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2: Chemistry and Measurements

  • Page ID
    366083
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    • 2.1: Taking Measurements
      Chemists measure the properties of matter and express these measurements as quantities. A quantity is an amount of something and consists of a number and a unit. The number tells us how many (or how much), and the unit tells us what the scale of measurement is. For example, when a distance is reported as “5 kilometers,” we know that the quantity has been expressed in units of kilometers and that the number of kilometers is 5.
    • 2.2: The Basic Units of Measurement
      Metric prefixes derive from Latin or Greek terms. The prefixes are used to make the units manageable. The SI system is based on multiples of ten. There are seven basic units in the SI system. Five of these units are commonly used in chemistry.
    • 2.3: Measuring Mass, Length, and Volume
      The SI base units specifies certain units for various types of quantities, based on seven fundamental units. We will use most of the fundamental units in chemistry. This section addresses the measurements: mass, length, and volume
    • 2.4: Measurement and Significant Figures
      Significant figures properly report the number of measured and estimated digits in a measurement. There are rules for applying significant figures in calculations.
    • 2.5: Significant Figures in Calculations
      To round a number, first decide how many significant figures the number should have. Once you know that, round to that many digits, starting from the left. If the number immediately to the right of the last significant digit is less than 5, it is dropped and the value of the last significant digit remains the same. If the number immediately to the right of the last significant digit is greater than or equal to 5, the last significant digit is increased by 1.
    • 2.6: Problem Solving and Unit Conversions
      During your studies of chemistry (and physics also), you will note that mathematical equations are used in a number of different applications. Many of these equations have a number of different variables with which you will need to work. Note also that these equations will often require the use of measurements with their units. Algebra skills become very important here!
    • 2.7: Solving Multi-step Conversion Problems
      Sometimes you will have to perform more than one conversion to obtain the desired unit.
    • 2.8: Density
      Density is a physical property found by dividing the mass of an object by its volume. Regardless of the sample size, density is always constant.
    • 2.9: Dosage Calculations
      Conversion factors are important in calculating dosages.


    This page titled 2: Chemistry and Measurements is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Garima Garg.

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