USING THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD!

During the demonstration, ask yourself thoughtful questions about what is taking place! You
are using the scientific method when you analyze any type of problem that you encounter,
whether it is scientific or not! Solving any problem requires observation, asking questions,
creating a hypothesis, and forming conclusions. Jot down some ideas as you watch the
“mystery”!

Problem: What is the problem, question, or phenomenon we are witnessing today?

What are some observational questions that you can ask that would help you answer,
understand, or analyze the problem or question you are witnessing?

-
Hypothesis: Formulate a hypothesis that would be an educated statement answering the
question or explaining the phenomenon you witnessed!

Experiment: List three ways that you would test, or attempt to prove/disprove your hypothesis!
We may test your hypothesis in class to see if you were right or wrong!

1.

2.

3.

Conclusion: What conclusion did you formulate? Was your group correct in its hypothesis?
Was your group incorrect? Often, scientists are wrong in their assessments of situations – which
is fine! It helps them understand what is really going on!

1
List whether the following changes are physical or chemical (P or C).

Dry ice sublimes, or goes directly from a solid to a gas, in a Halloween special effect! ___
Vinegar and baking soda react to form carbon dioxide bubbles in a homemade volcano.___
Alcohol evaporates on your skin as the doctor cleans your arm for a shot. ___
A candy bar is digested in your body when you eat it. ___
A bicycle left in the rain begins to rust after several days. ___
Kool-aid crystals are added to water and dissolve when drinks are made for a party. ___
Water turns into invisible steam bubbles when a pot of water is boiled for spaghetti. ___
Sulfuric acid in a car battery eats through the engine of a car when it leaks. ___
A piece of paper is burned in order to start a campfire. ___

ELEMENT, COMPOUND, OR MIXTURE???

List whether the following substances are elements, compounds, or mixtures (E, C, M). If it is a
mixture, indicate if it is a heterogeneous mixture, or a homogeneous mixture (also known as a
solution).

Mouthwash ___ Salad ___ Table Sugar ___

Aluminum Foil ___ Sterling Silver ___ Tap Water ___
Air ___ Ocean Water ___ Chocolate Chip Cookie ___
Copper wire ___ Steel Bike ___ 14 K Gold Necklace ___
Table Salt ___ Distilled Water ___ Helium Balloon ___

For the following situation, list whether each step is a physical change (P) or a chemical change
(C).

Someone had started a fire at an apartment complex with some gasoline. They lit a match ____ and it
ignited the gasoline ___. The fire was so hot, that some of the paint on a nearby car began to melt ___.
When the firefighters arrived, they began pouring water on the fire. The water could not contain the
intense heat, as the water began to boil as soon as it hit the fire ___. Because a nearby factory
contained explosive fireworks, the hazardous materials unit was called in. The fireworks began to
explode violently ___. They were able to contain the fire by dropping a chemical known as calcium
carbonate on the building from an airplane. The calcium carbonate chemically decomposed into
carbon dioxide gas ___, which then put out the fire.

2
MEASUREMENT AND HELPFUL MATHEMATICS!

The international System of Units, or SI system, was established by the General Conference of
Weights and Measures (CGPM) in 1960. It is the revision and extension of the metric system, which is
a decimal system of measurement, used by almost all of the countries of the world except the United
States and, to some extent, the United Kingdom countries. Even in the excepted countries, it is used
exclusively in scientific work, and to a limited extent by the general population.

In the SI system, a base unit, or a unit derived from it, is defined for each type of measurement. The
base and derived units of the SI system are listed in Tables 1 and 2. A base unit is just that; it is a
basic, fundamental thing in our world that can be measured directly. A derived unit must be
derived, or calculated. It is a combination of one or more base units. Multiples and subdivisions
of SI units can be obtained by attaching a prefix to the unit. The SI prefixes are listed in Table 3. Not
all are used in this course. A prefix is just a number; if you have 1 kilo cheeseburgers, that means
you have 1000 cheeseburgers, because kilo means 1000.

SI, and also the metric system of which SI is a refinement, is a decimal system. In other words, SI is a
system based on multiples and subdivisions of 10. It is very easy to use this system once the basic units
become familiar. Converting the SI or metric system to the English system used in the United States is
difficult and is avoided when the metric system is used exclusively, as it is in science. The
relationships between common units of the metric and English systems are listed in Table 4. These
measurements used in the laboratory are units of length, mass, volume, and density. A discussion of
these units is helpful before doing problems involving these measurements. Other units used in
experiments in this course are listed in Table 5.

Table 1 The base units of the SI system

Quantity Name of Unit Symbol
length meter m
mass kilogram kg
time second s
electric current ampere A
temperature Kelvin K
amount of substance mole mol
force Newton N

3
 Table 2 Derived units in the SI system
Quantity Name of Unit Symbol
area square meter m2
volume cubic meter m3
density kg per cubic meter kg / m3
concentration mol per cubic meter mol / m3
molar mass kilogram per mole kg / mol
molar volume cubic meter per mole m3 / mol
pressure Newtons per square meter N / m2
energy joule (J) (kg x m2) / sec2

Table 3 The SI (metric) prefixes – THE LADDER!

