WEEK 1

FUNDAMENTALS
Measurement

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Measurement

UQ College (CRICOS Code: 04039H)

Measurement
Measurements in chemistry provide information to describe the behaviour
of matter and energy during chemical processes.
Each measurement will provide a magnitude or number, unit and
uncertainty.

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Measurement
Scientific Notation
In Chemistry we often deal with very large quantities …
The number of atoms in one mole = 602 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 atoms

And we often deal with very small quantities …

The radius of a hydrogen nuclei or proton
= 1 / 1 000 000 000 000 000 m = 0.000 000 000 000 001 m

Chemists use scientific notation to make using these numbers easier

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Measurement
Scientific Notation
Scientific notation is used to represent both large and small numbers.
Scientific notation represents a number by placing one digit before the decimal place with all
other digits after and then ten to the appropriate power.
Example: 376920 = 3.7692 x 105
0.00045681 = 4.5681 x 10−4

Do Activity – Scientific Notation

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 Activity – Scientific Notation
Scientific notation is used to represent both large
and small numbers.
Write the following numbers in correct scientific
Scientific notation represents a number by placing
notation: one digit before the decimal place with all other
digits after and then ten to the appropriate power.
1. 23505395 =
Example: 376920 = 3.7692 x 105

2. 0.4984 = 0.00045681 = 4.5681 x 10−4

3. 367.4300 =

4. 0.000006784 =

5. 23 =

6. 0.0058679 =
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Measurement
Units
The units are presented in accordance with the International System of
Units (SI units – French: Le Système International d’Unités).

Fundamental and derived units.

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Measurement
Fundamental Units
Property Measured Name of Unit Symbol of Unit
Length metre
Mass kilogram
Time second
Temperature kelvin
Electric Current ampere
Amount of Substance mole
Luminous Intensity candela

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 The international SI logo, showing the seven
Measurement basic units and the fundamental constants their
Fundamental Units 2019 definitions are based on

20 May
1790’s
2019

http://www.npl.co.uk/si-units/redefining-the-si-units/
(OpenStax, 2016) UQ College (CRICOS Code: 04039H) https://www.scienceinschool.org/content/si-units-new-update-standards
 Examples:
Measurement
𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 =
Derived Units
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 =

𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 =

Your turn:

𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 =

𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 =

𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 =
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Measurement
Metric Prefixes
Prefix Symbol Multiplier Exponential
kilo k 1000 103
hecto h 100 102
deca da 10 101
Base point 1 100
deci d 0.1 10−1
centi c 0.01 10−2
milli m 0.001 10−3
micro µ 0.000 001 10−6
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Dimensional
Analysis

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Measurement
Dimensional Analysis
Dimensional analysis converts one unit to another by using conversion factors.

Example: Convert 2.5 m to mm

The conversion factor must accomplish two things:

It must cancel metres

It must introduce millimetres

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Measurement
Dimensional Analysis
Example: Convert 3.7 cm to µm Steps: Convert cm → m → µm

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Measurement
Dimensional Analysis
Example: Convert 4.61 x 102 µL to mL Steps µL → L → mL

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Measurement
Dimensional Analysis
Density is a measure of the mass of an object relative to its volume.
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 =
𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣
Mass can be measured in g, kg, mg, μg etc.
Volume can be measured in mL, L, dm3, m3 etc.
Hence density can have units kg m−3, g mL−1, kg L−1, kg dm−3 etc.

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Activity - Dimensional Analysis
525 g of an unknown compound occupies a volume of 467 mL.

Find the density of the object in (a) g mL−1 (b) kg m−3.

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Measurement
Uncertainty and Error

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Measurement
Uncertainty and Error
All instruments have limitations as to the number of decimal places they can
measure.
The final decimal place is always uncertain i.e., it has some doubt around it.

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 Measurement
Uncertainty and Error
Example:

The reading on the balance is 21.164 g.

The last digit often fluctuates indicating it is not exactly 4.

The usual error allowance is plus or minus one of the final

digit.

Reading: 21.164 ± 0.001 g

https://chemix.org/ UQ College (CRICOS Code: 04039H)

 Measurement
Uncertainty and Error
The previous example could have the error given as a percentage or
percentage uncertainty.
Example:

𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 = × 100
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

0.005% UQ College (CRICOS Code: 04039H)

https://chemix.org/
Measurement
Uncertainty in a measurement

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Measurement
Uncertainty and Error
Comparing an experimental value to an accepted value.
A percentage error can be determined.

𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 − 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣

𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 = × 100
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣

Note this is an absolute value

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Activity – Percentage Error
The measured or experimental value for the molar mass of CaCO3 was
determined to be 100 g mol−1.
The true or accepted value from the periodic table is 100.0869 g mol−1.
Calculate the percentage error

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Measurement
Significant Figures

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Measurement
Significant Figures
The uncertainty depends on each individual device; however, every digit in
the measurement is referred to as significant.
The digits are therefore significant digits or significant figures.

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Measurement
Significant Figures
Example:

If you consider the value 3000 g, the zeros may be significant, or they may not be.

The zeros are needed to give scale, but if rewritten using scientific notation the
value could be:

3 x 103 g 3.0 x 103 g,

3.00 x 103 g or 3.000 x 103 g.

Therefore, if your instrument could only measure 3 kg then 3 x 103 g is correct.

If your instrument could measure 3.000 kg then 3.000 x 103 g is correct.

