Scientific Measurement Flashcards
SI units
Improved version of metrics
Meters
measures length
Grams
measures mass
Mass
the amount of “stuff” in an object
Liters
measures liquid volume
Cubic centimeters
solid volume
Volume
the amount of space an object takes up
Celsius or Kelvin
measures temperature
Seconds
measures time
Grams per cubic centimeter
measures density
Density
how compact the molecules are in an object (combo of mass and volume)
Derived Unit
unit that is a combination of two other units
Accuracy
closeness of a measurement to the actual value
Precision
how close measurements are to each other, and how carefully they are made
Percent Error
compares a guess to an exact value
Significant Figures
- Any non-zero number
- Sandwiched zeroes
- Trailing zeroes ^ONLY IF DECIMAL IS PRESENT
Sig Figs when multiplying or dividing
as many SFs as the number with lowest amount of SFs
adding and subtraction with SFs
Must have as many places to the right of the decimal as the number in the problem with the fewest number of places to the right of the decimal.
Kilo- (k)
1000 of base unit
Hecto- (h)
100 of base unit
Deka- (da)
10 of base unit
Deci- (d)
.1 of base unit
Centi- (c)
.01 of base unit
Milli- (m)
.001 of base unit
Micro- (μ)
.000001 of base unit
Standard
An exact quantity that people agree to use to compare measurements
