Chapter 2: Data Analysis

Section 1: Units
of measurement
 Intro problems: D = m
V
• Calculate the density of a piece of bone
with a mass of 3.8 g and a volume of 2.0
cm3
• A spoonful of sugar with a mass of 8.8
grams is poured into a 10 mL graduated
cylinder. The volume reading is 5.5 mL.
What is the density of the sugar?
 Not so long ago…….
People used all kinds of units to describe
measurements:
 Their feet

 Sundials

 The length of their arm

Needless to say, this led to much
confusion!
• Scientist needed a way to report their findings
in a way that everyone else understood.
• So, in 1795, the French developed a system of
standard units, which was updated in 1960
• The revised system is called the Système
Internationale d’Unités, which is abbreviated
SI
 SI Units
A system of standard measures that every
scientist uses
It consists of 7 base units which have real
measures in the real world
 SI Base Units
Quantity Base unit
Time second (s)
Length meter (m)
Mass kilogram (kg)
Temperature kelvin (K)
Amount of substance mole (mol)
Electric current ampere (A)
Luminous intensity candela (cd)
 Time

 
 Base unit for time is the second
 It is based on the frequency of microwave
radiation given off by        
a cesium-133 atom
 Length
 The SI unit for length is
the meter (m).

 
 The distance that light
travel
          through a vacuum
 Equals 1/300,000,000 of
a second
 About 39 inches
 Mass
Base unit for mass is the
kilogram (kg)
You may see grams (g)
or milligrams (mg)
Defined by a platinum-
iridium cylinder stored
in a bell jar in France
About 2.2 pounds
Temperatur
e
You classify an object as hot or
cold by whether heat flows
from you to the object or from
the object to you.
Heat flows from hot to cold.
Thermometers are used to
measure temp.
SI unit of temp is kelvin (K)
 Temperature
 In science, the celsius and kelvin scales are most
often used.
 To convert from celsius to kelvin: add 273
ex: -39º C + 273 = 234 K
 To convert from kelvin to celsius: subtract 273
ex: 332 K – 273 = 59ºC
 Derived Units
 Not all quantities can be
measured with base units
Volume—the space occupied by
an object
-measured in cubic meters
(cm3)
-or liters (L) or milliliters (ml)
 Derived Units
Density—a ratio that compares the mass of an
object to its volume
--units are grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm 3)

D=m Density equals

mass divided by
V volume.
Example: If a sample of aluminum has a
mass of 13.5g and a volume of 5.0 cm3,
what is its density?

Density = mass
volume D= 13.5 g
5.0 cm3

D = 2.7 g/cm3
Suppose a sample of aluminum is placed in a 25 ml
graduated cylinder containing 10.5 ml of water. A
piece of aluminum is placed in the cylinder and the
level of the water rises to 13.5 ml. The density of
aluminum is 2.7 g/cm3. What is the mass of the
aluminum sample?
Practice Problems—pg. 29 # 1, 2, 3
 Other Derived Quantities
• Velocity or speed- distance an obj travels over a
period of time
– V = ∆d/ t
– Units: m/s
• Force – push or a pull exerted on an object
– F = m*a m= mass a= acceleration
– Units: Kg * m/s2 = Newton (N)
 Metric Prefixes
• To better describe the range of possible
measurements, scientists add prefixes to the base
units.
• For example: 3,000 m = 3 km (easier to manage)
• Most common prefixes:
– King Henry Died by Drinking Chocolate Milk

• Metric prefixes are based on the decimal system

 Converting Between Units
• To convert b/w units simply move the decimal
place to the right or left depending on the
number of units jumped.
• Ex: K he da base d c m

– 24.56 m = 245.6 dm = 2,4560 mm

• May use power of 10 to multiply or divide
– Big units to small units Multiply
– Small units to big units divide
 Section 2.2

Scientific Notation and

Dimensional Analysis
 Scientific Notation
• A way to handle very large or very small
numbers
• Expresses numbers as a multiple of 10 factors
• Structure: a number between 1 and 10; and ten
raised to a power, or exponent
– Positive exponents, number is > 1
– Negative exponents, number is <1
Ex: 300,000,000,000 written in scientific
notation is 3.0 x 10 11
Change the following data into scientific notation.
a. The diameter of the sun is 1 392 000 km.
b. The density of the sun’s lower atmosphere is
0.000 000 028 g/cm3.
Practice probs. Pg. 32 #12, 13
 To add or subtract in scientific notation:
+ The exponents must be the same before doing the arithmetic
+ Add/Subtract numbers, keep the power of 10.

