MEASUREMENTS

IN SCIENCE

Lesson 2
MEASUREMENT

– often requires a definite or specific figure to

express a certain number or a calculated
quantity in data.
– Scientists use the correct number of
significant figures to deal with
measurements taking into consideration a
certain degree of uncertainty.
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

– Pertain to the digits or figures that are

certain to give reasonably reliable
information.
– These are helpful in attaining a level of
certainty when expressing a calculated
quantity.
 RULES IN
DETERMINING
SIGNIFICANT
FIGURES
 RULE 1

–All nonzero digits (1 – 9) are

SIGNIFICANT.
Example:
12, 235 = 5 SF
Determine the number of significant
figure of the following:

1. 749 mL
2. 1 593 587 s
3. 16.21 L
 RULE 2

–Zeros are SIGNIFICANT when

found between 2 nonzero digits.
Examples:
250.6 = 4 SF
10107 = 5 SF
Determine the number of significant
figure of the following:

1. 4036 g
2. 7.02 g
3. 5.3900007 g
 RULE 3

– Zeros to the right of a nonzero digit

with a decimal point are SIGNIFICANT.
Examples:
12. 000 = 5 SF
100.00 = 5 SF
Determine the number of significant
figure of the following:

1. 95.70 mm
2. 1.00 g
3. 1895.0 cm
 RULE 4

–Zeros to the left of the first nonzero

digit are NOT SIGNIFICANT.
Examples:
0. 200 = 3 SF
0.0001073 = 4 SF
Determine the number of significant
figure of the following:

1. 0.56
2. 0.005869
3. 0.00001
 RULE 5

–Zeros at the end of a nonzero digit

without a decimal point are NOT
SIGNIFICANT.
Examples:
35, 000, 000 = 2 SF
107.30 = 5 SF
Determine the number of significant
figure of the following:

1. 300 km
2. 14 500 km
3. 8.20200 km
 SIGNIFICANT
FIGURES IN
CALCULATIONS
ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION

– The number of decimal places in the answer

should be the SAME as the number with
the LEAST decimal places among those
being added or subtracted.
Example:
2.051mm + 3.56mm + 72.1mm = 77.7mm
Compute for the needed:

1. 32.63g – 5.2g
2. 56.0s + 135.002s + 12s
MULTIPLICATION AND
DIVISION

– The answer should have the SAME number

of significant figures as the number, among
those being multiplied or divided, with the
LEAST number of significant figures.
Example:
7.065m x 12.0m = 84.8m²
Compute for the needed and
follow correct SF:

1. 162.05m / 3.2 s
2. 50.08m x 0.1m x 16m
SCIENTIFIC
NOTATION
SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

– Is a way to express extremely large or small

numbers easily and efficiently.
– It has three parts:
1. The coefficient
2. The base 1.6 x 10²
3. The exponent
SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

– The coefficient is the number that is equal to or

more than one but less than ten.
– The base is the number that is always 10 in
scientific notation.
– The exponent is the number that determines how
many decimal places the decimal point should be
moved.
Convert the following standard
numbers to scientific notation:

1. 183 000 000 000

2. 0.0000000000512
Convert the following scientific
notation to standard numbers :

1. 2.85 𝑥 109
2. 6.134 𝑥 10−9
 ACCURACY and
PRECISION IN
MEASUREMENTS
 Think about this!
– Which picture shows low precision but high accuracy?
– Which picture shows low precision and low accuracy?
– Which picture shows high precision but low accuracy?
– Which picture shows high precision and high accuracy?

A B C D
ACCURACY and PRECISION
• The difference between accuracy
and precision is illustrated in the
picture at the left. The bullseye in
the target represents the true
value of a measurement.
• Making a good measurement is a
bit like hitting a target, and the
chances of a good result that
makes sense are greatly increased
if you make several attempts.
 ACCURACY AND PRECISION

– If one has high precision, or reproducibility, and poor

accuracy, there is usually a systematic error of some sort.
This can involve improper calibration or mishandling of a
measuring device.
– Good accuracy and poor precision can result from a
combination of sloppy experimental procedure and dumb
luck.
 ACCURACY AND PRECISION

– However, some quantities are difficult to determine with

high precision, such as those involving lab animals. In such
cases, the experimenter must make many determinations
of the value and average them.
– The goal of any experimenter should be to achieve both
high precision and high accuracy in his or her work.
 PRECISION

– It is the agreement among several determinations of the same quantity.