Prefix Symbol Multiple of unit

tetra- T 1012
giga- G 109
mega- M 106
kilo- K 103
hecto- H 102
deka- D 101
BASE UNIT meter, gram, liter, etc. 100
deci- d 10-1
centi- c 10-2
milli- m 10-3
micro-  10-6
nano- n 10-9
pico- p 10-12
femto- f 10-15
atto- a 10-18

Table 4 Metric and English equivalents

Metric or SI unit Metric equivalent English equivalent
kilometer 1,000 meters 1.00 km = 0.62 mile
meter 1.00 meter = 39.37 inches
centimeter 1/100 meter 2.54 cm = 1.00 inch
kilogram 1,000 grams 1.00 kg = 2.20 lb
gram 1/1,000 kilogram 1.00 lb = 454 grams
liter 1,000 millimeters 1.00 liter = 1.06 quarts

Table 5 Conversion factors for some units of measurement

Unit Abbreviation Definition or equivalent
angstrom Å 10-10 m
atmosphere atm 760 mm Hg (or Torr)
calorie cal 4.184 J
Celsius temperature scale 0
C 0
C = K - 273
Kelvin temperature scale K K = oC + 273
4
 atomic mass unit u 1.6605 x 10-24 g

LENGTH

The basic unit of length in the SI is the meter, a distance slightly longer than a yard. This course also
uses centimeters (cm; 1 meter = 100 cm) and millimeters (mm; 1 meter = 1,000 millimeters).

MASS

The SI unit of mass is the kilogram, but the gram is more frequently used in chemistry. The prefix
kilo- indicates that 1 kilogram = 1,000 grams. One way to get a feeling for the smallness of the gram
unit is to remember that a nickel has a mass of about 5 grams.

VOLUME

Volume is derived from length and may be expressed as length x length x length, or length cubed.
Thus, the SI base unit of volume is the cubic meter (m3). The smaller multiple, the cubic centimeter
(cm3), is used in the laboratory. These are used primarily to measure the volume of solid objects.

In measuring the volume of liquids, either the liter or its subdivision, the milliliter, is used. The prefix
milli- tells us that 1 liter = 1,000 milliliters. One liter can be pictured as a cube that measures 10
centimeters on each edge. It is slightly larger than a quart. These are used primarily to measure the
volume of liquids. One milliliter is equal to 1 cm3, which means that if you had a cube that had a
volume of 1cm3, hollowed it out, and filled it with water, it would hold a volume of 1 mL.

3
V = 1cm 1 cm = 1 ml

1cm
1cm
DENSITY

The density of an object is a derived quantity. It is not measured directly but can be calculated from
other direct measurements. Density (D) is the mass per unit volume of an object:
D = mass / volume. Density is expressed in kilograms per cubic meter, grams per cubic centimeter, or,
for gases, grams per liter. Density is really a measurement of how much matter can be packed into a
given amount of space, or volume. For something like gold, there is a large amount of matter packed
into a small amount of space, or volume. For something like air, there is little matter, and it is packed
into a large amount of space, or volume. It does not change for a particular substance, no matter
how much or how little of it you have. Therefore, it is useful for identifying unknown
substances!

UNIT ANALYSIS, DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS, FACTOR LABEL, OR “THE RATIO

METHOD

5
In changing from one size of unit to another, it is helpful to use unit analysis as a tool to ensure that
you have done the conversion correctly. Unit analysis treats units as if they were algebraic terms. For
instance, in changing 1,432 cm to the equivalent number of meters, it is necessary to use the
relationship 100 cm = 1 meter. This can be expressed as ratios:

100 cm or 1 meter
1 meter 100 cm

You need only to choose the fraction that suits your purposes: Both of these fractions mean the same
thing. 100 cm is equal to 1 meter, or 1 meter is equal to 100 cm. You can write it either way – Don’t
look at these as fractions – look at them as ratios that say something in English! We will use the
second ratio:

1,432 cm x 1 meter = 14.32 meters

100 cm

Notice the unit you don’t want cancels out, just like in an algebra problem. Sometimes it helps
to put the number that you are converting over 1. Then you are just multiplying two fractions.
Then you would have:

1,432 cm x 1 meter = 1,432 cm x 1 meter = 14.32 meters

1 100 cm 1 x 100 cm

If you chose the other ratio, 100 cm / 1 meter, the result would be:

1,432 cm x 100 cm = 143,200 cm2

1meter meter

which is not correct because the problem asks for the answer in meters. If you select the proper ratio,
the remaining units or units will be what is asked for in the problem. If not, you need to rethink the
problem and select the identity that will give you the units you want in the answer. Remember this:
The unit that you want goes on top, and the unit that you want to get rid of goes on bottom. You
can do any conversion like this:

1. You always start with the number you want to convert.

2. You then multiply by the correct ratio – the one that has what you want on top, and what
you want to get rid of on bottom.

For example, if I want to convert 235 kg into grams, then I need to start with:

235 kg x __________

Am I going to use 1 kg__ or am I going to use 1000g? I am going to use the second,
1000g 1kg

6
 Because: The unit that you want goes on top, and the unit that you want to get rid of9 goes on
Go up the This
bottom. ladder, G know10that
will cancel out kg, and we will be left with g. You should also Giga
kg are
move the decimal to
huge, and there are a lot of grams in a kg!
the left!
THE METRIC LADDER!
M 106 Mega
Giga – 1,000,000,000

K 103 Kilo
AN EASY WAY TO CHECK YOUR ANSWER – “THE LADDER METHOD”!
Mega – 1,000,000
Using the metric “ladder” on the previous page, here is an easy way to check your answer! Let’s say
you are converting 455.5 cm to km. After you use the unit analysis methodHfrom above,
102 Hecto
ask yourself:
where am I at on the ladder? You are at cm! Where are you going on the ladder? You are going to
KiloHow
km! – 1,000
many powers of ten are you moving? centi is 10-2, and kilo is 103. Not forgetting the basic
unit of meter, which is 100, you are moving through 5 powers of ten. That is a decimal move of 5! If
you move up the ladder, the number gets smaller, and if you move down the D ladder,
10the Deka
1 number gets
bigger! So our number needs to get smaller by 5 decimal moves! So 455.5 cm would be:
Hecto - 100
455.5 cm = 00455.5 cm = .004555 km
No Prefix – base
5 moves
Deka - 10 Table 6 unit
Some useful ratios in the metric system - 100

