1. The Realm of Physics
Range of Magnitudes

2. The Metric System
There are 3 countries that DO NOT use the metric system… US
Myanmar (Burma)
Liberia
A base 10 system where each prefix represents a factor of ten (order of magnitude). Each prefix is ten times smaller or larger than the previous one.
This makes our lives nice because we can just move decimal points…none of this dividing by 12 or 4 business.

3. Metric System
Karen Has Damaged Many Little Gifts During Christmas Morning
Kilo-
Hecto-
Deca-
Meters, Liters, Grams
Deci-
Centi-
Mili-
Order of magnitude = power of ten (count the zeros)
Ex: 10 is one order of magnitude greater than 1
Ex: 1,000 is 2 orders of magnitude less than 100,000

4. Scientific notation
This “order of magnitude” or factor-of-ten increment makes scientific notation come in handy.
Really small things are on the order of
Really large things are on the order of
What does that mean? Lets look at some common things
The mass of a paperclip is about .5 grams.
How many milligrams is that? Kilograms?
Lets write those numbers in scientific notation
Remember: one number in front of the decimal point, multiply/divide by a factor of ten every time you move the decimal right/left.
What do the negative exponents mean?

5. 1.1: Range of Quantities in our Universe
Objectives:
State and compare quantities to the nearest order of magnitude.
State the ranges of magnitude of distances, masses, and times that occur in the universe, from smallest to largest
State ratios of quantities as differences of orders of magnitudes
Estimate approximate values of everyday quantities to one or two sig figs and/or the nearest order of magnitude.

6. Ranges of Magnitudes Distance Mass Time Diameter of proton = 10-16 m
Radius of observable universe = 1026 m
Mass
Electron = kg
Total mass of observable universe = 1052 kg
Time
Passage of light across nucleus = seconds
Age of universe = 13.7 Billion years ≈ 1019 seconds

7. Exploring the Size of the Universe
Find 5 objects of various sizes
Click on object to reveal facts
Record the name, size, distance (if given) for each object, and other interesting info
How many orders of magnitude separate your smallest and largest objects?
Estimate the size of something you see everyday (basketball, bicycle, bus, etc.) using one object you just learned about.

8. Create a poster on 1 object from the simulation.
Create a poster about 1-2 objects:
Put your name and period in the top right corner.
State name, mass, and distance of object (if applicable)
List interesting info about it
State where it falls in comparison to others (smallest, largest, 10x orders of magnitude from human, etc.)
Use 4 colors