Unit 1 - Study Guide
Scientific Method and Math Toolkit
I.
Scientific Method
1. What is scientific method?
2. List and define each step of scientific method (Observations, Hypothesis, Experiments,
Variables, Controls, Results and Conclusion)
3. What is a Theory?
4. What is a Scientific Law?
II.
Math Toolkit
A. SI Units
1. What is a base unit? Give 2 examples including quantity it measures and abbreviation.
2. Complete the following table.
SI Base Units
Quantity
Base unit
1
Unit abbreviation
s
2. Mass
3
kelvin
4. Length
3. Name the prefixes and list the factors that are associated with the SI
units G, M, K, h, da, d, c, m, , n, p.
4. How many centigrams are in a gram?
5. How many liters are in a kiloliter?
6. How many nanoseconds are in a second?
7. 200 mg is equivalent to how many g?
8. 25 L is equivalent to how many dL?
9. How do you convert Celsius to Kelvin?
10. Convert each temperature reported in degrees Celsius to Kelvin.
a) 54oC
b) -54oC
c) 15oC
11. What is the difference between mass and weight?
12. What is the difference between a base unit and a derived unit? Give an
example of each.
13. Define density? How is it measured? What are the units of measure?
14. Calculate the density of a piece of bone with a mass of 3.8 g and a volume
of 2.0 cm3.
15. An object with a mass of 8.8 grams is put into a 10-mL graduated cylinder.
The initial volume reading is 2.0 mL and the final volume reading is 7.5 mL.
What is the density of the object?
B. Dimensional Analysis
1. What is dimensional analysis?
2. What is a conversion factor? Give an example.
3. Mount Everest is 8847 m high. How many centimeters high is the mountain?
4. A family consumes 2.5 gallons of milk per week. How many liters of milk
do they need to buy for one week?
(Hint: 1 L = 0.908 quart; 1 gallon = 4 quarts.)
C. Scientific Notation
1. What is the general formula for scientific notation?
2. Express the following quantities in scientific notation.
a. 50,000 m/s2
b. 0.00000000062 kg
c. 0.000023 s
3. Solve the following addition and subtraction problems. Write your answers
in scientific notation.
a. 5.10x1020 + 4.11x1021
b. 6.20x108 - 3.0x106
c. 6.20x10-6 + 5.30x10-5
4. Solve the following multiplication and division problems. Write your answers in scientific notation.
a. (12x104 m) x (5x10-2 m)
b. (3x107 km) x (3x107 km)
c. (90x1014 kg) / (9x1012 kg)
D. Accuracy and Precision
1. Define the terms accuracy, precision, error and percent error.
2. Suppose you calculate your semester grade in chemistry as 90.1, but you
receive a grade 89.4. What is your percent error?
3. On a bathroom scale, a person always weighs 2.5 pounds less than on the
scale at the doctor’s office. What is the percent error of the bathroom scale
if the person’s actual weight is 125 pounds?
E. Significant Figures
1. What are the rules of significant figures? Give an example of each rule.
2. Determine the number of significant figures in each measurement.
a. 0.000010 L
b. 2.4050x10-4 kg
c. 907.0 km
d. 300,100,000 g
3. What are the rounding rules for significant figures? Give an example of
each rule
4. Round each number to five significant figures. Write your answers in scientific notation.
a. 0.000249950
b. 907.0759
5. Complete the following calculations. Round off your answers as needed.
a. 52.6 g + 309.1 g + 77.214 g
b. 245.01 km x 2.1 km
F. Representing Data
1. What data is represented on a bar graph, a circle graph and a line graph?
2. Label each kind of graph shown.
Answer the following questions about the graphs.
3. What percent of the sources of chlorine in the stratosphere are CFCs?
4. During which month of the year does Jacksonville usually get the most
precipitation? The least?
5. Calculate the slope of each line using the points given.
a. (24 cm3, 36 g), (12 cm3, 18 g)
b. (25.6 cm3, 28.16 g), (17.3 cm3, 19.03 g)