Unit 1: Intro to Earth/Environmental Science

Measurements

The Metric SystemOH NO!  The Metric System!

People visiting other countries from the US seem to be scared to death of the metric system.  The US is probably the only developed country in the world that doesn't use it.

•Green – uses metric system•Black – does not (US, Liberia, Burma)

The Metric SystemInternational System of Units (SI)

The need for a global standard measurement system led to the adoption of the SI system in the 1700’s. The SI is called the metric system in the US.

Using the International System of Units

Advantages:• Based on the

number 10• All scientists

can share and compare their observations and results.

First, the meter was established based on the meter as one ten-millionth of the length of the earth's meridian

Meters (m) are usedto measure length.If you divide a meter into a 100 parts, each part is a centimeter (cm).The picture shows102 cm. Larger objects use kilometers (km) and smaller object use millimeters (mm).

Length

Is the measure of how much surface an object has. The units for area are squared such as cm2 and m2. To get the area of the rectangle below, simply measure the length and the width (using a metric ruler) and multiply. The answer is 98 cm2.

Area = length x width

Area

Volume is the measure of the size of a body or region in three-dimensional space.The volume of the water in the picture is 3 mL.

Volume

In the metric system, 1 liter contains 1000 cubic centimeters (cc or cm3), or 1000 milliliters (ml). 1 cm3 = 1 mL

To get the volume of a regular shaped object such as a cube, simply multiply the lengths of it’s sides. The unit is in cm3.

length x width x height

Volume of an Regular Shaped Object

To determine the volume of an irregular shaped object, such as a rock use a graduated cylinder with a determined amount of water such as 30 mL. Place the rock in the cylinder and measure how high the water rises 34 mL and subtract the two numbers to get the volume of the rock.

Volume of an Irregular Shaped Object

This water is equal to the volume of the object in the water.

To get mass, one mL of water is equal to one gram.

1 mL = 1 g

Is the measure of the amount of matter in an object. The basic unit for large masses is the kilogram (kg) and for small masses use grams (g). The instrument for measuring mass is the triple-beam balance.

Mass

Is the measure ofhow hot (or cold)something is. The Kelvin (K) is the SI unit for temperature, however in our labs we will use 0C (degrees Celsius not degrees Fahrenheit). 00C = 320F 1000C = 2120F

Temperature

Is the ratio of the mass of a substance to the volume of the substance. The units are g/mL or g/cm3.

Density = MassVolume

_____________________

or

What is the density of an object if it has a mass of 12 grams and a volume of 4 mL?

Density =

Answer: 3 g/mL

12 g

4 mL

http://departments.jordandistrict.org/curriculum/science/secondary/archive/grade7/intro/inst6140MeasuringMatterWebsithtmle/index.