Move the decimal to right

(make # bigger): subtract
from exponent (exp smaller)
Ex: To add the numbers
Move the decimal to left
2.70 x 107 (smaller #): add to exponent
(bigger exp)
15.5 x 106
0.165 x 108
Practice probs. Pg. 32 #14
 To multiply or divide numbers in
scientific notation:

 To multiply: multiply the numbers and

ADD the exponents
ex: (2 x 103) x (3 x 102)

2x3=6 3+2=5

Answer = 6 x 105
 To multiply or divide numbers in
scientific notation:

 To divide: divide the numbers and

SUBTRACT the exponents
ex: (9 x 108)  (3 x 10-4)

93=3 8 – (-4) = 12

Answer = 3 x 1012
Practice probs. Pg. 33 #15, 16
 Dimensional analysis
• A method of problem-solving that focuses on the units used to describe
matter
• Converts one unit to another using conversion factors in a fraction
format
– 1teaspoon = 5 mL  1 tsp or 5 ml
5 ml 1 tsp
– 1 km = 1000 m  1 km or 1000 m
1000 m 1 km
Dimensional analysis cont….
• To use conversion factors simply write:
1. What is given with the unit
2. Write times and a line (x ______).
3. Place the unit you want to cancel on the
bottom, unit you are converting to on top.
4. Use as many conversion factors until you
reach your answer Conversion factor
– ex: Convert 48 km to meters: 1km = 1000 m

48 km x 1000m
1km
= 48,000 m
Practice: Convert 360 L to ml
and to teaspoons:
1. How many seconds are there in
24 hours?

2. How many seconds are there in 2

years?
Practice probs. Pg. 34 #17, 18
You can convert more than one unit at a time:

What is a speed of 550 meters per second

in kilometers per minute?

HINTs:Convert one unit at a time!

Units MUST be ACROSS from each
other to cancel out!
 Section 2.3

How reliable are measurements:

Sometimes an estimate is acceptable and
sometimes it is not.
Okay?
 When you are driving to the beach

 Miles per gallon your car gets

 Your final grade in Chemistry X

 When scientists make measurements,
they evaluate the accuracy and
precision of the measurements.
 Accuracy—how close a measured value is
to an accepted value.

Not Accurat
  Precision—how close a series of
measurements are to each other

Not
precise Precise
Density Data collected by 3 different students
Accepted density
of Sucrose = Student A Student B Student C
1.59 g/cm3

Trial 1 1.54 g/cm3 1.40 g/cm3 1.70 g/cm3

Trial 2 1.60 g/cm3 1.68 g/cm3 1.69 g/cm3

Trial 3 1.57 g/cm3 1.45 g/cm3 1.71 g/cm3

Average 1.57 g/cm3 1.51 g/cm3 1.70 g/cm3

Which student is the most accurate? Which is most

precise? What could cause the differences in data?
 It is important to calculate the difference
between an accepted value and an
experimental value.
 To do this, you calculate the ERROR in
data. (experimental – accepted)
 Percent error is the ratio of an error to
an accepted value

Percent error = error

x 100
accepted value
 Calculate the percent error for
Student A
Percent error = error x 100
accepted value Density Accepted Error
Trial value (g/cm3)
(g/cm3)
First, you must calculate the
error!!
1 1.54 1.59
2 1.60 1.59
3 1.57 1.59
Practice probs. Pg. 38 #29
 Significant Figures
Scientists indicate the precision of
measurements by the number of digits they
report
A value of 3.52 g is more precise than a
value of 3.5 g
A reported chemistry test score of 93 is
more precise than a score of 90
Include all known digits and one estimated
digit.
 Rules for significant figures
1. Non-zero numbers are always significant 72.3 g has__
2. Zeros between non-zero numbers are 60.5 g has__
significant

3. Leading zeros are NOT significant

0.0253 g has __
Leading zeros

4. Trailing zeros are significant after a 6.20 g has__

decimal point Trailing zeros 100 g has__
Determine the number of significant figures in
the following masses:
a. 0.000 402 30 g
b. 405 000 kg

a. 0.000 402 30 g 5 sig figs

b. 405 000 kg 3 sig figs
To check, write the number in scientific
notation
Ex: 0.000 402 30 becomes

4.0230 x 10-4

and has 5 significant figures

Practice probs. Pg. 39 # 31, 32
 Rounding to a specific # of sig figs

When rounding to a specific place using sig

figs, use the rounding rules you already
know. 1 2 3 4

ex: Round to 4 sig figs: 32.5432

1. Count to four
from left to right:
2. Look at the number
to the right of the 4th
digit and apply
32.54
rounding rules
Practice probs. Pg. 41 #34
Practice probs. Pg. 41 # 35, 36
pg. 42 #37, 38