| A | B |
|---|
| observation | use of the senses to perceive objects or events as they are, free of interpretation of bias |
| quantitative observation | measurement of the amount of matter present |
| qualitative observation | description of the kinds of matter that present; physical description |
| inference | to interepret or explain an observation based on prior experience and reasonig of the observer |
| scientific notation | the a system by which very small or very large numbers are abbreviated using powers of ten; also called exponential notation |
| SI system | System Internationale; a standardized measurement system based on the powers of ten and decimals; also called the Metric System |
| conversion factors | two measurements that represent the same value but have different units and are used to cancel the units in a factor label method problem |
| factor label method | a mathematical algorithm used to solve problems where it is necessary to change from one unit into another one by using conversin factors to cancel the units. |
| algorithm | a mathmatical pattern of problem solving that may be used to solve problems of the same type. DO NOT rely on this to solve problems. You must also THINK through the problems. |
| measurement | a collection of quantitative observations / data that express the dimensions, extent, capacity, etc. of an object. |
| weight | a measure of the force of gravity between two objects |
| mass | a measure of the quantity or amount of matter |
| balance | a measurement instrument that is used to determine the mass of a substance by comparing it to a known standard mass |
| scale | a measurement tool that is used to measure weight |
| meter | the standard SI unit of measurement for length or distance |
| length | the measurement of distance |
| time | the interval between two occurances measured using a watch or a clock |
| second | the standard unit for the measurement of time using the SI system |
| temperature | a measurement of the average kinetic energy of the particles that make up the object / sample |
| kelvin | the standard SI system unit of measurement for temperature |
| accuracy | the degree to which individual measurements agree with a true or correct or actual value for a quantity |
| precision | the degree of uncertainty due to the measurement instrument and/or the degree of agreement between repeated measurements |
| significant digit | all of the digits of a measurement that can be read from the measurement instrument and one estimated digit |
| derived unit | a unit that is used in the SI system that is build from more than one base unit |
| metric prefixes | a series of prefixes that go at the beginning of a base unit that tell the power or subpower for the quantity of that unit. |
| counting or exact numbers | numbers that are based on definition and therefore do not have significant digits and may be ignored when determining the number of significant digits in a calculation |
