Scientific Notation:

Helpful for working with very big and very small numbers.

Very Big:
8.4 x 10^4 = 8.4 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 84,000
*Shift your decimal point 4 places to the right.

Very Small:
2.4 x 10^-3 = 2.4/(10 x 10 x 10) = .0024

Title: Sep 19­2:01 PM (1 of 12)
 Rules for multiplying and dividing numbers in scientific notation:

To multiply, you multiply the coefficients and add the exponents:

(2.3 x 10^2) x (4.5 x 10^3) = (2.3 x 4.5) x 10^(2+3) = 10.35 x 10^5 

Rewrite in sci. not. as 1.035 x 10^6

To divide, you divide the coefficients and subtract the exponent in 
the denominator from the exponent in the numerator:

(3.1 x 10^3)/(2.4 x 10^2) = (3.1/2.4) x 10^(3­2) = 1.29 x 10^1

If you want to add or subtract numbers in sci. not. and are not 
using a calculator than the exponents must be the same:

5.4 x 10^3 + 8.0 x 10^2 = 
*Make the exponents the same ­­ either 54 x 10^2 or .8 x 10^3.
Then add: (5.4 + .8) x 10^3 = 6.2 x 10^3

Title: Sep 20­11:29 AM (2 of 12)
 Work on problems 1­10 on pg. R58.  I will come around to help.

If you do not finish in class, this is homework.

Title: Sep 20­12:08 PM (3 of 12)
 Accuracy vs. Precision:

In chemistry accuracy is how close a measurement come to the

actual or true value of whatever is being measured.
* In order to determine accuracy you must know the
correct value.

Precision is how close all the measurements are to one

another.
*In order to determine precision you must have multiple
measurements of the same thing.

How accurate and precise are our measurements when it comes

to determining the temperature in the room.
1. Measure the temp with your thermometer.
2. Write your value on the sticky and post if on the scale
on the board.
3. We will compare our measurements to the "true" value.

Title: Sep 20­12:09 PM (4 of 12)
 So...measurements can be inaccurate. Does that invalidate
them? No, it simply means we have to have a way to account
of our inaccuracies. We do that by calculating and reporting
our level of error.

Error = experimental value ­ accepted value

Sometimes percent error is a more meaningful way of

expressing error:

Percent error = |error| / accepted value x 100%

Title: Sep 20­12:19 PM (5 of 12)
 Calculate the error and percent error of your room
temperature measurement.

Who thinks their measurement was the most accurate?

Title: Sep 20­12:24 PM (6 of 12)
 What pattern do you notice? Why do you think it is there?
100­Meter Dash
1896  Thomas Burke, United States  12.00   
1900  Francis W. Jarvis, United States  10.80   
1904  Archie Hahn, United States  11.00   
1906  Archie Hahn, United States  11.20   
1908  Reginald Walker, South Africa  10.80   
1912  Ralph Craig, United States  10.80   
1920  Charles Paddock, United States  10.80   
1924  Harold Abrahams, Great Britain  10.60   
1928  Percy Williams, Canada  10.80   
1932  Eddie Tolan, United States  10.30   
1936  Jesse Owens, United States  10.30  1
1948  Harrison Dillard, United States  10.30   
1952  Lindy Remigino, United States  10.40   
1956  Bobby Morrow, United States  10.50   
1960  Armin Hary, Germany  10.20   
1964  Robert Hayes, United States  10.00   
1968  James Hines, United States  09.90   
1972  Valery Borzow, USSR  10.14   
1976  Hasely Crawford, T and T   10.06   
1980  Allan Wells, Britain  10.25   
1984  Carl Lewis, United States  09.99   
1988  Carl Lewis, United States  09.92  2
1992  Linford Christie, Great Britain  09.96   
1996  Donovan Bailey, Canada  09.84  3
2000  Maurice Greene, United States  09.87   
2004  Justin Gatlin, United States  09.85   
2008  Usain Bolt, Jamaica  09.69   

1. Wind assisted.
2. Lewis was awarded the gold medal when Ben Johnson of Canada, the original winner in 
09.79s, was stripped of the medal after testing positive for steroid use.
3. World record.

Title: Sep 22­10:14 AM (7 of 12)
Significant Figures:
- Only apply to measurements
- Include all known digits, plus one estimated digit

The Rules:
1.  Every non­zero digit is significant
2.  Zeros between non­zero digits are significant
3.  Leftmost zeros are not significant (eliminate these 
pesky zeros by writing the value in scientific notation)
4.  Right most zeros after a decimal place are 
significant
5.  Rightmost zeros before a decimal place are not 
necessarily significant (write the value in scientific 
notation to clarfiy this)
6.  Exact quantities (4 eggs, 60 sec in a minute) have 
infinite significant figures 

Title: Sep 22­10:32 AM (8 of 12)
 Let's look at Conceptual Problem 3.1 on pg. 68

Try practice problems 1 and 2.

Now for a challenge:

Find 5 measured values (in this textbook or
another).
Record the value (and rewrite it in scientific
notation if it is not already).
On the back of the card write the number of
significant figures and the rules (1-6) that you had to
apply to determine the number of sig. figs.

Title: Sep 22­10:55 AM (9 of 12)
 Significant Figures in Calculations (this is why sig. figs. are
really important)

You were installing a new carpet and had measured the 
length and width of the room and found it to be 7.7 m 
long and 5.4 m wide.  What is the area of the room?

A calculated value cannot be more precise than the measured

values that it was calculated from, therefore we must round the
number to a value with the same number as sig. figs as are in the
measured value with the fewest significant figures.

Title: Sep 22­11:00 AM (10 of 12)
 Applying significant figures to calculations:
In addition and subtraction --
The answer should be rounded to the same
number of decimal places (not digits) as the
measurement with the least number of decimal
places.
In multiplication and division --
The answer should be rounded to the same
number of sig figs as the measurement with the
fewest sig figs.

Rounding:
1. Determine the digit of interest 
3. If the digit immediatly to the right is <5 the value stays 
the same.  If it is 5 or greater, it is increased by 1.

Title: Sep 22­12:40 PM (11 of 12)
 Do practice problems 3-8 on pages 69-71 and 13-15
on page 72.

Title: Sep 22­12:51 PM (12 of 12)