Length:
d 10-1 deci
No 1Prefix
meter - Base unit –100 cm
gram, 1 meter 1,000 mm
100
liter, cm
meter 1 meter 1,000 mm 1 meter

1 cm 10 mm 1 km 1,000 m
10 mm 1 cm 1,000 m
c
1 km
10-2 centi
deciMass:
- 1/10 Volume:

1 kg 1,000 g 1 liter 1,000mml 10-3 milli

1,000 g 1 kg 1,000 ml 1 liter
centi - 1/100

 10-6 micro
milli - 1/1000

n 10-9 nano
micro – 1/1,000,000

p 10-12 pico
7 nano – 1/1,000,000,000

Go down the ladder,

pico – 1/1,000,000,000,000 move the decimal to
Indicate which ratio from above you would use to do the following conversions:

1. Length:

(a) change from centimeters to (e) change from kilometers to

meters meters

(b) change from meters to (f) change from meters to

kilometers centimeters

(c) change from meters to (g) change from millimeters to

millimeters meters

(d) change from millimeters to (h) change from centimeters to

centimeters millimeters

2. Mass:

(a) change from kilograms to grams (b) change from grams to kilograms

3. Volume:

(a) change from milliliters to liters (b) change from liters to milliliters

Use “the ratio method” to do the following unit conversions:

1. 432 cm to meters 11. 514 cm to meters

2. 13 mm to cm 12. 0.968 kg to grams

3. 28 cm to meters 13. 408 ml to liters

4. 538 ml to liters 14. 43 g to kg

8
Using the “ladder method”, do the following unit conversions:

1. 43.55 Gbytes to Mbytes 6. 2340 pm to um

2. .0034 Mmeters to dmeters 7. 14,000 mpencils to Kpencils
3. 4990 ug to dgrams 8. 4 Ggummibears to Mgummibears
4. .004 Kliters to mliters 9. 4699 csec to Hsec
5. .35 Km to cm 10. 500 mL to Dliters

Use “the ratio method” or the “ladder method” to do the following conversions:

5. 1.425 kg to grams 15. 5.50 liters to ml

6. 0.843 liter to ml 16. 76.0 cm to nm

7. 462 meters to Hm 17. 0.641 Kg to dgrams

8. 1.38 meters to cm 18. .004 mm to pm

9. 18.2 Km to dm 19. 142 mL to cm3

10. 2455 cm3 to L 20. 1.34 L to cm3

Select the appropriate unit for each of the following:

1. The length of a ten dollar bill: 1.5 cm 15 cm 15 mm 15 m

2. The size of a virus: 470 nm 470 mm 470 m 470 km
3. The mass of a human hair: 1 ugram 1 gram 1 kg 1 Mg
4. The distance to Las Vegas 2500 nm 2500 cm 2500 m 2500 km
5. The volume of a bottle of soda: 500 pL 500 mL 500 L 500 kL

9
DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT MASS IS?
WHAT WEIGHT IS? WHAT TEMPERATURE IS?

Mass is:

How much matter is contained in an object

Not going to ever change, no matter where you are!
Measured in grams, or kilograms, by scientists!
Measured out to the hundredth of a gram, or centigram, by our digital balances in lab! For example, a
typical balance reading would look like this:

150.02 g
Weight is:

How much the force of gravity pulls on you – if you were standing on the moon, there is less gravity,
so it would pull on you less, and you would have less weight!
Going to change depending on where you are!

Temperature is:

An indirect measurement of the intensity of energy in a particular substance

Measured in degrees Celsius or Kelvin in the laboratory – NEVER IN FAHRENHEIT!
A measure of the hotness or coldness of matter, but it doesn’t tell us how much heat is in something!
Here is how the Celsius scale compares to the Kelvin scale. We usually use the Kelvin scale to
measure gases, which are used to being at cold temperatures. Notice there is no zero on the scale!
1000C 373 K

K = C + 273 C = K - 273
0C
o
273 K

-2730C 0K

Convert the following temperatures from one unit into another:

200C = _________ K 298 K = _________ 0C 350C = _________ K

-200C = _________ K 145 K = _________ 0C 1500C = _________ K

155 K = _________ 0C -1000C = _________ K 500 K = _________ 0C

10
11
UNCERTAINTY IN MEASUREMENT

There is some uncertainty in every measurement. This uncertainty is not due to blundering or improper
procedures in making observations, but is simply due to limitations of the measuring device and the
experimenter’s ability to use the device. For example, a triple-beam centigram balance is accurate to
0.01 gram. Any reading on such a balance could be 0.01 gram higher or 0.01 grams lower than the
actual mass. Therefore, the uncertainty in using a triple-beam centigram balance is ±0.01 gram.
Limitations of accuracy and precision contribute to uncertainty.

Accuracy is how close a measurement is to an accepted or correct answer. If you are attempting to
take someone’s body temperature, and you get 98.5 0F, you are fairly accurate, or close to the correct
answer (assuming they are healthy!) We can measure how accurate, or inaccurate, we are in our
measurements by calculating percent (%) error. % error is calculated by taking our measured or
observed value, subtracting the accepted or right value, dividing by the accepted or right value, and
then multiplying by 100%. There is no negative when we talk about error, so it is the absolute value of
this calculation!

