 3
Objects without a definite length, width

or height (a rock for example), can
use water displacement to determine
volume.
NOTE: 1 ml = 1 cm3
Metric Measurement:
Temperature
Temperature is a measure of the
kinetic energy of the atoms in an
object.
Temperature is measured with a
thermometer and measured in Celsius
or Kelvin.
Celsius ranges from 0 (freezing) to 100
(boiling).
The Kelvin scale begins at absolute zero,
or 0 K. At 0 Kelvin no more heat can be
removed from an object.
To convert to Kelvin you add 273
Nature of Science
The
International
System of
Density is how much matter is in
Which
something
They isone
(mass)
are both heavier
, kilogram
compared .so.tothey
.the
amount
Aweight of space
the
kilogram it takes
ofsame, it up
but or
feathers (volume).
takes more of
a kilogram
feathers than lead?
lead to equal one
The formula for density is:
kilogram!
Mass divided byVolume (cm3)
So the(grams)
unit for density is g / cm3
Every substance has a density, and that
density always remains the same.
Which one takes up more space
Density can be used to figure out what an
We say the lead(volume)?
is more dense than the
unknown substance is.
feathers.
The density of water is 1 g / cm3
Measurement
Review
Measurements need a number
and a unit!
Basic
units of Measurement
(meter, liter, gram)
How to convert metric units
Beable to make basic
measurements of volume,
length, and mass
Definition of density and how
to figure it out.
Vocabulary words

SI Units

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What are the basic units of measurement in the metric system?

How can you determine the density of an unknown substance?

Nature of Science

In the SI System you only have to

ANSWER: 126,720 inches in 2 miles

Kilo Hecto Deca UNIT Deci

number and a unit!

Volume is the liter

Area is length x width.

Objects without a definite length, width

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