Question | Answer |
broadly describes non-numeric properties | qualitative |
broadly describes numeric properties | quantitative |
2 parts of a measurement | number & unit (usually) |
2 factors that affect the quality of a measurement | instrument quality;
user skill |
the quantity/value obtained from lab work | experimental (E) value |
'best available' measurement of a quantity (often obtained from a reference) | accepted (A) value |
equation for calculating % error | (|A – E| ÷ A ) x 100% |
how close you are (i.e. nearness to) the accepted value of a quantity | accuracy |
consistency of a set of measurements performed in the same way (or 'exactness' of an individual measurement in some situations) | precision |
measurement system used by scientists | SI (International System) |
reasons SI is better than the English system | 1)used by scientists everywhere 2)more logically based (Earth/water properties) 3)numerical prefixes & based on multiples of 10 make conversions easier |
SI prefix meaning "one thousand" | kilo- (k) |
SI prefix meaning "one thousandth" | milli- (m) |
SI prefix meaning "one hundredth" | centi- (c) |
SI prefix meaning "one tenth" | deci- (d) |
SI conversion mnemonic | King Hector died by drinking chocolate milk! (others possible) |
collectively, the simplest quantities measurable in SI | base (fundamental) quantities |
distance between 2 points | length |
SI unit of length | meter (m) |
device for measuring length | ruler (meter stick) |
quantity of matter (in a sample of matter) | mass |
SI unit of mass | kilogram |
device for measuring mass | balance |
interval between 2 events | time |
SI unit of time | second (s) |
'hotness' or 'coldness'; measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a sample of matter | temperature |
SI unit of temperature | kelvin |
temperature scale based on the freezing and boiling points of water | Celsius |
equation for converting Celsius to Kelvin | K = C + 273 |
freezing point of water on the Celsius scale? Kelvin scale? Fahrenheit scale? | 0; 273; 32 |
normal boiling point of water on the Celsius scale? Kelvin scale? Fahrenheit scale? | 100; 373; 212 |
human body temperature on the Fahrenheit scale? Celsius scale? | 98.6; 37 |
collectively, the measurement quantities generated by using some combination of fundamental (base) quantities | derived quantities |
measurement of the size of a surface | area |
SI unit for area | square meter |
equation for finding area of a rectangle | A = length x width |
equation for area of a circle | A = pi x radius squared |
amount of space occupied by matter | volume |
equation for volume of a rectangular solid | V = length x width x height |
equation for volume of a cylinder | V = area of base x height (for 'area of base' see equation for circle) |
technique for determining the volume of rectangular solid by immersing | water displacement method |
some (at least 2) SI units for volume | cubic meter, cubic decimeter, or cubic centimeter for solids; liter or milliliter for liquids; usually liters for gases |
mass per unit volume | density |
SI unit of density for solids? liquids? gases? | g/cm3; g/mL; g/L |
density equation | D = m/V |
all the digits in a measurement known with certainty PLUS one final estimated (uncertain) digit | significant digits (figures) |
mnemonic for helping determine the # of significant digits (figures) in a measurement | Atlantic-Pacific Rule |
two situations in which rules for significant digits do not apply | counted quantities; exact quantities defined by a system (ex: 1 m = 100 cm) |
shorted form for writing very large of very small numbers using a coefficient and exponents (powers) of 10 | scientific notation |
exponent of 10 that yields the value 100? 1000? 10? 1? 0.1? 0.001? | 2; 3; 1; 0; –1; –3 |
# of significant digits in the answer for this calculation: 5.50 x 2.13 | 3 |
# of significant digits in the answer for this calculation: 1.01 ÷ 2.0 | 2 |
# of significant digits in the quantity "25 students" eating lunch | not applicable... this is a counted quantity so significant rules do not apply |
curved surface of a liquid in a container such as a graduated cylinder | meniscus |
the density equation (D = m/V) rewritten to solve for "m"? for "V"? | m = DV; V = m/D |