Unit One

What you need to know at

first!
 Observations
Interaction of one or
more of your
senses with the
environment or
your surroundings.
1. Sight
2. Hearing
3. Touch
4. Taste
5. Smell
 Observations Continued
Senses are limited so
we use instruments
to help improve our
powers of
observation.
Examples:
 Telescopes
 Scales
 Rulers
 Inferences
Interpretation of one or more
observations
 Includes proposing explanations or
reaching conclusions, like taking a guess
 Example:
The scratches on the bed rock were caused by a
glacier
Prediction
Inference based on
observations that
indicate what will
happen in the future
 Example:
Weather predictions
(the only job that you
can be wrong more
then right and not get
fired!)
 Classification
The grouping of objects together based
on common characteristics
(observable properties)
 Example:
Shape
Color
 Measurement
A way of describing with greater
accuracy, observations using numbers
A direct comparison with a known
standard
Contain at least one of three basic
dimensional quantities
 Time
 Length
 Mass
Must contain correct units ex: 5 cm
 Forms of Measurement
Metric (SI) the one that everyone else uses
but Americans.
English: what we use

Unit Metric English

Second,
Same as
Time minute, hour,
metric
day ,year
Millimeter,
centimeter,
Length Inch, foot, mile
meter,
kilometer
Mass gram, kilogram Ounce, pound
 Time
Instant in which
something happens
or period during
which change
occurs
“time of day” which
deals with the
apparent motion of
the sun in the sky
 Length
Measurement of the distance between 2
points
 Mass
Amount of matter in an
object, mass never
changes
MASS DOES NOT
EQUAL WEIGHT
Weight is a measure of
the pull of the earth’s
gravity on a quantity of
matter (body) If you
travel into space and
escape Earth’s gravity,
you would become
“weightless”
Properties of matter that use
some mathematical
combination of basic
dimensional quantities
1. Volume
2. Density
3. Pressure
4. Speed
 Volume
Amount of space an
object takes up
 Ex.
V(of a rectangle) = length x
width x height
 V= L x W x H cm3
 Can also find volume
by seeing how much
water an object
displaces in a
graduated cylinder.
 Density
Property of matter that combines mass and
volume
 D = mass/volume
 D = m/v (g/cm3)
 Pressure
Measure of force, or weight on a given area
Example: newton’s/meter² or lb./in²
 Speed
Measure of rate of motion
Example: meter/sec. or miles/hour
 Percent Deviation (Error)
Equation located on
front cover of
E.S.R.T.
Measures how wrong
a measurement is.
Caused by faulty
instruments,
careless
observations
 % Error Example
The weather report said the air temperature was 35°
F and a student thought the air temperature was
25° F. What is your % error (deviation)?

% deviation = 35° F – 25° F x 100

35° F
= 10 X 100
35

= .2857 X 100 = 28.57

Percent deviation basically tells you how much you

measurement is off, in percent, from what you
should have gotten.
 Density
The quantity of
material contained
in a certain space
Something densely
packed has a large
quantity of material
crowded into a
small amount of
space
 Density continued
The greater the mass
of a substance, the
greater it’s volume
will be (direct
relationship). Thus,
when graphing
substances with
different densities,
the more dense the
substance, the
steeper the slope.
 Phases of Matter
As substances
undergo a change
of phase, it’s
density changes
 Density increases as
it changes from gas
to liquid to solid
(water is the
exception to the
rule)
Objects denser then
water will sink, and
 Density Changes
Density CANNOT be changed by:
 Cutting the object into pieces
 Changing the shape (molding Clay)

Density CAN be changed by:

 Adding or removing heat or temperature
 Pressure
 More Density and Phases
As material cools, it contracts. It
becomes denser because the volume
decreases but the mass stays the
same.
This is true for water except as it
reaches 4o Celsius. At 4o, water
expands until it reaches 0o.
 Effect of Temperature and
Pressure on the Density of
Gases
Gases are affected more by pressure
and temperature then solids and
liquids because their particles are
more spread out.
Air is a mixture of gases
When air is heated it expands, creating
a larger volume and smaller density.
Because cooler air is more dense, it
goes down, as less dense warmer air
rises
 Air Pressure
Air Pressure is a measure of the force or
weight of the atmosphere pushing
down on the earths surface.
The denser the air, the greater the
pressure.
Cold air gives a greater pressure then
warm air.
 Add Heat Remove Add Press. Remove
Heat Press

All Matter -molecules -Molecules -Molecules -Molecules

Solid, speed up slow down compact expand
Liquid, -molecules -Molecules -Volume -Volume
Gass expand contract Decreases increases
-volume -Volume
increases decreases

Density Decrease Increase Increases Decrease

Examples s
-Hot air s
-Rings -Tightly s
-Ears pop
Balloon come off packed when flying
-Jar lid (run easier snowball or going up
under hot -Fingers mountain-
water when shrink release of
lid is stuck pressure
 Graphing Relationships
As one value goes up on a graph, what
happens to the other?
 Direct Relationship
As one value goes up or
down, the other value
does the same thing.
Examples:
 As you heat something
up, volume increases
 As the mass of a
substance increases, so
does it’s volume (density
remains the same)
 As pressure goes up so
does the density
(packing a snowball)
Indirect/Inverse Relationship
As one value goes up,
the other value
does the opposite.
 As volume increases
pressure decreases
 When density
increases volume
decreases
 Cyclic Relationship
As time progress, one goes up and the other
goes up and then back down again.
 Example: day light, seasons, tides
 Constant Relationship
As one value goes up,
the other stays the
same.