Section 1: Units and Measurements

Chemists use an internationally recognized system of units to communicate

their findings.
K W L
What I Know What I Want to Find Out What I Learned
Essential Questions
• What are the SI base units for time, length, mass, and temperature?
• How does adding a prefix change a unit?
• How are the derived units different for volume and density?

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Vocabulary
Review New
• mass • base unit
• second
• meter
• kilogram
• kelvin
• derived unit
• liter
• density

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Units
• Système Internationale d'Unités (SI)
is an internationally agreed upon
system of measurements.
• A base unit is a defined unit in a
system of measurement that is based
on an object or event in the physical
world, and is independent of other
units.
• To better describe the range of
possible measurements, scientists
add prefixes to the base units.

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 Interactive Table – SI Prefixes
Go to your ConnectED resources to play Interactive Table: SI Prefixes.

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Base Units and SI Prefixes
• The SI base unit of time is the second (s), based on the frequency of radiation
given off by a cesium-133 atom.
• The SI base unit for length is the meter (m), the distance light travels in a vacuum
in 1/299,792,458th of a second.
• The SI base unit of mass is the kilogram (kg), about 2.2 pounds.

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Base Units and SI Prefixes
• The SI base unit of temperature is the kelvin (K).
• Zero kelvin is the point where there is virtually no
particle motion or kinetic energy, also known as
absolute zero.
• Two other temperature scales are Celsius and
Fahrenheit.

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Derived Units
• Not all quantities can be measured with SI base units.
• A unit that is defined by a combination of base units is called a derived unit.
• Example: The SI unit for speed is meters per second (m/s).

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Derived Units
• Another quantity that is measured in derived units is volume (cm 3), measured in
cubic meters. The three cubes show volume relationships between cubic meters
(m3), cubic decimeters (dm3), cubic centimeters (cm3), and cubic millimeters
(mm3).

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Derived Units
• Volume is measured in cubic meters (m3), but this is very large. A liter (L) is
equal to one cubic decimeter (dm3), that is, 1 L equals 1 dm3.
• Density is a derived unit, g/cm3, the amount of mass per unit volume. The density
of a substance usually cannot be measured directly. You can calculate density
using the following equation:

density = mass/volume

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USING DENSITY AND VOLUME TO FIND KNOWN UNKNOWN
MASS
density = 2.7 g/mL mass = ? g

initial volume = 10.5 mL

Use with Example Problem 1.
final volume = 13.5 mL
Problem
When a piece of aluminum is placed in a 25-mL
graduated cylinder that contains 10.5 mL of SOLVE FOR THE UNKNOWN
water, the water level rises to 13.5 mL. What is
the mass of the aluminum? • State the equation for volume.

volume of sample = final volume - initial volume

Response
ANALYZE THE PROBLEM • Substitute final volume = 13.5 mL and initial
The mass of aluminum is unknown. The known volume = 10.5 mL.
values include the initial and final volumes and the
density of aluminum. The volume of the sample volume of sample = 13.5 mL - 10.5 mL
volume of sample = 3.0 mL
equals the volume of water displaced in the graduated
cylinder. The density of aluminum is 2.7 g/mL. Use • State the equation for density.
the density equation to solve for the mass of the
aluminum sample. mass
density 
volume

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USING DENSITY AND VOLUME TO FIND MASS

EVALUATE THE ANSWER

SOLVE FOR THE UNKNOWN Check your answer by using it to calculate the
density of aluminum.
• Solve the equation for mass.
mass 8.1 g
density    2.7 g/mL
volume 3.0 mL
mass = volume × density
Because the calculated density for aluminum is
• Substitute volume = 3.0 mL and density =
correct, the mass value must also be correct.
2.7 g/mL.

mass = 3.0 mL × 2.7 g/mL

• Multiple, and cancel units.

mass = 3.0 mL × 2.7 g/mL = 8.1 g

Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education Units and Measurements

Review
Essential Questions
• What are the SI base units for time, length, mass, and temperature?
• How does adding a prefix change a unit?
• How are the derived units different for volume and density?

Vocabulary
• base unit • kilogram • liter
• second • kelvin • density
• meter • derived unit

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