1. Scientific Method and Measurement
Chapter 0
Scientific Method and Measurement

2. The Method What organized method do scientists use to solve a problem?
The scientific method
Define the problem
Make a hypothesis
Make observations
Record data
Review the data
Modify hypothesis
Retest

3. The Method What is the definition of… Hypothesis? Variable? Control?
Qualitative Data?
Quantitative Data?
A prediction or guess
What changed
Stays the same
Non-numerical (ex. Blue)
Numerical (ex. 55 cm)

4. The Method Why is it important not to have too many variables?
Hard to tell which, if any, variables affected the result
Limit the variables and have lots of controls

5. Theory vs. Law What is the main difference between a theory and a law?
A law is a (mathematical) relationship that predicts what happens and is always correct.
A theory is an evolving body of information. It has not been proven correct.

6. Airplane Challenge
I challenge your team to build a paper airplane that will FLY the farthest distance.
Each team will build three planes.
3 pieces of paper, 6 paper clips, scissors
Your team will test ONE variable to see which of your three prototypes will work the best.
In your observations, you must list at least 3 controls and 1 variable.

7. Airplane Challenge Before you fly! What am I testing?
What is my first hypothesis?
What are 3 controls and my 1 variable?
After you fly!
What did I observe after the test flights?
Please answer these questions in your notebook.

8. Precision vs. Accuracy
What is the difference between precision and accuracy?
Accuracy refers to how close it is to the correct value
Precision refers to how close together a group of measurements are to each other

9. Precision vs. Accuracy
On the right hand side of your notes, please draw the following targets with the bullet holes.

10. Precision vs. Accuracy
Label the target that is accurate and precise.

11. Precision vs. Accuracy
Label the target that is the least precise.

12. Precision vs. Accuracy
Label the target that is precise and inaccurate.

13. Practice Problem #1
An archer shoots three arrows at a target and each land within 1 cm of each other, but none of the arrows are within 30 cm of the center.
Explain whether the archer is precise, accurate, neither or both.

14. Practice Problem #2
The table lists the results of temperature measurements of a beaker of boiling water. The temperature of boiling water is 100 °C.
Explain whether each thermometer was accurate, precise, neither or both.

15. Precision and Measurement
Pick the measuring device that makes the most sense: stick, book or paper clip
Measure the object or area.
Estimate the final value. (ex. 0.5, quarter, 1/3)
Record your measurements in the table.
Object or Area
Estimated Measurement
Stick, Book or Paper Clip
Width of the Lab Area (cabinets to cabinets)
Length of a Desk (long ways)
Height of a Classroom Door
Height of a Lab Bench
The Depth of a Conceptual Science Book

16. Precision and Measurement
Which measurement do I feel is the most precise and WHY?
What is one benefit AND one drawback to using a smaller unit of measurement?

17. Scientific Notation What is scientific notation?
A shortcut for writing really large or really small numbers
Every number can be represented by a number between 1 and 10 and multiplied by a power of 10

18. Scientific Notation What are some examples of scientific notation?
Large numbers
190,000,000
1.9 x 108
Small number
5.67 x 10-4

19. Scientific Notation How do I do scientific notation?
Put a decimal after the first non-zero number
Count the number of spaces the decimal place moved
If the decimal moved to the left, the exponent is positive and if it moved to the right its negative
Drop unwanted zeros

20. Scientific Notation What is 35600 in scientific notation?
3.56 x 104
Zeros at the end dropped
7.21 x 10-4
Zeros at the beginning dropped

21. Scientific Notation Practice
Please convert the following into proper scientific notation:
784000
100
-4321
1.30
7.84 x 105
1 x 102
x 10-2
x 103
6 x 10-7
1.30

22. Scientific Notation Reversed
Please convert the following into standard format:
5.68 x 103
2.1 x 10-5
4.309 x 102
5680
430.9

23. Scientific Notation and Calculators
What buttons are used on a calculator for scientific notation?
Its usually either…
EE -or-
exp

24. Scientific Notation and Calculators
What may show up on my screen?
On your screen, you may see the following:
X10 exponent
E exponent
(space) exponent

25. Scientific Notation and Calculators
Put the following number into your calculator and hit equals/enter:
4.56 x 1015
Please understand that you will need to translate this into proper notation!

