Name: _____________________________ Period: ______ Chapter 1 Study 1
Guide
accuracy
physics
precision
significant digits
1. The study of matter and energy is ________physics____________________.
2. The valid digits in a measurement are called the __significant digits_________.
3. ________Accuracy________________________ describes how well the results of
a measurement agree with the real value.
4. The degree of exactness of a measurement is called
_______precision_________________________.
5. A device with very small divisions on its scale can measure with
a. scientific notation
c. agreement
b. precision
d. fundamental units
6. An atomic mass unit is measured at 1.660 x 10-27kg, a number that has _____
significant digits.
a. 1
c. 3
b. 2
d. 4
Use the graph on the right to answer the
following questions.
7. Which variable is the independent
variable?
_____time__________________
8. Which is the dependent variable?
_____distance_______________
9. Explain why the slope at 2.0 s is
greater than the slope at 1.0 s.
_the ball is falling a greater
distance at 2.0 s than at 1.0 s. __
___________________________
___________________________
10. About how far does the ball fall in
1.8 s?
___16 m____________________
11. Why do physicists work in SI units?
SI (metric) units are based on powers of 10 so it is easy to convert between
units. ____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
12. What does the term resolution mean when referring to measurement?
Resolution refers to the smallest measurement a device can make. The
smaller the resolution, the more precise the device. _____________________
_________________________________________________________________
13. What are significant digits? Is zero a significant digit? Use examples to explain
your answers.
Significan digits are the valid digits in a measurement and depend on the
precision of the device used to make the measurement. Zeroes can be
significant if they are sandwiched or precision zeroes. ___________________
14. What is the difference between accuracy and precision? Use examples to explain
your answers.
Accuracy is obtaining the correct or actual measurement and precision is the
degree of exactness of the measurement (the more decimal places in a
measurement the more precise) ______________________________________
15. What are the advantages of using graphs? Give an example.
Graphs display data visually. For example, speeds can easily be compared
with position-time graphs. __________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
16. The base SI unit for length is the ___________.
a. foot
b. meter
c. inch
d. kilogram
17. The metric prefix that means 1x106 is ___________.
a. pico
c. mega
b. nano
d. giga
18. How many significant digits are in the measurement 2.560 x 104?
a. 1
c. 3
b. 2
d. 4
Name: _____________________________ Period: ______ Chapter 1 Study 3
Guide
19. Which of the following is a more precise measurement—the length of a tabletop
measured with a stick calibrated in centimeters as shown on the left or the length
measured with a stick calibrated in millimeters as shown on the right? Why?
The length measured with the millimeters is more precise because it has
smaller divisions therefore the measurement will have more decimal places.
_________________________________________________________________
20. How many significant digits are in each of the following measurements?
a. 3809 m
__4______________________
b. 9.013 m
__4______________________
c. 0.0045 m
__2______________________
21. Express the measurements in scientific notation.
a. 142000 s
__1.42 x 105 s______________________
b. 0.00809 kg
__8.09 x 10-3 kg____________________
c. 501000000 m
__5.01 x 108 m______________________
Simplify the following expressions. Give your answers in scientific notation, using
the correct number of significant digits.
22. (2x106m)(5x105m)
23. (5.06x102m)(8.124m)(1.2x106m)
1 x 1012 m2
4.9 x 109 m3
24. Which of the following measurements contains zeros that are not significant?
Give a reason for your answer.
3.050x105mm , 0.0053 m, 45.020 cm, 101.2 g
The measurement 0.0053 m has zeroes that are not significant because they
are leading zeroes._________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
25. The total mass of four containers is 5.000 kg. If the mass of container A is 256
mg, container B is 5117 cg, and container C is 382 g, what is the mass of
container D? (hint: use conversions to make all units the same!)
D = 4.57 kg or 4.57 x 103 (4570) g
Complete the missing parts of the chart:
Symbol
Prefix
Power of 10
G
giga-
109
M
mega-
106
k
kilo-
103
h
hepto-
102
da
deca-
101
d
deci-
10-1
c
centi-
10-2
m
milli-
10-3
µ
micro-
10-6
n
nano-
10-9