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Measurement
Significant Figures
Calculating with significant figures.
Rule 1
If you add or subtract significant figures, you should round the result to the
same number of decimal places as the number with the least number of
decimal places (the least precise value in terms of addition and
subtraction).

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Measurement
Significant Figures
Calculating with significant figures.
Rule 2
If you multiply or divide significant figures, you should round the result to
the same number of digits as the number with the least number of
significant figures (the least precise value in terms of multiplication and
division).

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Measurement
Significant Figures
Calculating with significant figures.
Rule 3
When rounding, if the digit to be dropped is less than 5, round down and
do not change the retained digit;
If it is more than 5, round up and increase the retained digit by 1;
If the dropped digit is 5, we round up or down, in order to yield an even
value for the retained digit. (Although this may seem unusual, it is done to
avoid any rounding bias.)
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Measurement
Significant Figures
Example:
To calculate volume, three lengths are needed: 35.3 cm, 20.3 cm and
17.6 cm.

Volume =

Applying rule 2… the answer is:

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Activity – Significant Figures
Do the following calculations and write your answer to the correct number of
significant figures.

1) 23.45 cm + 56.198 cm + 3.458 cm =

2) 56.78 kg – 5.936 kg =
3) 23.56 cm² × 3.78 cm =
4) 567.54 g ÷ 12 600.00 cm³ =

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Measurement
Accuracy and Precision

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Measurement
Accuracy and Precision
All experiments need to be repeatable and reliable.
If you repeat an experiment and obtain the same or very similar results, then
your measurements are precise.
If your measurements agree with an accepted value, then they are
accurate.

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Measurement
Accuracy and Precision

Pipette 1 Pipette 2 Pipette 3

5.00 4.55 4.81
4.99 4.54 4.72
5.01 4.56 5.10
5.00 4.55 5.01
5.00 4.55 4.91
Mean measurement 5.00 4.55 4.81
Standard Deviation 7.07 x 10-3 7.07 x 10-3 1.5 x 10-1

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 Measurement
Accuracy and Precision

Pipette 1 is both precise and accurate.

Pipette 2 is precise but not accurate.

Pipette 3 is neither accurate nor precise.

The mean matches the accuracy, while the standard deviation indicates reliability of the
instrument.

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 OR

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Measurement
Uncertainty in a measurement

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Measurement 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 = ±
𝑥𝑥𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚− 𝑥𝑥𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
=±
𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟
2 2
Precision
Volume (mL) Pipette 1 Pipette 2 Pipette 3
5.00 4.55 4.81
4.99 4.54 4.72
5.01 4.56 5.10
5.00 4.55 5.01
5.00 4.55 4.91
Mean measurement 5.00 4.55 4.81
Absolute uncertainty

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Measurement 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 =
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
× 100

Precision
Volume (mL) Pipette 1 Pipette 2 Pipette 3
5.00 4.55 4.81
4.99 4.54 4.72
5.01 4.56 5.10
5.00 4.55 5.01
5.00 4.55 4.91
Mean measurement 5.00 4.55 4.81
Absolute uncertainty ±0.01 ±0.01 ±0.19
Percentage uncertainty

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Measurement 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 =
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
× 100

Precision
Volume (mL) Pipette 1 Pipette 2 Pipette 3
5.00 4.55 4.81
4.99 4.54 4.72
5.01 4.56 5.10
5.00 4.55 5.01
5.00 4.55 4.91
Mean measurement 5.00 4.55 4.81
Absolute uncertainty ±0.01 ±0.01 ±0.19
Percentage uncertainty 0.2% 0.2% 4.0%

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 Measurement
Precision

Pipette 1 and Pipette 2 are both the most precise

Pipette 3 is the least precise.

The percentage uncertainty indicates repeatability of the measurements (precision).

𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 = × 100
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚

UQ College (CRICOS Code: 04039H)

Measurement 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 =
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 − 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣
× 100

Accuarcy
Volume (mL) Pipette 1 Pipette 2 Pipette 3
5.00 4.55 4.81
4.99 4.54 4.72
5.01 4.56 5.10
5.00 4.55 5.01
5.00 4.55 4.91
Mean measurement 5.00 4.55 4.81
True value 5.00 5.00 5.00
Percentage error

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Measurement 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 =
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 − 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣
× 100

Accuracy
Volume (mL) Pipette 1 Pipette 2 Pipette 3
5.00 4.55 4.81
4.99 4.54 4.72
5.01 4.56 5.10
5.00 4.55 5.01
5.00 4.55 4.91
Mean measurement 5.00 4.55 4.81
True value 5.00 5.00 5.00
Percentage error 0% 9% 3.8%

UQ College (CRICOS Code: 04039H)

 Measurement
Accuracy
Pipette 1 is the most accurate

Pipette 2 is the least accurate

Pipette 3 is less accurate than Pipette 1

The percentage error matches the accuracy (how close measurement is to true value)
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 − 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 = × 100
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣

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Measurement
Interpreting Measurement

UQ College (CRICOS Code: 04039H)

Measurement
Interpreting Measurement
Measurements provide information.

The information needs to be interpreted.

One way to do this is by graphing information and looking for relationships and trends.

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Isaac Chemistry – Significant Figures
1. Go to issacphysics.org and create an account
2. Go to My Account > Teacher Connections

3. Go to My Assignments > B1 Standard Form

> complete the online activity to review Scientific Notation

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https://isaacphysics.org/questions/chem_16_b1_1

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References
https://openstax.org/books/chemistry-atoms-first-2e/pages/1-introduction

https://chemix.org/

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Fundamentals

The End

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