Measurement is observation made more specific by comparing some attributes of a system to a standard of reference

Measurement consists of a numerical value and a unit of measurement to which the number

Measurement is the process or the result of determining the magnitude of a quantity, such as length or mass, relative to a unit of measurement.

SYSTEMS OF MEASUREMENTS

1) English units 2) Metric or SI units

The International System of Units (abbreviated SI from the French Le Systme International d'Units) is the modern form of the metric system.

The International System of Units (abbreviated SI from the French Le Systme International d'Units) is the modern form of the metric system.

The International System of Units (abbreviated SI from the French Le Systme International d'Units) is the modern form of the metric system.

Two types of SI units

1) Base units. 2) Derived units

Base units are the simple measurements for time, length, mass, temperature, amount of substance, electric current and light intensity.

Name metre kilogram second ampere kelvin candela mole

Unit symbol m kg s A K cd mol

Quantity length mass time electric current

Symbol

l (a lowercase L) m t I (a capital i)

thermodynamic T temperature
Luminous intensity Amount of substance

Iv (a capital i with lowercase v subscript) n

SI base units

SEVEN BASE UNITS

Derived units are constructed from the base units, for example, the joule ( J ) , i.e. the unit for energy or work, is defined from the base units as N.m or N m

Derived units from SI base units

Name Symbol meter2 m2 meter3 m3 mole/meter3 mol/meter3 newton N
sievert Sv

Quantity area volume concentration Force

equivalent dose (of ionizing radiation)

1) Mass- triple beam balance 2) Length meterstick,ruler 3) Volume graduated cylinder 4) Time stopwatch 5) Electric current- ammeter

1) Symbols do not have appended period/full stop Example : kg , m , s 2) Symbols are written upright Roman type like for metres, s for seconds)

an (.).
in m

1) Symbols do not have appended period/full stop Example : kg , m , s 2) Symbols are written upright Roman type like for metres, s for seconds)

an (.).
in m

1) Symbols do not have appended period/full stop Example : kg , m , s 2) Symbols are written upright Roman type like for metres, s for seconds)

an (.).
in m

(so as to differentiate from the italic type used for variables (m for mass, s for displacement).

3) All symbols of prefixes 3 larger than 10 (kilo) are 6 uppercase. Ex: M= 10 4) Symbols of units are not pluralised, for example "25 kg" (not "25 kgs ).

The ANIST has defined guidelines pluralising unit names: the plural is formed by using normal English grammar rules, for example, "henries" is the plural of " henry

The units lux, hertz, and siemens are exceptions from this rule: They remain the same in singular and plural.This rule applies only to the full names of units, not to their symbols.

5) A space separates the number and the symbol; 2 2 e.g.,"2.21 kg","7.310 m " "22 K". This rule explicitly includes the percent sign (%).

Exceptions are the symbols for plane angular degrees, minutes and seconds (, and ), which are placed immediately after the number with no intervening space.

6) Spaces may be used as a thousands separator (1 000 000) in contrast to commas or periods (1,000,000 or 1.000.000)

7) Symbols for derived units (formed from multiple units by multiplication) are joined with a center dot (), dot (.),or a non-break space, for example, "Nm", "N.m", or "N m.

8) Symbols formed by division of two units are joined with a solidus (), or given as a negative exponent. Example : 2.5 km/sec or -1 2.5 km sec

For example, the "metre per second" can be written "ms", "m s1 never ms-1, 1 or "ms Only one solidus should be used; 2 e.g., "kg(ms )" or "kgm1s2

RECORDING MEASUREMENTS

are measurements which consist of digits known with certainty plus the first uncertain digit.

SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

Significant figures are critical when reporting scientific data because they give the reader an idea of how well a data was actually measured or reported

1) ALL non-zero numbers (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) are ALWAYS significant. 2) ALL zeroes between nonzero numbers are ALWAYS significant. Example : 2005 cm RULES for significant figures

3) ALL zeroes which are SIMULTANEOUSLY to the right of the decimal point AND at the end of the number are ALWAYS significant. Example: 2.0090

4) ALL zeroes which are to the left of a written decimal point and are in a number >= 10 are ALWAYS significant Example: 10.50 m
.

A helpful way to check rules 3 and 4 is to write the number in scientific notation.
If you can/must get rid of the zeroes, then they are NOT significant.

5) Zeroes at the end of a number may or may not be significant Example: 3800 3 3.800 x 10 3.80 x 103 3 3.8 x 10
.

If zero merely locates the decimal point , it is not significant Example: 80 kg, 0.250 m A zero before first non zero digit is not significant. Example: 09.50 cm
.

Number 48,923 How many significant 3.967 figures are present in 900.06 the following 0.0004 numbers? 8.1000 501.040 3,000,000 10.0
Examples:

ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION:

.

When adding or subtracting numbers, count the NUMBER OF DECIMAL PLACES to determine the number of significant figures.

. ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION:

The number with the lowest decimal place determines the place of the last significant figure in the answer

ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION: . Example :

2.4 + 3.20 = 4.50 + 5.897 + 3.2987 = 4.250 2.10 =

MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION The final answer must have the same no. of SF as the factor with the least no. of SF. Ex : 1) 2.45 x 3.206 2)42 / 6.00
.

ROUNDING OFF OF NUMBERS

.

1. When the number to be dropped is greater than 5, increase the preceding number by one . Example: 6.28

2. When the number to be dropped is 5 and the preceding number is an odd number, increase the preceding number by one . Example: 6.35

3. When the number to dropped is 5 and preceding number is even number, retain preceding number. Example: 6.25

be the an the

Number

48,923 3.967 900.06 0.0004 (= 4 E4) 8.1000 501.040 3,000,000 (= 3 E+6) 10.0 (= 1.00 E+1)

# Significant Figures 5 4 5
1 5 6 1 3

Rule(s)
1 1 1,2,4 1,4 1,3 1,2,3,4 1 1,3,4