% Error = (Measured Value – Accepted Value) x 100%

(Accepted Value)

Precision is how closely two or more measurements of the same thing agree, when measured with
equal care by the same instrument. Some people refer to precision as consistency or repeatability –
when you took a measurement, did you take it the same way, and get the same result, time after time?
Even if you weren’t close to the right answer? If you took someone’s body temperature 4 times, and
got 92.20F, 92.20F, 92.20F, and 92.30F, you are very precise, because you are consistent in your
measurements, but you aren’t very accurate! This could be because your equipment is faulty, or one of
your procedures or techniques is off! Although each instrument has its own actual uncertainty, we do
talk about the typical or average uncertainty value of an instrument. Table 7 shows some of the typical
uncertainty values for the type of apparatus generally used in this course.

Table 7 Uncertainties associated with common instruments

Instrument Typical Uncertainty
Triple-beam centigram balance ±0.01 g
Platform balance ±0.5 g
50-ml graduated cylinder ±0.2 ml
10-ml graduated cylinder ±0.1 ml
-10 C to 110 C thermometer
o o
±0.2oC
Because every measuring device has some degree of uncertainty, there will always be error when you
measure in the chemistry lab – always!

12
 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

How many numbers should you record when taking a measurement? Being as careful as you can, record
all numbers that are certain, or that have markings for them, and one more in which there is some
uncertainty by estimating. You will then have recorded all the numbers that have meaning-all the
significant figures. Thus, The last number on the right of any measurement will be the number that you
or your measuring device estimated.

If, for example, you determine the mass of an empty beaker to be 82.64 grams on a centigram balance,
you would record 82.64 grams. All four digits are significant: the first three are known with certainty, and
the last is uncertain. The balance is certain about the 8, the 2, and the 6. It is uncertain about the 4,
because that was the figure that it estimated. What this means is that inside the balance, there is a scale
that looks like this:

82.3 82.4 82.5 82.6 82.7

The arrow is where the scale is measuring the beaker. The balance knows the measurement is between
82.6, and 82.7. So the balance is allowed to estimate one more number, and it estimated the 4. Therefore,
it reads the measurement as 82.64 g.

Why can the measurement not be 82.645 g?

Remember, the last significant number is always the one that is estimated, and there are always
markings for the place values before it.

So, there must be markings on the scale for the tens, the ones, the tenth, and the hundredth place – which
would be the 8, the 2, the 6, and the 4. The scale would look like this:

82.61 82.62 82.63 82.64 82.65

The scale knew the number was between 82.64, and 82.65, and it estimated one more number after that –
it said that it was halfway between, or 5. Therefore the measurement would be 82.645 g – which has 5
significant figures, 4 of which are certain, one of which is estimated, or uncertain, but all being
significant. When using a thermometer, or graduated cylinder, you will be estimating the last number
yourself.

What would be a legitimate measurement for this balance?

10 11 12 13 14

13
Notice there are only markings for the ones place on this balance. We are certain that the measurement is
between 13 and 14; we can then estimate one more. 13.8 would be a reasonable measurement here. The
8 is our estimated number – which means there have to be markings for the place values before it, or the
tens and ones – and there are! Would 13.4 be a legitimate measurement? Yes it would! The last figure is
always estimated, and it is up to the experimenter’s judgment! All we know for sure is that our
measurement falls between 13 and 14 – there is room for error!

14
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES AND THE ZERO

Zeros always confuse students when trying to figure out significant figures! For example, in the
measurement, 40.50 grams, how many of those numbers are significant? Do you know which number
was estimated by the observer? Do you know what two numbers it falls between? Let’s first use the
Atlantic-Pacific Rule to figure out how many significant numbers there are!

Here is the rule: Draw out a simple picture of the United States. Label the Atlantic and the Pacific
Oceans. Pacific, or P, will also stand for present, and Atlantic, or A, will also stand for absent.

Pacific Ocean
P Atlantic Ocean
A
40.50 g

Take your number and place it into the US. For example, let’s look at 40.50 g again. Is there a
decimal present or absent, you ask yourself? Present! So that is the side we count from. There are
only two rules to follow, once you know what side to count from.

1. Start counting when you hit a non-zero number

2. Count that number and EVERYTHING ELSE.

So we are going to start counting from the Pacific, or Present side, and we will start counting when we
hit a non-zero number. Our first non-zero number is 4. We count that and everything else. So there
are 4 significant digits. Remember, the last significant number is always the one that is estimated,
so the last zero is the one that must be estimated! Do you know what two numbers our measurement
must fall between? Since the zero is estimated, there are markings for the place value before the zero,
which would be the tens, the ones, and the tenth.

So the scale would look like this:

40.1 40.2 40.3 40.4 40.5

The person measuring this item knows that it is at 40.5 g, since there are markings for it, and then
estimates the last number to be zero - hence, 40.50 g

15
Determine the number of significant figures in each of the following:

(a) 100.1 g (k) 640,002 meters

(b) 473 ml (l) 20.020 g

(c) 0.002 meter (m) 1,000,000 liters

(d) 4,200 km (n) 190.60 g

(e) 0.1010 liter (o) 1.0004230 g

(f) 104.20 g (p) 2,000 ml

(g) 1,700,000 km (q) 175.00 ml

(h) 420.35 mm (r) 0.004200 meters

(i) 0.000020 kg (s) 7,000.007 mm

(j) 842.0 cm (t) 35,000 km

Determine the number of significant figures in each of the following numbers. Then, indicate
what two numbers it falls between on the measuring device being used!

