Period ______Name ______
______
Do You Measure Up? Honors
Concept Development
Problem How does your measuring device affect your measurement, significant figures and uncertainty?
Materials Pencil, NASA paperclip, ruler, meter stick, student desk.
Part 1A – Complete the following data table by measure the listed items using the “NASA” paperclip.
Summing Up Part 1A
1. How did you deal with measurements that did not come out to a whole number of paperclips?
2. To what decimal place did you measure? Why?
3. How does the decimal place above relate to the precision of the measuring device?
Part 1B – Take a look at the ruler below – there are two scales for doing measurements.
What units does each of these scales use?
Since this is a science class we will always use the metric system, which is the top side of the ruler pictured below. What distance between each of the numbers on the ruler shown below (what is the distance between 18 and 19)?
What distance between each of the lines (divisions) on the ruler shown below?
Complete the following data table by measure the listed items using the ruler.
Summing Up Part 1B
1. How did you deal with measurements that did not come out exactly on a line?
2. What is your uncertainty for the ruler?
Part 1C – Complete the following data table by measure the listed items using the meter stick.
Summing Up Part 1C
1. How did you deal with measurements that did not come out exactly on a line?
2. How did you determine your uncertainty for the meter stick?
3. Suppose a door were exactly 10.7 pencils tall. How could you tell how tall the door was in paper clips without actually measuring?
4. How tall is the door in paper clips without actually measuring it with the paper clip? Show your conversion factors used in your calculations.
5. How tall is the door in millimeters without actually measuring? Show your conversion factors used in your calculations..
6. Using your floor tile measurements how long in millimeters is a paper clip? Describe your procedure for how you determined this and show your conversion factors used in your calculations.
7. Was there any difference in your measurements of the desk when using the ruler or the meter stick? Why do you think this happens?
8. Did you measure the length of the desk from the same place with the meter stick and the ruler? Why?
9. Where did you start and end your measurements of the desk? Why did you measure it this way?
10. Was there any difference in your measurements of the floor tiles when using the ruler or the meter stick? Why do you think this happens?
11. For the long width of the desk measured with the ruler, what limits the number of significant figures – variation in the actual length of the desk or limitations in the precision of the ruler? How do you know?
Period ______Name ______
______
Do You Measure Up? – Going the Extra Meter Honors
Concept Development
Problem How does your measuring device affect your measurement, significant figures and uncertainty?
Materials Meter stick, tape measure.
Part 2 – Measure the distance marked off by your instructor using measuring equipment listed in the data table.
Summing Up Part 2
1. How did you determine your uncertainty for the -
Meter stick
Tape measure
2. Was there any difference in your measurement distances of the floor tiles between the different measuring devices? Why do you think this happens?
3. Was there a difference in the number of significant figures between the different measuring devices? Why?
4. Which measuring device do you think gives us the best measurement of the distance? Why?
5. When using the tape measure what limits the number of significant figures – variation in the actual length of the tiles or limitations in the precision of the tape measure? How do you know?
6. In order to determine the total distance 100 floor tiles would cover when placed end to end would it be better to use your measurement for 1 tile or 10 tiles? Why?
7. What is the difference in your uncertainty for a single floor tile from your measurements of a single tile verses your 10 tile measurement?
8. Fill in the table with your average measurement data and then convert it to the units in each of the additional columns. You must show sample calculations for each of the converted units. Don’t forget to use significant figures.