26. Scientific Notation and Calculators
Using your calculator, determine the following answers in scientific notation:
Multiply:
(4.57 x 10-3)(2.0 x 105)
Divide
(3.1 x 103)/(4.7x105)
914
0.0066

27. Scientific Notation
What power are you multiplying and dividing by each time you move a decimal?
Powers of 10
These powers allow us to comprehend very large (size of galaxies) and very small (size of atoms) numbers

28. Dimensional Analysis Why is dimensional analysis important?
It allows us to easily convert between units using a series of equivalent fractions

29. Dimensional Dominoes - Colors
With your team, set up the color dominoes to convert the following colors into new ones.
Convert cowpoke brown to deeply red
Convert cowpoke brown to pink glitz
Convert black leather to orange sizzle
Convert orange sizzle to black leather
Convert cowpoke brown to Houdini blue

30. Dimensional Dominoes - Units
The English unit, the rod, is equal to 16.5 ft. What is this length expressed in meters?
Directions: With your team, set up the unit dominoes to convert the following units into new ones then copy the set-up into your notes (right side).
Answer = 5.03 meters

31. Dimensional Dominoes - Units
The portage trails on maps are measured and marked in rods. On a recent canoe trip to the Skagit and Cascade Rivers my brother and I portaged a total of 2342 rods. How many total miles did we carry our gear?
Directions: With your team, set up the unit dominoes to convert the following units into new ones then copy the set-up into your notes.
Answer = 7.3 miles

32. Dimensional Dominoes - Units
If a college student smokes an average of 10 cigarettes per day for five years of school, how much money will they have spent on smokes by the time they graduate?
Directions: With your team, set up the unit dominoes to convert the following units into new ones then copy the set-up into your notes.
Answer = $

33. Dimensional Dominoes - Units
The weight of bullets and arrows is measured in a unit called the grain. If an arrow weighs 330 grains what is its weight in ounces?
Directions: With your team, set up the unit dominoes to convert the following units into new ones then copy the set-up into your notes.
Answer = ounces

34. Dimensional Dominoes - Units
Assuming that you attend school 180 days a year for 8 hours a day from first through twelfth grade, you’d be in class for a total of 2160 school days. How many total years of your life will you have spent in school by the time you graduate?
Directions: With your team, set up the unit dominoes to convert the following units into new ones then copy the set-up into your notes.
Answer = 1.97 years

35. Dimensional Dominoes - Units
How many pounds does a 5 gallon pail of water weight?
Directions: With your team, set up the unit dominoes to convert the following units into new ones then copy the set-up into your notes.
Answer = pounds

36. Dimensional Analysis What is a base unit? What is a prefix?
Basic unit from which all other units are created
Ex. Length – meters
Ex. Mass – grams
Goes in front of a base unit to indicate how many
Ex. Length – kilometers
Ex. Mass – milligrams

37. Dimensional Analysis How many different types are there? Three types:
Two step - converting to or from a base unit
Ex. m to km
Three step - converting from a non-base unit to a non-base unit
Ex. mm to km
Non-metric – converting between different scales

38. Dimensional Analysis - Two Step
Please convert 5 kilograms to grams.
First fraction is what we have:
Second fraction is what we want:
Remember… The unit with the prefix gets the one!
Multiply across the top and bottom and then divide.

39. Dimensional Analysis - Two Step
Please convert:
2.5 cm to m
0.04 J to kJ
3.5 g to mg
0.5 L to cL
3.1 x 104 mL to L
50.8 g to ng

40. Dimensional Analysis - Three Step
Please convert 92 kilograms to milligrams.
First fraction is what we have:
Second fraction is the conversion to the base unit:
Third fraction is what we want:
Calculate the same way as before

41. Dimensional Analysis - Three Step
Please convert:
36.0 cm to km
52 kg to mg
601 mL to cL
0.003 dg to cg
8 μg to mg km mg
60.1 cL
0.03 cg
0.008 mg

42. Dimensional Analysis – Non-metric
What is a non-metric conversion?
Use math formulas
Ex. Temperature
Use other equivalencies
Ex. 12 inches = 1 foot

43. Dimensional Analysis – Non-metric
Please convert:
34 inches to feet
2 atm to Pa
15 °C to °F
5 L to gallons
2000 calories to J
2.8 ft Pa
59 °F
1.32 gallons
8368 J