1/6/10

Post date: Jan 05, 2010 7:36:57 PM

Bell ringer: What is a measurement? Why are measurements important?

• • Purchase lab books ($1)

  • Lab safety (safety contracts due next Wednesday)

  • Measurements

    • Are a form of observation

    • May provide evidence to help us formulate a theory

    • Accurate measurements help us make more accurate theories

  • The SI system (the metric system)

    • Used everywhere except USA and Australia

    • Used in SCIENCE

    • Uses prefixes to make larger or smaller increments

    • Time (second) - related to frequency of radiation from Cs-133

    • Distance (meter) - distance traveled by light in a vaccuum in 1/ (299,792,458) seconds

    • Mass (kilogram) - mass of a platinum-iridium rod kept near Paris

  • Distances

    • How far between two points

    • Basic unit is the meter (m)

    • For small measurements, we use the centimeter (1/100th of a meter) or the millimeter (1/1000th of a meter)

    • For large measurements, we use the kilometer (1000 meters)

    • To measure distance, we can use meter sticks and rulers

• Measurements and Graphing Lab

  • • Due Thursday, 1/7/10