Unit 1: Review
Measurement Lab
Resources
To help you better understand conversions, visit:
http://www.swtc.edu:8082/mscenter/mthsci/science/1tools/p02amtrc.pps
http://www.dmacc.org/medmath1/METRIC/metric.html
Note: this tutorial uses “mc” for micro (10 mcg) but we will use “µ” for micro (10µg).
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I. Metric units
II. Conversions
The fundamental unit for length is the meter (m), for mass is the kilogram (kg), for
volume is the liter (l) and for temperature is degree Kelvin (°K) but Celsius (°C) is more
commonly used.
The line below may help you with metric conversions.
Prefixes precede the root or main word (gram, liter, meter). The following prefixes are
commonly used in science:
Tera (T) = 1012
Giga (G) = 109
Mega (M) = 106
Kilo (k) = 103
Hecto (h) = 102
Deka (da) = 101
deci (d) = 10-1
centi (c) = 10-2
milli (m) = 10-3
micro (µ) = 10-6
nano (n) = 10-9
pico (p) = 10-12
T
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G
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M
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k
h
da
Base
d
c
m
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µ
.
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n
.
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p
The base represents gram, liter and meter. First find on the line your given then
count the number of spaces you need to move to get to your answer.
For example, if you have 15 kg and you want to convert to mg then you must move
6 spaces to the right. So you move your decimal point 6 spaces to the right. Your
answer is then 15,000,000 mg.
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III. Length measurements
Laboratory equipment for measuring length.
• This ruler has both English units (top) and Metric units (bottom).
Length measurements continued
Decimeter (dm), centimeter (cm) and meter (m) units.
English measurements
1 dm = 10 cm = 100 mm
Metric measurements
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1 millimeter (mm)
1
Length measurements continued
Length measurements continued
Meter = m
Area measurement
The formula for area = length x width.
Area units are always squared (m2, cm2, km2 ).
1 m = 10 dm = 100 cm = 1000 mm
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IV.
Volume
Volume continued
When a figure has three dimensions we can find its volume.
Volume can be expressed in terms of liters or cubic
centimeters (cm3 or cc). Larger volumes can be expressed
as m3 and dm3.
•
Laboratory equipment for measuring volume
pipettes: pipette pump or filling device is used to draw and dispense fluids
Pipette filling device
Note: 1 liter = 1000 ml
1 dm3 = 1000 cm3
The liquid in one liter will fit in a dm3 so; 1 liter = 1 dm3
This means that 1 cc = 1 ml.
5 ml Pipette
To record volume you must read the bottom of the
meniscus. The meniscus is the curved interface between the
water and air. This is due to the surface tension and
adhesive forces of water as it interacts with its container.
1 ml pipette with filling device
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Volume continued
Volume continued
Pipettes of different sizes
Laboratory equipment for measuring volume
1 ml in 1/10
5 ml in 1/10
•
Graduated cylinders
•
Erlenmeyer flasks
•
Beakers
Graduated
cylinders
10 ml in 1/10
The 1 ml pipette can dispense as little as 1/10 ml.
The 5 ml pipette can dispense as little as 1/10 ml.
The 10 ml pipette can dispense as little as 1/10 ml.
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Erlenmeyer flasks
Beaker
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V. Mass
Mass is a measurement of the amount of matter in an object. It is determined by the
molecular structure of the object. Weight is a measure of the gravitational pull on an
object. It is not the same as mass.
Mass continued
Laboratory equipment for measuring mass
• Triple beam balance
• Electronic scale
For pure water only 1 cc = 1 ml = 1 g
pounds
Triple beam balance
kilograms
Bathroom scale with both lbs. and kg units.
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VI. Temperature
The Celsius scale is used to measure temperature in the metric
system. Conversions can be done between degrees Celsius and
degrees Fahrenheit.
Electronic scale
Temperature continued
Laboratory equipment for measuring temperature
• thermometer
Use caution when handling hot items. Always use appropriate heat
resistant gloves when working with heat sources or hot items.
°F = 1.8°C + 32
°C = (°F – 32)/1.8
Other variations of these formulas are found in your lab manual.
23 °C
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Thermometers
VII. Graphing Data
Line graphs have both X axis and Y axis. Each X and Y axis is subdivided into uniform
intervals. Usually, the independent variable (manipulated) is plotted along the X axis
and the dependent variable (measured) is plotted along the Y axis.
VIII. Scientific Notation
Scientific notation uses powers of 10 so very large or small numbers can be
expressed concisely. The number we use as the base for this system is 10. The
exponent is the power of the number and is applied to the base. For example, if
the exponents were 0, 3, and -3, when applied to the base of 10 you have:
100 = 1
103 = 1,000
10-3 = 1/1,000 or 0.001
Y axis
Every time you increase the exponent by 1, you are multiplying by 10. If you
decrease the power by 1, you are dividing by 10. For example 123,000 is 1.23 x 105.
Check your answer. Since 105 = 100,000 then ….1.23 x 10,0000 = 123,000. Another
example is 0.000123 is 1.23 x 10-4. Since 10-4 = 0.0001 then… 1.23 x .0001 = 0.000123.
X axis
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End of Lab Review ☺
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