Chapter 3 Flashcards
dimensions
measurable properties of matter and energy
measurement
comparision of a dimension of an object
instrument
artificial device made for the purpose of refining, or substituting for the human senses when measuring
unit
segment of a dimension assigned a value of 1
calibrated scale
series of markings related to the dimensional unit of an instrument
standard
known quantity that everyone agrees will be used for comparsion when measuring
metric system
system of measurement in which all units of a given dimension are related to each other by powers of 10
SI
stands for systéme international dúnites; global metric system
conversion factor
any factor used to convert from one unit of measure to another
error
the arithmetric difference between a measured value and the actual value of the dimension
accuracy
evalution of the measurement error
precision
evalution of how exactly a measurement is made
significant digit
digit in a measurement used to communicate the precision of a measurement
weight
measure of the earth’s gravity acting on the matter in an object
spring scale
laboratory instrument that measures weight by balancing the pull of the earth’s gravity
electronic scale
laboratory instrument that measures weight by converting the pull of gravity on an object
electronic balance
electric instrument that measures the weight of an object and then displays its equivalent mass
volume
the space enclosed or occupied by an object
meniscus
the cursed surface of a liquid in a container with a narrow neck
density
amount of matter or the mass of the substance contained in a specific volumetric unit
balance
simple instrument that compares a known mass to an unknown mass using a lever arm
scientific notation
convenient way to express very large or small numbers
