1. Measuring in Earth Science
Aim: How do we measure in Earth Science?

2. I. What are the Basic Units in the Metric System?
In what unit is distance measured?
Meters
In what unit is volume measured?
Liters
In what unit is temperature measured?
Celsius
In what unit is mass measured?
Grams

3. A. What is Classification
Organizing your observations in a meaningful way

4. B. Measurement
Observations made with an instrument (ruler, stopwatch, thermometer, scale, etc.) consisting of a number AND a unit. Using a known standard.

5. C. Scientific Notation
A way to express very large or very small numbers in an easier way.

6. For example, there are 170,000,000,000,000,000,000 (17 quintillion) oxygen atoms in 1 drop of water.
In scientific notation, you would simply write 1.7x10 20

7. 1. Rules of Scientific Notation
Move the decimal point until there is only one number before it.

8. Very large numbers will have a positive exponent
Any number greater than 1, ex 1,500 ->
1.5 x 103
Very small numbers will have a negative exponent
Any number less than 1, ex >
1.5 x 10-3

9. Practice Using S.N. Convert 345,000,000 into scientific notation
= 3.45 X 10 8
Convert into scientific notation
= 4.16x 10 -7

10. D. What is the difference between mass and weight?
The mass is the quantity of matter in an object.
The weight is the force that gravity exerts on an object.

11. Just for fun! How did the measurement of a foot get derived?
The Greeks were the first to use foot as a unit of measure. It is rumored that it was Hercules' foot that was first used. Several European kings adjusted the measurement to reflect their own foot size.