SCIENTIFIC MEASUREMENTS

At the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. Distinguish between basic and derived quantities
2. Identify basic units and derived units.
3. Recognise prefixes, multiples and submultiples of fundamental and derived units.
4. Use scientific notation and significant figures in numerical problems.

 The Scientific measurements

The scientific name for material is ‘matter’. All the matter occupies space and has what is called ‘mass’. Many properties of matter are quantitative; that is, they are associated with numbers. When a number represents a measured quantity, the units of that quantity must always be specified. To say that the length of a pencil is 17.5 for example, is meaningless. However, to say that it is 17.5 centimetres (cm) properly specifies the length. The units used for scientific measurements are those of the metric system. Matter can be measured in terms of time, length and mass.

The metric system, which was first developed in France during the late eighteenth century, is used as the system of measurement in most countries throughout the world.