(a) 24.5 grams (i) 540 liters

(b) .52 centimeters (j) 98.4 kilograms

(c) 15,000 milligrams (k) 566.0 mm

(d) 3,400 meters (l) 2,000 megagrams

(e) 2452 nanoliters (m) 23.58 kilometers

(f) 70 grams (n) 44 ml

(g) 15,000 liters (o) 190.05 ml

(h) 5.7 grams (p) 443 mL

16
Using Significant Figures When
We Measure or Calculate!

As you do calculations of your laboratory work, you often will be faced with the question of how
many significant numbers to use in the answer. For instance, suppose in a lab you want to
determine the density of a cube of copper. Density is mass divided by volume – no problem, right?
So you mass the copper on a nice digital balance, and get 44.81 grams. You then need to
determine the volume, and volume is length x width x height. So you get a ruler and measure the
length of the copper cube to be 1.7 cm. Since it is a cube, the width and height are the same. So
you multiply out your volume – but what do you report? 4.9 cm3? 4.91 cm3? 4.913 cm3? Now
you have to take your mass, and divide by your volume – but your mass has 4 significant numbers,
and your volume has…..? 2? 3? 4? Can your density be reported with as many numbers and
decimals as you would like? Can you report 9.120700183 g/cm3 as your answer? This is what
your calculator will give you if you use 44.81 grams, and 4.913 cm3, but your calculator will give
you an answer with as many numbers as possible – it doesn’t understand significant figures!

It is obvious that the measurement that the digital balance gave us is MUCH BETTER than the
measurement we took with the ruler, which probably is not that good. So, it is important that our
answer reflects the quality of our measurements. If someone saw 9.120700183 g/cm3 as our
measurement, they would think that we had incredibly accurate measuring devices when we
determined our answer, since it has many significant numbers. In actuality, one of our
measurements (the volume) is not that good. So we need to have a set of rules for how we
combine measurements together, so our answer reflects the goodness (or poorness) of our
measurements! All numbers that are multiplied, divided, added, or subtracted in the real world are
measurements – so an answer that is better than the measurements that made it is a lie.

We have two rules for when we combine measurements together – one for multiplication and
division, and one for addition and subtraction.

1. The rule for multiplication and division: Your answer can only have as many significant
numbers as your worst measurement.

For example, let’s go back our previous problem. When figuring out the volume of our copper
cube, we take 1.7 cm x 1.7 cm x 1.7 cm (remember, l x w x h). Each of our measurements has 2
significant figures, so our answer can only have 2 significant figures. So, when your calculator
gives you the answer of 4.913 cm3, we must round this to two significant figures. Our answer will
be 4.9 cm3. Not that good of an answer without all of those decimals? It can only be as good as
the measurements that made it up! Remember, when rounding, you drop everything after the
numbers you are keeping. If the number directly next to the one you are keeping is a 5 or above,
you round up. For example, if we were rounding 54.9 to two significant numbers, our answer
would be 55, since the 9 is a 5 or above.

In the above example, you would then take 44.81 grams and divide by your volume, which is 4.9
cm3. 44.81 grams/4.9 cm3 = 9.144897959 g/cm3 is our answer, right? Wrong! We have two
measurements – 44.81 grams has 4 significant numbers, and 4.9 cm 3 has 2 significant numbers.
The worst number is the 4.9 cm 3, with two significant numbers, so our answer can only have two
significant figures. Our answer must be 9.1 g/cm 3. It is a fair answer, since it reflects the fact that
17
 one of our measurements was not that good! Since our entire problem is the same rule –
multiplication and division – we could have done the ENTIRE PROBLEM in our calculator and
rounded at the end!

2. The rule for addition and subtraction: Your answer must be rounded after the worst
place value of your measurements! LINE UP YOUR NUMBERS!

What the heck does this mean? Let’s say you are measuring the heat given off by a chemical
reaction. You take three measurements, so you can take an average. You measure 213.4
joules, 21 joules, and 214.55 joules. You are not going to look at the number of significant
figures here – only the number’s place value. So let’s line up the numbers!

213.4 joules
+ 21 joules
214.55 joules
___________________

Notice I have underlined and bolded the last significant figure in each number. Which is the
worst place value? What I mean is, which number has its last number in the least accurate
place? The first number has 4 as its last significant number, which is in the tenth place. The
second number has 1 as its last significant number, which is in the ones place. The third
number has 5 as its last significant number, which is in the hundredth place. The ones place is
the least accurate, so that is where we round!

213.4 joules
+ 21 joules
214.55 joules
___________________
44 8 . 9 5 joules

We are rounding after the ones place, so our answer becomes 449. Notice it has 3 significant numbers,
even though 21 only has 2! We are not looking at number of significant figures, only where we
round!

What happens when we have a problem that has two different types of math steps – for example,
adding, and multiplying? You must round after each step! For example, let’s say we wanted to
know the mass of an object. We took the mass of an object three times, and got 23.3 grams, 23.04
grams, and 23.35 grams. We know the volume to be 8.5 cm3 (must be a solid, if we are using cm3 for
our volume, and not mL!). We first must average the mass. So we add them together: We will round
after the three, which is our worst place value (the tenth!). Our answer will be 69.7 grams.

2 3 . 3 grams
+ 23.0 4 grams
23.3 5 grams
___________________
69.6 9 grams

18
We then must divide by 3 to get an average. So we divide 69.7 grams by 3, and get 23.2333333. We
then must use the multiplication and division rule. Is 3 a number we need to take into account? NO!
IT IS NOT A MEASUREMENT, SO WE DON’T CONSIDER IT. ONLY CONSIDER
MEASUREMENTS IN SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS. So we look at only the 69.7 grams, which has
3 significant figures, and we round to 3 significant figures, or 23.2 grams. We then divide the mass, or
23.2 grams, by the volume, which is 8.5 cm3, to get the density. Since our mass has 3 significant
numbers, and our volume has 2, our answer can only have 2 (the multiplication/division rule). So our
answer, 2.729411765 g/cm3, would round to 2.7 g/cm3. Not a great answer, but it reflects the
measurements that made it.

