Nature of Science

The
International
System of Units
Benchmarks:
Use tools and equipment appropriate to
scientific investigations.
Use metric measurement devices in an
investigation.
Why do we need to be able to
Tomeasure
Suppose
make things?
we wanted
sense, all to
measure a 2 x 4 for
measurements need both ...
building a house.
Units by themselves
Numbers by themselves
don’t
don’t make
make sense.sense.
A Number and a Unit!
A board is 350 longlong
meters .......

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 Standard
Scientists use 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 of measurement typically
⚫ Measurements are easier to convert than the
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 / Pound Gram / Kilogram
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
SI measurement.
Hecto 100
Deca 10 The UNIT becomes
whichever type of
UNIT 1 measurement you are
making. (mass, volume, or
Deci 1/10 length)
Centi 1/100 It 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
then it
it
Volume then it is is
is the
the
meter
gram (kilometer,
(centigram,
the liter (deciliter,
decameter,
milligram, etc.)
etc.)
hectoliter, etc.)

centigram
The first part of the term indicates the amount,
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 counted (right).

3 meters = 300 centimeters

Kilo Hecto Deca UNIT Deci Centi Milli
More Conversions . . .
2,321.0 millimeters to = 2.321 meters
meters
521.0 grams to hectograms = 5.21 hectograms
8.5 kiloliters to centiliters = 8,500,000 centiliters

NOTE: The digits aren’t 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 Units
 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.
Expressed in units2 (m2, cm2, mm2 etc.)
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.
✔ Volumes of solids are figured using this formula:

(L)ength x (W)idth x (H)eight

cm x cm x cm = cm3
✔ 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 degrees to
the Celsius reading.
Freezing in Kelvin is 273 K, boiling is 373 K.
Nature of Science

The
International
System of Units
Density is how much matter is in
something
They areWhich oneiskilogram
(mass),
both heavier
compared .to. the
so they .weight
amount
Athe of space
same,
kilogram of it takes
butfeathers
it takes more
or up (volume).
feathers
a kilogram ofthan
lead?
lead to equal one kilogram!
The formula for density is:
Mass (grams) divided by Volume (cm3)
So the unit for density is g / cm3
Every substance has a density, and that density
always remains the same.
Which one takes up more space (volume)?
Density can be used to figure out what an
We say the lead 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
⚫ Be able to make basic
measurements of volume, length,
and mass
⚫ Definition of density and how to
figure it out.
⚫ Vocabulary words