Scientists make many kinds of measurements
All measurements have 2 parts
* A unit
Measurements
* have uncertainty
English System
* Pints, quarts, gallons, miles, etc.
Metric System
Units in the metric system consist of a base unit plus a prefix.
Exact numbers
* They are known exactly because they are defined or counted
Measured numbers
Have some uncertainty associated with them
Accuracy
How closely a measurement comes to the true, accepted value
Precision
How closely measurements of the same quantities come to each other
Significant Figures
Are the digits in any measurement known with certainty, plus one digit that is uncertain.
Measured numbers convey
Because measurements are never exact, we must include
* The uncertainty of the measurement
Significant Figures (sig figs)
Rules for Sig Figs
Rounding off Numbers
The number of significant figures in measurements affects any calculations done with these measurements
Sometimes, the calculator will show more (or fewer) significant digits than it should
Adding Significant Zeros
Sometimes a calculated answer requires more significant digits. Then one or more zeros are added.
When multiplying or dividing, use
When adding or subtracting, use
If you have both addition/subtraction and multiplication/division in a formula,
Scientific notation
Is used to write very large or very small numbers
In scientific notation
All digits including zeros in the coefficient are significant
Calculations in Scientific Notation
* Usually, numbers in scientific notation will be multiplied or divided
Conversion factors
A ratio that specifies how one unit of measurement is related to another