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HOMEWORK PROBLEMS! YEAH! USE A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER

Round off each of the following to 3 significant figures:

(a) 2.396 (b) 6.333 (c) 2.500 (d) 3.805

(e) 23.15 (f) 6.2455 (g) 93.45 (h) 21.15

(i) 1.2793 (j) 0.10625 (k) 0.0037486 (l) 0.01245

(m) 0.666666 (n) 0.10652 (o) 0.048449 (p) 0.200000

(q) 0.001236 (r) 101.00 (s) 0.12453 (t) 0.010010

Do the following multiplication and division problems. Express each to the correct number of
significant figures:

(a) 1.5 x 1.1 (b) 4.30 x 136 (c) 2.0 x 76.9 (d) (0.200)(0.100)

(e) (0.2)(0.100) (f) 2.4 x 3.68 (g) 5.0 x 0.2 (h) 3.05 x 23 x 7.00

Do the following addition and subtraction problems. Express each to the correct number of
significant figures.

(a) 23.45 g + .2300 g + 12000g (b) 1300.5 – 40 – 3.488 (c) 120 + 4.5

(d) 440 – 3.34 – 200 (e) 54 + 130 + 4.55 + .04 (f) 4.5 - .03 - 2

Do the following combination problems. Make sure you round after each step, IF NEEDED.
Express each to the correct number of significant figures.

(a) (13.22 x 20.0) / (34500 x .000013) (b) (13.66 L + 22.4 L)/(23000 x .00462L)

(c) (14.6 – 11) + (7.0023 x 230) (d) (13.667 + 20.0 + 3400) / (4.0)

20
 ONE MORE QUICK NOTE ABOUT SIGNIFICANT FIGURES!

When converting from one unit into another, some people think that the number of significant figures
should change. They don’t! Think about it – if you take a measurement in the lab, or if a scientist
takes a measurement in the real world, does the quality of that measurement change if you convert it
into a different form? For example, let’s say Joe measures the length of his arm to be 24 cm.

If Joe wanted to convert this

length into meters (m), is
he going to change how good the
measurement is? No! Let’s
24 cm!
convert this into m and see…
to go from cm to m on the
ladder requires for us to go from
milli to the base unit of meter.
this is a decimal move of how
many? Two! We are moving
up the ladder, so we move the
decimal to the left by two, and
make the number smaller.

24 cm = .24 m

Notice we haven’t changed the number of significant figures in the measurement! It still has two!

Let’s do one that is a bit more difficult. Let’s say we convert the distance from St. Louis to Kansas
City, which is 460 kilometers, into Gigameters. That is a decimal of 6, up the ladder. The number gets
smaller by 6. So, it would be .00046 Gm. Notice, I don’t have the last zero there! That is because the
first number only has 2 significant figures. Just because you converted it into a different unit, doesn’t
mean that you are going to change HOW MANY significant figures it will have!

Some people think that small numbers are really accurate – not so! .000002 meters has only 1
significant figure! If we convert this into micrometers, it would be 6 decimal moves to the right. That
would make it 2 micrometers, which still only has 1 significant figure. The number looks different
now – not as accurate – but it is the same exact measurement! Only 1 significant figure still!

21
Convert the following numbers into the desired unit, making sure you keep the same number of
significant figures in the answer!

1. 5600 nm to mm 2. 19,000 cm to Km 3. 34.01 km to meters

4. 455 g to mg 5. 30,000 pL to uL 6. .00045 Mg to Kg

7. .0003 mL to pL 8. 2100 dm to Km 9. .003 HL to mL

22
SCIENTIFIC OR EXPONENTIAL NOTATION

What if you want to express a number such as 300 and want to indicate
that some or all of the zeros are significant? For example, if you multiply 22
and 13.5, your answer should have 2 significant numbers. Your answer, 297,
needs to be rounded to 300 then. But this only has 1 significant number!
The use of scientific notation solves this problem. It is also a convenient
shorthand for expressing very large and very small numbers. Some exponential
values are listed in Table 8.
Table 8: Some exponential values

103 = 1,000 102 = 100 101 = 10 100 = 1

10-1 = 0.1 10-2 = 0.01 10-3 = 0.001

The scientific notation form of a number consists of two parts. The first part is a number between one
and ten and includes all the significant digits of a number. The second part is the number 10 raised to
whatever power (the exponent) is necessary to locate the decimal point of the original number. It
indicates how many places the decimal point must be moved to recreate or make the original number.
The decimal point is moved to the right if the exponent is positive; to the left if the exponent is
negative. Thus, the number 2,500, which is written as two significant digits, can be written as 2.50 x
103 to indicate 3 significant figures or as 2.500 x103 to indicate four. Here is an easy rule to remember:

1. Make a number between one and ten.

2. Did you hurt or help the number? You hurt it if you made it smaller, helped it if you
made it bigger. If you hurt the number, help the exponent (make it positive!). If you
helped the number, hurt the exponent (make it negative!).

Example: Let’s take the number 450,000 and put it into scientific notation. Moving the decimal to the
left, we get 4.5 (a number between one and ten). Notice I don’t keep the zeros, because they are not
significant! Only the 4 and 5 were. We hurt the number 5 times, because we made it smaller. So we
must help the exponent. So, our final answer is 4.5 x 10+5.

Remember to only keep the number of figures that are significant when you change the number into
scientific notation. Suppose we wish to write the number that represents the width of a bacteria. Using
a normal notation for writing numbers, that number is .000000002155 m.
To write this number using scientific notation we have to know the number of significant numbers
there are. There are four significant figures. Now, in expressing our value as a number between one
and ten, we write 2.155. But this is not the number we wish to express. We must move the decimal
point 9 places to the left in order to have the same number that we wrote previously. To move the
decimal point 9 places to the left, we multiply by ten 9 times, or 109. We helped the number by 9, so
we will hurt the exponent by that much. Thus, the exponential notation for .000000002155 m is:

2.155 x 10-9 m

23
One of the benefits of learning to use scientific notation is to eliminate confusion about which zeros
are significant. Any zero that disappears when the number is changed to scientific notation is not
significant. Our original number, 297? We had to round it to 300, but wanted to keep two significant
numbers. So we make it 3.0 x 102, which has two significant numbers. Same number, and it tells us
that two of the numbers are significant.

