Chapter 2: Measurement Flashcards
scientific notation
a way to show very large and very small numbers in a concise format, expressing numbers as the product of a coefficient and multiplier
coefficient
a measured value with only one digit before the decimal point
multiplier
10 raised to an exponent that shifts to the left or right
accuracy
a measure of how reliable measurements are or how closely they reflect the true value
precision
a measure of how finely a measurement is made or how close a group of measurements are to each other
significant digits
the digits contained in a measured value; the number of significant digits indicates how precisely a measurement is made
digits are significant if they are
- nonzero digits and zeros between nonzeros
- zeros to the right of the last nonzero digit (if a decimal point is present)
digits are not significant if they are
- zeros to the left of the nonzero numbers
- zeros to the right of the last nonzero digit (if a decimal point is not present)
exact numbers
values for which there is no uncertainty (e.g. counted values and defined relationships such as metric prefixes)
when multiplying or dividing, the final result should have
the same number of digits as are in the least precise starting measurement
when adding or subtracting, the final result should be
rounded to the last decimal place of the least precise starting measurement
conversion factors
fractions that contain equivalent amounts of different units in the numerator and denominator
volume
space that something occupies; measured in liters, cubic centimeters, or millimeters
1 liter = 1 dm^3 and 1 mL = 1 cm^3
density
a physical property that indicates how tightly matter is packed in an object or material; measure of how much mass is contained in a given volume of a substance
density formula
mass / volume
