Chapter 3 Vocabulary
•Measurement
•Scientific notation
Measurement
a quantitative description
that includes both a number
and a unit
Examples: Length (4 meters), age (15
years), or daily temperature (31°C)
Scientific Notation
an expression of numbers
n
in the form m x 10 , where
m is equal to or greater
than 1 and less than 10,
and n is an integer
Chapter 3 Vocabulary
• Accuracy
• Precision
• Accepted Value
•Experimental Value
Accuracy
the closeness of a
measurement to the true
value of what is being
measured
Precision
describes the closeness, or
reproducibility, of a set of
measurements taken under
the same conditions
Accepted Value
a quantity used by general
agreement of the scientific
community, a known value
Example: 0°C freezing point of water or
100°C boiling point of water
Experimental Value
a quantitative value
measured during an
experiment
Chapter 3 Vocabulary
• Error
• Percent Error
• Significant Figures
Error
the difference between
the accepted value and
the experimental value
Error = experimental value – accepted value
Percent Error
the percent that a
measured value differs
from the accepted value
Percent error =
|error |
____________
accepted value
x 100%
Significant Figures
all the digits that can be
known precisely in a
measurement, plus a last
estimated digit
Chapter 3 Vocabulary
• Mass
• Weight
• Volume
Mass
a measure of the amount
of matter that an object
contains
SI base unit of mass is the kilogram
Weight
a force that measures the
pull of gravity on a given
mass
Volume
a measure of the space
occupied by a sample of
matter