24
Express each of the following in scientific notation, keeping the SAME NUMBER OF
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES.

(a) 300 (b) 3,500 (c) 85,000 (d) 186,000

(e) 186,251 (f) 7,000,000 (g) 16,100,000 (h) 300,000

(i) 0.00513 (j) 40,000 (k) 0.00000940 (l) 0.00140

Change each of the following back to its non-exponential form:

(a) 7.64 x 10-4 (b) 3.560 x 10-3 (c) 1.00 x 10-3

(d) 1 x 106 (e) 5.05 x 104 (f) 1 x 10-3

(g) 3.8 x 10-2 (h) 2.63 x 103 (i) 2.19 x 105

Do the following calculations. Round each answer to the appropriate number of significant
figures (SF). You might have to put them into scientific notation to do so.

(a) 53.0 x 9.4 = (b) 542 x 5.5 = (c) 5.3  10.6 =

(d) 1073.8  .054 = (e) 1.85 x 486.3 = (f) 254.0 x 35.433 =

(g) 23.7 x 25.3 = (h) 88.621 x 564 = (i) 46  .023 =

25
DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS – REVISITED!

Earlier worksheets discuss how we can change one unit into another, using something called a ratio.
Once again, we are going to revisit this idea, and use it to change one unit into another, even when we
are not working within the metric system. You can convert anything into anything else using this
method. Remember two very important things again:

1. You can write a ratio two different ways, and it means the same thing. For example,
there are 60 seconds in an hour. This can be written:

60 sec OR 1 hour
1 hour 60 sec

Don’t look at these as fractions – look at them as ratios that say something in English!

2. When trying to figure our what ratio to use, the unit that you want goes on top, and the
unit that you want to get rid of goes on bottom.

Let’s try a conversion. Let’s say, as in the Indiana Jones problem, that you have a brick of gold, and
you want to know how much it weighs in grams. You know the density of gold 19.3 g/cm3. Your brick
has a volume of 1230 cm3. So we use the two rules of converting:

1. You always start with the number you want to convert.

2. You then multiply by the correct ratio – the one that has what you want on top, and what
you want to get rid of on bottom.

So we write 1230 cm3 – this is the number given in the problem to convert.

12.30 cm3 x Ratio

goes here

What ratio are we going to use? Let’s look at the ratio 19.3 g/cm3. What does the / mean? It means
per – 19.3 grams per cm3. What does that mean? It means for every 1 cm3. So we could write that as:

19.3 g and since it is a ratio, we can also write it as 1 cm3

1 cm3 19.3 g

We will use the first one, so we can get grams on top, and cm3, the unit we want to get rid of, goes on
bottom. SO,

12.30 cm3 x 19.3 g = 237.39 g

1 cm3

26
Notice cm3 cancels out. You can put your starting number over one if it helps you multiply two
fractions together better. This is important: We added the 1 ourselves, so it isn’t a measurement,
and won’t be counted as a significant number later on!
Our final answer can only have 2 significant numbers, because of the multiplication/division rule, so
our final answer is:

238 g

Could we convert this into pounds if we wanted to? Of course. We would simply need another ratio,
one from grams to pounds. Ratios like these will always be given in the problem.

Finally – and most importantly – ratios are what are considered to be perfect measurements – they are
defined quantities in science that we don’t use in determining significant figures! For example, there
are exactly 12 inches in a foot – no more, no less. There is no uncertainty in this definition. So, we
consider ratios to have an infinite number of significant figures, and we don’t use them when
determining the number of significant figures in our final answer! We only use the given
measurements in the problem to do so!

27
DO THE FOLLOWING CONVERSIONS. START BY WRITING THE RATIO
YOU ARE GOING TO USE TWO DIFFERENT WAYS. IN SOME PROBLEMS,
YOU WILL HAVE TO REALLY SEARCH FOR THE RATIO! WATCH FOR
SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS! SOME PROBLEMS REQUIRE MORE THAN ONE CONVERSION! DO
THESE PROBLEMS ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER!

1. Abie Goldberry, a Quebec junior hockey player from the 1930's was hit by a puck while playing
hockey, which ignited a set of matches that he had in his pocket. His uniform caught on fire and
he was burned quite badly before the fire was put out 6.00 minutes later. How many seconds is
this?

2. The United States is of course the world’s largest producer of beer. It makes a whopping 5 billion
gallons each year. That is 5,000,000,000 gallons. Convert this quantity to liters, if there is 3.79
liters per gallon.

3. Did you know that the Earth has another moon? Cruithne, as it is called, takes 770 years to
complete a horseshoe-shaped orbit around Earth, the scientists say, and it will remain in a
suspended state around Earth for at least 5,000 years. Convert its orbit years into hours.
4. Baskin Robbins once made ketchup ice cream. This was the only vegetable flavored ice cream
produced. However, they discontinued it since they thought it would not sell well. One scoop of
ketchup ice cream weighed 250 grams. Convert this into pounds. There are 2.20 pounds per
kilogram.

5. There are approximately 102,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body. Convert this into
kilometers, if there are 1.61 kilometers per mile.

6. African Baobab tree's circumference can reach 180 feet. If the trunk were hollow, 20 people
would be able to fit inside of it. How many meters is this, if there are 3.28 feet per meter?

