Measurement in Science
by Owen Borville
October 9, 2022
Science
Scientists make measurements and collect data about the phenomena that they study.
Two types of data: Qualitative and Quantitative
Qualitative data: Descriptive data such as size, shape, texture, color
Quantitative data: based on quantities of measurement
SI Units of Measure: Systeme International d'Unites (International System of Units) is a standard system of measurement used around the world.
The benefits of a standardized system of measurement are that communication between scientists across the world is much easier.
Seven Fundamental Units of the SI:
Length: meter (m)
Mass: kilogram (kg)
Time: second (s)
Electric Current: Ampere (A)
Temperature: Kelvin (K)
Amount of Substance: mole (mol)
Intensity of Light Source: candela (cd)
Derived units: combinations of two or more base units:
Example: meters/second (m/s)=meters per second
SI System is based on powers of 10.
Metric Prefixes:
giga=10^9=nine zeros=1,000,000,000
mega=10^6=six zeros=1,000,000
kilo=10^3=three zeros=1,000
deci=10^-1=one decimal place=0.1
centi=10^-2=two decimal places=0.01
mili=10^-3=three decimal places=0.001
micro=10^-6=six decimal places=0.000001
nano=10^-9=nine decimal places=0.000000001
Accuracy versus Precision:
Accuracy is a comparison of a measurement to the expected or accepted value
Precision is the degree of exactness of the measurement
by Owen Borville
October 9, 2022
Science
Scientists make measurements and collect data about the phenomena that they study.
Two types of data: Qualitative and Quantitative
Qualitative data: Descriptive data such as size, shape, texture, color
Quantitative data: based on quantities of measurement
SI Units of Measure: Systeme International d'Unites (International System of Units) is a standard system of measurement used around the world.
The benefits of a standardized system of measurement are that communication between scientists across the world is much easier.
Seven Fundamental Units of the SI:
Length: meter (m)
Mass: kilogram (kg)
Time: second (s)
Electric Current: Ampere (A)
Temperature: Kelvin (K)
Amount of Substance: mole (mol)
Intensity of Light Source: candela (cd)
Derived units: combinations of two or more base units:
Example: meters/second (m/s)=meters per second
SI System is based on powers of 10.
Metric Prefixes:
giga=10^9=nine zeros=1,000,000,000
mega=10^6=six zeros=1,000,000
kilo=10^3=three zeros=1,000
deci=10^-1=one decimal place=0.1
centi=10^-2=two decimal places=0.01
mili=10^-3=three decimal places=0.001
micro=10^-6=six decimal places=0.000001
nano=10^-9=nine decimal places=0.000000001
Accuracy versus Precision:
Accuracy is a comparison of a measurement to the expected or accepted value
Precision is the degree of exactness of the measurement
