Units

Warm Up

• Why do people and scientists measure things?

• What are some measurements that you use in your life?

Important Measurements in Science

– Distance– Time– Mass– Volume– Temperature

Distance

• Measures the space between two locations.

• Tools of measurement: rulers, metersticks, tape measure, lasers

Mass

• The amount of matter that an object is made up of.

• Tools of measurement: scale, triple beam balance

Time• Measures how long we have to

wait between events.

• Tools of measurement: clock, stopwatch, chronometer

Volume• The amount of space an object takes up.

• Tools of measurement: beakers, graduated cylinders, measuring cups

Temperature

• How hot it feels in an environment.

• Tools of measure measurement: thermometer

Units

• What are Units?

Units

• What are units?– An agreed upon quantity of measurement

– Also referred to as standard units.

Standard UnitsBritish Units Measurement Metric Units

Inches, feet, miles Distance Meters

Troy pound Mass Gram

Seconds, minutes, hours Time Seconds

Cups, pints, gallons Volume Liters

Fahrenheit Temperature Celsius

We use metric units in science because they are easier to measure and to convert.

How to measure

A Ruler

• How can we tell the centimeter side from the inches side?

• What can you do if the object you’re measuring is longer than your ruler?

• Use the centimeter side of a ruler to measure the width of the following objects in the room to the nearest tenth of a centimeter. – A sticky note– Your binder– Your table– A door– Whiteboard in the back of the room– The sink