1. Chemistry: An introduction≈
“I don’t trust atoms. They make up everything.”

2. Unit 1: Matter, Measurement, and unit conversions≈

3. Big Idea
Chemistry, being the science of matter, requires that we have systems for classifying, describing and measuring quantities of matter.

4. Topic 1: Measurement
Learning Goal: You will be able to use a variety of units to describe various quantities, as well as convert between them.
Success Criteria: You will know you have met the learning goal when you can truthfully say:
1. I can identify and describe a variety of units.
2. I can properly measure lengths and volumes and report measurements to the correct number of digits.
Materials: ruler and small graduated cylinder with some water (1 per table)

5. Success Criteria 1: I can identify and describe a variety of units.
In our daily lives, we tend to use English system units. The English system is used primarily in the United States, and includes feet, inches, miles, pounds, ounces, pints, gallons, etc.
The metric system is used in most countries around the world, and is used by scientists almost everywhere (including in the U.S.). These include meters, kilometers, centimeters, grams, kilograms, milligrams, liters, etc.

6. Success Criteria 1: I can identify and describe a variety of units.
Here’s a chart that shows some of the comparable units for the two systems.
These units indicate:
Length
Weight and Mass
Volume
Distance

7. Success Criteria 1: I can identify and describe a variety of units.
There are dozens of prefixes used in the metric system. The ones you should know for this class are:
Prefix
Meaning
Ab.
Value
Conversion Factor (g)
Nano
Billionth n
109 ng = 1 g
Micro
Millionth μ
106 μg = 1 g
Milli
Thousandth m
.001
103 mg = 1 g
Centi
Hundredth c
.01
102 cg = 1 g
Deci
Tenth d .1
10 dg = 1 g
Deca/Deka
Ten da 10
10-1 dag = 1 g
Hecto
Hundred h
100
10-2 hg = 1 g
Kilo
Thousand k
1,000
10-3 kg = 1 g
Mega
Million M
1,000,000
10-6 Mg = 1 g
Giga
Billion G
1,000,000,000
10-9 Gg = 1 g
Memorize

8. Success Criteria 1: I can identify and describe a variety of units.
Task 1.1.1: Complete these sentences:
a) There are ______________________ milligrams in a gram.
b) There are ______________________ micrograms in a gram.
c) There are ______________________ milliliters in a liter.
d) There are ______________________ deciliters in a liter.
e) There are ______________________ kilograms in a gram.
f) There are ______________________ milliseconds in a second.
Task 1.1.2: Write the abbreviation or the full word, whichever is not given:
mL __________ kg __________ mg __________ ns ___________ μs ___________
Millisecond ___ centimeter ___ nanogram ___ microliter ___ deciliter ___

9. Success Criteria 1: I can identify and describe a variety of units.
There is a subset of metric units called SI units. SI units are the units that are used in most scientific equations. It is important to know them because when you come across an equation that asks for a certain quantity, such as time, you need to know what unit you need to use.
Length = meter (m)
Mass = kilogram (kg)
Time = second (s)
Temperature = Kelvin (K)
Quantity = mole (mol)
Electric current = ampere (A)
Luminous intensity = candela (cd)
Memorize

10. Success Criteria 1: I can identify and describe a variety of units.
Task 1.1.3: Memorize the SI units (tip: create a melody and sing them), then repeat them to me without looking to get checked off.
Meter Second Kilogram Kelvin
Mole Ampere Candela

11. Success Criteria 2: I can properly measure lengths and volumes and report measurements to the correct number of digits.
When you measure the length of something, the final digit should be an estimation. I would estimate this spider as 3.54 cm.

12. Success Criteria 2: I can properly measure lengths and volumes and report measurements to the correct number of digits.
What about liquid volumes?
You should always report the level of the liquid from the bottom of the meniscus. The meniscus is the curved shaped surface that a liquid acquires in a small cylinder. If each line in this graduated cylinder is 1 mL, I would say it contains 66.9 mL of liquid.

13. Success Criteria 2: I can properly measure lengths and volumes and report measurements to the correct number of digits.
Task 1.1.4: Determine the length of your pencil in cm and mm, and determine the volume of water in your graduated cylinder.
a) Pencil in cm:
b) Pencil in mm:
c) Water in mL:

14. Wrap-up
Task 1.1.5: Write in complete sentences eight things that you learned in this topic.