7. In 1912, a wrestling match in Stockholm between Finn Alfred Asikainen and Russian Martin
Klein lasted more than 11.0 hours.  Klein eventually won, but was too tired to participate in the
championship match.  Convert this time into seconds.

8. In 1976, a Los Angeles secretary named Jannene Swift officially married a 50.0-pound rock. More
than twenty people witnessed the ceremony. Convert this into grams, if there are 2.200 pounds per
kilogram.

9. The smallest stamp in the world was issued in 1863 by the Columbian state of Bolivar and
measured 9.5 mm across. Convert this into inches, if there are 2.540 cm per inch.

10. The most expensive perfume in the world is Parfum VI, which was made by Arthur Burnham. A
4-inch bottle that is covered with 24-carat gold costs $71,380. If the bottle contains 85.5 cm 3 of
gold, what is its mass in pounds? The density of gold is 19.3 grams per cm 3.
11. The world's deepest gold mine is 7.0 kilometers below the surface of the Earth. How far is that in
feet?

12. Chloroform used to be used as an anesthetic, but is now banned. What is the mass in kilograms of
355 ml of chloroform if 1.00 ml of chloroform weighs 1.49 grams?

13. 27-year old heir to a sausage empire was handed a ticket for 174,000 dollars for driving at 80
km/hr in a 40-km/hr zone. This is because the speeding tickets in Finland are based on how much
money a person makes. Convert 80 km/hr into miles per hour.
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 14. Suppose the European automobile described above gets 25.0 miles to the gallon. What would this
be in kilometers per liter?

15. The world’s largest hot dog ever made was a whopping 6.90 meters long and 115 kg heavy. This
comes out to be 16.7 kg per meter. Convert this into lbs per foot.

16. The U.S. keeps all of its silver at West Point Military Academy. How many
cubic centimeters of silver do you have if you have 3450 grams of silver? The density of silver is
10.50 grams per cm3.

29
 WHAT THE HECK IS DENSITY?

Density is something that often confuses students, because they think that it is the same as mass or
volume. Density is a very important measurement, because regardless of how big or small a substance
is, its density will not change. A watch made of gold and a brick made of gold have different masses
and volumes, but they have the same density. How can that be?

SAME DENSITY!

Mass: 20,000 grams Mass: 550 grams

Volume: 1040 cm3 Volume: 28.5 cm3

If you were to take the mass of the gold brick, and divide by its volume, you would get the same
number as if you took the mass of the gold watch, and divided by its volume.

Density is a ratio of mass divided by volume:

D=m
V
In both cases, you get 19.3 g! Even though they are different shapes and weights, they
1 cm3

have the same density.

In simple terms, density is how much something weighs, compares to how much space it takes up. A
very dense object weighs a lot, but doesn’t take up much space! This can be very confusing, so look at
the following example:

Take the same gold brick from above. Let’s build a box the exact same size, or VOLUME, but fill it
with water:

GOLD
WATER

4 cm
4 cm
24 cm 8 cm
24 cm 8 cm

30
Both are the same SIZE, or volume, correct? We could calculate the volume of both:

Volume = length x width x height = 24 cm x 8 cm x 4 cm = 768 cm3

Are they going to weigh the same, though? Of course not! Why? They have different densities!
One is going to weigh more!
The density of gold is 19.2 g, and the density of water is 1g. That means that when you
1 cm 3
1 cm3

Have objects made of gold and water, and they are the same size, that the gold one will weigh 19.2
times more! So in this case, the gold brick would weigh 14,745.6 grams, and the water brick would
weigh 768 grams. That can be figured out with some basic math, if you were wondering! But we will
get to that later!

Wow! That small gold brick would be about 40 pounds, where the water one would only be about a
pound! How can that be? Gold is more dense than water! There’s more stuff packed into the same
amount of space!

So you can understand, a 2 liter bottle filled with soda (mostly water) would weigh about 5 pounds.
The same 2 liter bottle, if filled with gold, would weigh almost 100 pounds! Even though they take up
the same space, the gold bottle would weigh so much more, because there are so many more atoms
packed into that space!

100 pounds!
5 pounds

The entire density scale is based around water, which has a density of 1 – 1 gram of water occupies a
volume of 1 cm3. It is often written as 1g/1 cm3. The amazing thing is this – gold has a density of 19.3
g/1 cm3, which means it is 19.3 times as dense as water!

Because density is a ratio that doesn’t change, we can use it to identify substances. For example, the
famous Greek scientist, Archimedes, was hired by a king to prove that a gold crown that was made for
the king was not made of gold. It appeared to be gold – but how does one know? It appeared to have
the same size and shape as the other crowns as well. Archimedes knew that if it were gold, it would
have the same density as the other crowns. So he went about finding the mass and volume of the
crown. The mass was easy – a scale was used to determine this. How would one find out its volume,
though? This can be done through water displacement – an idea Archimedes discovered! An object
placed in water will displace, or push aside, as much water as its own volume. Archimedes took the
volume of the crown this way. He then took the mass and the volume of the supposed gold crown,
calculated its density, and found out it was not made of gold. The crown maker was then beheaded. In
today’s times, there are more accurate ways of determining density. It can still be used, however, to
identify the nature of a substance.

31
In summary, here are some things I want you to remember about density -

1. The density of an object will never change, no matter of how much or how little of that
substance you have!
2. Because density does not change, no matter the size of an object, it can be used to identify what
a substance is made of!
3. In practical terms, density means that you can have two objects that take up the same space, but
have very different weights. For example, a 2-L bottle filled with soda would weigh about 5
pounds, where a 2-L bottle filled with gold would weigh 100 lbs!
4. Certain objects will float or sink in water, based on their density compared to water, and due to
their buoyancy – that means their ability to float if they have air trapped inside!
5. The density scale is based around water, which has a density of 1g/1 cm3.

32