Lab assignment

LABORATORY 1
Date First name Last name
Basic Physical Properties :
The Metric System of Measurement
Introduction
In this lab, you will review some basic physical properties such as distance, volume,
weight, and the temperature, and learn the metric system of measuring these
properties. In the United States we use an old English system for our measurements
and weights. In most other countries in the world, and in all of science, the metric
system is used as the standard for measurement.
The metric system is an international language and is also known as system
Internationale (SI) or International system. For example, even if you cannot speak
Russian you can in some fashion discuss distances with a Russian if you understand
the metric system. This system is much simpler, and much easier to use than the
English system because if is based on multiples of ten. That means that there are 10
units inside of 10 units inside of 10 units. For example, there are 10 millimeters
(mm) within 1 centimeter (cm), there are 10 cm within 1 decimeter (dm) and there
are 10 dm within 1 meter (m). To determine how many mm there are in 1 m, simply
multiply 10 ´ 10 ´ 10. thus, there are 1000 mm in 1 m. or to learn how much 1 mm
is of 1 m, divide 1 by 10, then by 10 again, then by 10 again for 0.001 of a meter (or
1 mm = 0.001 m). This is totally unlike the English System. For example, in the
English system to determine how many inches there are in a mile you have to
multiply 12 ´ 3 ´ 1760 or 68,640 inches. To use the metric system, all you need to
know are the meanings of a few prefixes (such as milli-, centi-, and kilo-), and the
basic units: meter (for distance), liter (for volume), and gram (for weight).
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Exercise 1: Distance, Length, or Height
Distance, or length, is a measure of the size of a one-dimensional object (such as a
line or a path). In the English system, distance is measured in inches, feet, yards, and
miles. There are 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard, 5280 feet in a mile. Notice that
there is no common multiple in going from one unit to another. In the metric system,
distance is measured in mm, cm, m, and kilometers (km). There are 10 mm in a cm,
100 cm in 1 m, and 1000 m in a km. Notice how easy it is to convert from one of
these units to another (multiple of tens). Also, fractions of a unit can be easily
expressed in decimal point notation (for example, 1 cm plus 3 mm can be written as
1.3 cm). This is more sensible than the English system, in which fractions of an inch
are often expressed in halves, quarters, eights, and sixteenths, rather than in tenths.
A. Measure the length a and b in English system and Metric system.
a
b
Print out the lab, and
measure ‘a’ and ‘b’ with
a ruler.
Metric system English system
a:
b:
cm
cm
inch
inch
B. How many centimeters are in 1 inch? cm
C. Determine your height using the English system.
D. Determine your height using the metric system.
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Area is a measure of the size of a two-dimensional object (such as a square, a circle,
a piced of land). Area is measured in square units, such as a square inch (in2), square
foot (ft2), or square mile (mile2) in the English system; or a square centimeter (cm2),
square meter (m2), or square kilometer (km2) in the metric system. Land area is
usually measured in acres in the English system (an acre is equal to 43,560 square
feet); it is measure in m2 and km2 in the metric system. Another method to use to
help you understand area is if you were to have your bedroom carpeted. How do you
know how much to purchase?
Exercise 2: Area
A. Calculate the area of the rectangle in Excise 1.
inch Area 2 in English system
Area in metric system cm2
B. Below is a circle. Measure its radius and calculate its area. State units.
Radius of circle
Area of circle
Area Formulas
Notes: “ab” means “a” multiplied by “b”.
“a2” means “a squared”, which is the same as “a” times “a”.
pi = 3.14 = �
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C. Below is a map of part of Manhattan. Determine the length and width of Central
Park. Calculate the area (Green area in the map below) of Central Park. Use the
metric system.
800 m
Scale bar
Map source: https://www.newyorkjourney.com/central_park_map.htm
This is a map. Use the scale bar to estimate the
area of the Central Park. Indicate the units.
Scale bar in cm
Width of the Central Park in cm on the map
Length of the Central Park in cm on the map
Real width of the Central Park using scale bar
Real length of the Central Park using scale bar
Area of Central Park.
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In the English system, temperature is measured in degrees Fahrenheit (∘F). In the
metric system, temperature is measured in degrees centigrade (∘C), which is also
sometimes called Celsius. The size of a degree on the centigrade scale is different
from the size of a degree on the Fahrenheit scale.
Exercise 3: Temperature
by Pearson Education, Inc.
100 180
100
100 : 180 = 5: 9
Conversion ° F à ° C
°C = (°F -32)x(5/9)
Conversion ° C à ° F
°F = (°C x (9/5))+ 32
Temperature scales are
Fahrenheit, Celsius, and
Kelvin, having references
points for the boiling and
freezing points of water.
Boiling point
of water
Normal body
temperature
Freezing
point of water
Kelvin Celsius Fahrenheit
On the Fahrenheit scale, water freezes at 32 ∘F and boils at 212 ∘F. On the
centigrade scale, water freezes at 0 ∘C and boils at 100 ∘C.
A. Check today’s weather temperature.
In ∘C
In ∘F
B. If the temperature outside is 40 ∘ centigrade (C), should you wear your winter
jacket or should you wear shorts and a tank top?
C. To convert from Fahrenheit to centigrade, the equation to use is TC = (5/9)*(TF32). To convert from centigrade to Fahrenheit, the equation to use is TF = [(9/5)
* TC] + 32. Convert the following temperature using the equations.
50 ∘F = 80 ∘F = 20 ∘F =
25 ∘C =
-10 ∘F =
17 ∘C = 4 ∘C = -10 ∘C =
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Table 1-1. Metric System
Table 1-2. Metric System
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Exercise 4: Read CNN article and make a guess of the title
of this article. What happened?
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/9909/30/mars.metric/index.html
Title:
September 30, 1999 —Web posted at: 1:46 p.m. EDT (1746 GMT)
(CNN) — NASA lost a $125 million Mars orbiter because one engineering team used
metric units while another used English units for a key spacecraft operation, according to a
review finding released Thursday.
For that reason, information failed to transfer between the Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft
team at Lockheed Martin in Colorado and the mission navigation team in California.
Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft.
“People sometimes make errors,” said Edward Weiler, NASA’s Associate Administrator for
Space Science in a written statement.
“The problem here was not the error, it was the failure of NASA’s systems engineering,
and the checks and balances in our processes to detect the error. That’s why we lost the
spacecraft.”
The findings of an internal peer review panel at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory showed
that the failed information transfer scrambled commands for maneuvering the spacecraft
to place it in orbit around Mars. JPL oversaw the Climate Orbiter mission.
“Our inability to recognize and correct this simple error has had major implications,” said
JPL Director Edward Stone.
The spacecraft completed a nearly 10-month journey to Mars before it was lost on
September 23.
The navigation mishap pushed the spacecraft dangerously close to the planet’s
atmosphere where it presumably burned and broke into pieces, killing the mission on a
day when engineers had expected to celebrate the craft’s entry into Mars’ orbit.
Climate Orbiter was to relay data from an upcoming mission called Mars Polar Lander, set
to set down on Mars in December. Now that mission will relay its data via its own radio
and another orbiter.
Both Mars Surveyor spacecraft were designed to help scientists understand Mars’ water
history and the potential for life in the planet’s past. There is strong evidence that Mars
was once awash with water, but scientists have no clear answers to where the water went
and what drove it away.
NASA has convened three panels to look into what led to the loss of the orbiter, including
the internal peer review panel that released the Thursday finding.
B. Write a short summary of the article.
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