Skills - Units and Measurements Flashcards
What is scientific notation?
Standard form, used when numbers are very large or very small.
What do significant figures do?
Gives an idea of the accuracy of the data collected, or the precision of the instrument used to make the measurements.
What is the significant figures rule about leading zeros?
They do not count as significant. E.g, 0.00032 has 2sf.
What is the significant figures rule about trailing zeros after a decimal point?
They do not count as significant. E.g, 0.0003200 has 2sf.
What is the significant figures rule about trailing zeros without a decimal point?
They may or may not be significant. E.g, 500 can be 1sf (most likely), 2sf or 3sf. You will not be penalised for this as AQA accepts all of them as viable answers.
What is the significant figures rule about calculations?
When carrying out calculations with quantities that have different sf, the answer of the calculation must be given to the same number of sf as the number with the lowest sf, because you cannot gain precision. Constants/numbers with no units do not apply to this rule. E.g, in the calculation 2π r, the r value would be the only contributing factor to the sf decision.
What are base units?
A basic set of quantities and their units on which all other derived units can be made. These form the International System of Units (SI units).
What are the SI units?(6)
- Length - metre - m
- Mass - kilogram - kg
- Time - second - s
- Electric Current - ampere - A
- Temperature - kelvin - K
- Amount of substance - mole - mol
What are derived units?
A combination of two or more base units.
What are the 9 main prefixes and there conversion factors?
- Tera - 10 (12)
- Giga - 10 (9)
- Mega - 10 (6)
- Kilo - 10 (3)
- BASE UNIT
- Centi - 10 (-2)
- Milli - 10 (-3)
- Micro - 10 (-6)
- Nano - 10 (-9)
- Pico - 10 (-12)
How do you convert prefixes from the top to the bottom of the table?
The power stays as a positive number as the number gets bigger. You must add the power to get to the required prefix, or get to the base unit, then the required prefix. E.g, 6 km would become 6 x 10 (6) mm, as the conversion factors are -3 and 3.
How do you convert prefixes from the bottom to the top of the table?
The power stays as a negative number as the number gets smaller. You must subtract the power to get to the required prefix, or get to the base unit, then the required prefix. E.g, 8 mm would become 8 x 10 (-6) km, as the conversion factors are -3 and 3.
What is the rule for converting areas?
Convert normally, but put conversion to power of 2/square it => use brackets.
What is the rule for converting volumes?
Convert normally, but put conversion to power of 3/cube it => use brackets.
How do you convert combined units, such as km/h to m/s?
Convert the numerator to the correct unit, then convert the denominator to the correct unit then combine them. It’s best to do this by using fractions because it makes it easier to visualise.
How can you avoid parallax error?
Read from directly above the object being measured + put ruler on/next to object.
How can you improve accuracy?
Take multiple readings and find averages.
What should the number of dp quoted be consistent with?
The accuracy of the device being used to measure => you can’t gain/lose accuracy.
How can small thicknesses be measured?
By stacking copies of the item until there are enough to be measured, and dividing by how many there are to find the thickness of one copy of the item.
How can you determine the diameter of a circular object?
Place two blocks at either end of the object and place the ruler so that it is at right angles to the blocks.
How can you measure small radii?
Measure more than 1 of the object and divide by how many there are.
What are the 3 requirements for a table?
- It must have a header stating the quantity + units with a separator (e.g, Length/m).
- The main body must only contain measurements to correct precision.
- No units or calculations should be in the body of the table.
How is the vernier calliper scale used?
The main scale states what cm the object is to 0.0 cm. The vernier calliper tells you the 0.00 cm, by which line matches up with to on the main scale. For example for 3.47 cm, the seventh line on the vernier calliper scale would match up perfectly with the main scale.
How do you correct for a zero error?
Adding/subtracting the necessary measurements. For example with a zero error of + 0.04cm, you would minus 0.04cm from all your results as they are 0.04cm too big, and vice versa for minus zero errors.
