Matter is anything that has volume and has mass. Mass- A measure of the amount of matter in an object. Volume-The amount of space that an object takes up.

Metric Units Meter Measures Length Liter Measures Volume Gram Measures Mass mml or cm 3 g H 2 O Displacement Irregular object L x W x H = cm 3 Regular object

The metric system uses prefixes added to the base unit to represent larger or smaller units. Each prefix is a multiple of 10.

Common Length Units in Metric System Kilometer-km Meter-m Centimeter-cm Millimeter-mm Most Common Mass Units in Metric System Kilogram-kg Gram-g Milligram-mg Most Common Volume Units in Metric System Liter-l Milliliter-ml centimeters cubed-cm 3

Temperature Temperature is a measure of the average amount of kinetic energy of the particles in an object. The basic unit of temperature is Celsius or centigrade. Water freezes on the Celsius scale at 0° and boils at 100°. Temperature is measured with a thermometer.

Density Density is a property of matter representing the amount of mass per unit volume. (In other words, how much “stuff” is in an object.) Formula Density = mass/volume UNITS- g/ml or g/cm 3

The balance has three beams called rider beams. Each rider beam has a different mass suspended from it. These masses, called riders, can be moved left and right along the rider beams. By moving the riders, you can determine the mass of an object placed on the measurement tray. beams riders rider measurement tray zero mark pointer adjustment knob

An adjustment knob is used to calibrate the balance. When no objects are sitting on the measurement tray, and all the riders are in their leftmost or 0 position, the pointer should be lined up with the zero mark. If it is not lined up with the zero mark, you would need to turn the adjustment knob until it is. adjustment knob pointer zero mark

To find the mass of an object using a triple beam balance, place the object on the measurement tray and adjust the positions of the three riders on the rider beams until the pointer lines up with the zero mark. The mass of the object can then be found by adding the values indicated by the three riders. measurement tray Practice reading a triple beam balance by clicking here!