LEARNING OBJECTIVES

CHAPTER 1: Measurement

You should know the meaning of the following terms: observation, law, hypothesis, theory, accuracy, precision, matter, mass, volume, density.

You should be familiar with the elements of the scientific method and understand the roles and relationships among observations, experiments, laws, hypotheses, and theories.

You should recognize that every measured quantity has a magnitude (number) and dimension (unit). You should understand that there are limits to the reliability (both accuracy and precision) of any measurement and how these limits are conveyed through the use of significant figures.

You should know the basic units of the International (metric) System and the names, abbreviations, and meanings of the common metric multipliers. You should be familiar with the use of compound units and with some of the more common derived units (e.g. liter, joule, etc.).

You should understand how a quantity expressed in one system of units can be converted to an alternative system of units using a conversion factor derived from a statement of equivalence and how dimensional analysis is used to determine which of the two conversion factors provided by a given equivalence is appropriate to the problem at hand.

You should understand how the concept of density relates mass and volume and how density can be used as a statement of equivalence to interconvert between mass and volume. You should know the numerical value for the density of water.

You should be familiar with the relationship among the Celsius, Kelvin, and Fahrenheit scales of temperature and be able to convert between temperatures on the Celsius and Kelvin scales.