– A quantity may determined by a direct measurement, for example a mass
or volume. Alternately, a quantity may require more than one
measurement for its determination. For example, the determination of a
substance's density requires that both its mass and volume be measured;
the density is calculated as the ratio of these measurements. The term
"measurement" will be reserved for quantities that are directly measured.
 PRECISION

– The better the precision, the lower the difference among the
values. Another way of saying this is that the results are highly
reproducible.
– High precision is achieved with quality instruments and careful
work. There are a number of ways to express precision.
Statistically, a standard deviation can be used. However, a valid
standard deviation requires many determinations of the quantity,
more than are usually made in a chemistry lab.
 PRECISION

– If only a few determinations are made, there are

two ways of expressing the precision.
– The first way to express the precision is by the range,
the difference between the highest and lowest
values determined for a quantity.
 Example:

– A student measured the mass of an object on a balance

three times and obtained the values 14.568 g, 14.566 g,
and 14.565 g, what would be the range between the
measurements?
Range = (14.568 – 14.565) g = 0.003 g
– This is a reasonable range; the uncertainty appears in the last significant
figure of the measured value, as it should.
 PRECISION

– It is also possible to show precision using range as a

percent of the average value.
– In this case, the range is divided by the average
value of the quantity, and expressed as a
percentage.
 Example:

– A student measured the mass of an object on a

balance three times and obtained the values 14.568
g, 14.566 g, and 14.565 g, what would be the range
as a percent average between the measurements?
 Example:
– The average value for the mass of the object is 14.566 g,
therefore:
% of average = 0.003 g x 100%
14.566 g
RPA = 0.02%
– The range as a percent of average (RPA) has only one significant
figure in this case, because the numerator of the fraction has
only one. As precision gets better, one loses significant figures
with which to express it.
 ACCURACY

– A qualitative term that describes how close the measurements are to the
actual (true) value.
– It is the agreement between an experimental value, or the average of
several determinations of the value, with an accepted or theoretical
(“true”) value for a quantity.
– Usually expressed as a percent difference:
% difference = (experimental – true) x 100%
true
 Example:

–The accepted value for the density of gold

metal is 19.31 g/cm3. If a student measured
the mass and volume of a sample of gold,
and obtained a value of 19.03 g/cm3,
calculate its percent difference.
Example:

– The accepted value for the density of gold metal is

19.31 g/cm3. If a student measured the mass and
volume of a sample of gold, and obtained a value of
19.03 g/cm3, calculate its percent difference.
% difference = (19.03 – 19.31) g x 100%
19.31 g
= – 1.5%
 ACCURACY

– A percent difference can be positive or negative; the

sign shows whether the experimental value is higher
or lower than the actual or theoretical value.
– This distinction is not used in precision, since all
values are experimental.
 Errors in measurement

– Scientists often express their uncertainty and error in

measurement by giving a percent error. The percent
error is defined as:
% error = (actual value − measured value) x 100
actual value
 ACTIVITY TIME!
1. Precision versus Accuracy:
– Look at each target and decide whether the “hits” are accurate,
precise, both accurate and precise, or neither accurate nor
precise: (Note: An accurate “hit” is a bulls eye). Explain your
answers.
 ACTIVITY
– 2. Precision Problems:
TIME!
– A group of students worked in separate teams to measure the length of an
object. Here are their data:

– The average length is ________ cm. This is the mean or average.

– Subtract the highest value from the lowest value: _________ cm. This is the
range or spread.
– Divide this number by 2: _______ cm. This is the approximate ± range from
the average.
– The precision of the measurement can be shown as average ± range. The
precision of the measurement was ________±_____ cm.
 ACTIVITY
– 3. Precision Problems:
TIME!
– A second group of students obtained the following data:

– The average length is ________ cm.

– The precision of the measurement was ________±_____ cm.
– In comparing groups, the first or the second, which group was
more precise or was the precision the same? Justify your
answer.
 ACTIVITY TIME!
4. Answer the following three questions. Pay attention to significant figures,
and show your solution.
a. While doing a lab, a student found the density of a piece of pure
aluminum to be 2.85g/cm3. The accepted value for the density of
aluminum is 2.70 g/cm3. What was the student's percent error?
b. A student measured the specific heat of water to be 4.29 J/g · Co. The
literature value of the specific heat of water is 4.18 J/g · Co. What was the
student’s percent error?
c. A student took a calibrated 200.0 gram mass, weighed it on a laboratory
balance, and found it read 196.5 g. What was the student’s percent
error?
Your thoughts on the line:

“It is better to be roughly

right than precisely
wrong”