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Measurement Lab

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22 views

Measurement Lab

Uploaded by

Bryan Bejerano
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Name______________________________ Class __________________ Date ______________

Chapter 1 The Science of Biology


You may want to refer students to
Measuring Length, Mass, Volume, Section 1–4 and Appendix C in
and Temperature the textbook for a discussion of
measurement.
Time required: 40 minutes
Introduction
Doing experiments is an important part of science. Most experiments
include making measurements. Many different quantities can be
measured. Some examples are length, mass, volume, temperature, and
time. Some quantities, such as length, can be measured directly.
Others, such as speed, are calculated from other measurements. In
science you will probably use metric units to estimate, measure, and
record data. The three fundamental metric units are the meter for
length, the gram for mass, and the liter for capacity. In this
investigation you will carry out different types of measurements.

Problem
What types of measurements are used to describe quantities?

Pre-Lab Discussion
Read the entire investigation. Then, work with a partner to answer the
following questions.
1. Which of the measurements in the investigation are familiar to you?
Which will be new to you?
Measuring mass and liquid volume may be less familiar to students than measuring length and temperature.

2. How will you record a distance that is 2 centimeters longer than


5 meters? 2 centimeters shorter?
5.02 m (or 5 m 2 cm); 4.98 m (or 4 m 98 cm). Remind students that 1 cm equals 0.01 m. If necessary,

review converting between centimeters and meters.

3. How will you choose an object to measure in millimeters?


Millimeters are very small, so the length to be measured should not be too large. An object like a paper clip

would work well.

4. Why would you measure the contents of a paper cup in milliliters


(mL) rather than in liters?
© Prentice-Hall, Inc.

The capacity is much less than a liter, so the measurement in liters will be a decimal less than 1. Measuring in

milliliters gives a whole number answer rather than a decimal, and whole numbers such as 345 are easier to

understand than decimals such as 0.345.

5. Estimating quantities is a useful and practical skill. Describe a plan


you can use to improve your ability to estimate quantities.
Repeatedly comparing estimates with actual measurements will improve a person’s ability to estimate.

Encourage students to always estimate before measuring.

Biology Laboratory Manual B/Chapter 1 55


Materials (per group)
meter stick
millimeter ruler
250-mL graduated cylinder
laboratory balance and metric masses
thermometer
2 paper cups
30 cm of string
table-tennis ball
golf ball

Safety
Wear your lab apron and safety goggles at all times during this lab. Be
careful not to break any glassware. Note all safety alert symbols next
to the steps in the Procedure and review the meaning of each symbol
by referring to Safety Symbols on page 8.

Procedure
1. Find an object whose length can be easily measured in centimeters.
Make a sketch of the object in the space below. Then measure and
record its length.

length: ________________

2. Picture in your mind a familiar distance nearby that you think is


5 m long. Write a description of this distance below (for example,
“The distance from our classroom to room 203 down the hall”).
Then measure the distance with a meter stick and record your
result. How good was your estimate?

© Prentice-Hall, Inc.

length: ________________

3. Find an object whose width can be easily measured in millimeters.


Make a sketch of the object in the space below. Then measure the
object and record its length.

length: ________________

56 Biology Laboratory Manual B/Chapter 1


Name______________________________ Class __________________ Date ______________

4. Find a small object that fits easily on the pan of the balance scale.
Make a sketch of the object in the space below, then find its mass in
grams.

mass: ________________

5. Fill a paper cup about two-thirds full with water. Pour the water
into the graduated cylinder and record its volume in mL.
CAUTION: Be careful not to break glassware.
volume: ________________
6. The volume of a rectangular solid is measured in cubic centimeters
(cm3). Find an object that is a rectangular solid. Then devise a way
to find the volume of the object. What measurements will you need
to make? Record each measurement and the volume of the object
below.
Volume equals length times width times height. Students should measure in tenths of centimeters.

volume: ________________
7. Fill a paper cup about two-thirds full with cool tap water. Place the
thermometer in the water and find its temperature. Record your
measurement below. Spill out the water. Now fill the cup with
warm tap water. Use the thermometer to find the temperature of the
water. Record your measurement.
cool tap water: ________________
warm tap water: ________________
8. Use the balance to find the mass of the golf ball. Record your
measurement below. Then find and record the mass of the
table-tennis ball.
mass of golf ball: ________________
© Prentice-Hall, Inc.

mass of table-tennis ball: ________________


Now take a piece of string and use it to measure the circumference
of the golf ball at its widest point. You can do this by wrapping the
string exactly once around the golf ball, then measuring the length
of the string. Record your measurement below. Repeat this
procedure for the table-tennis ball.
circumference of golf ball: ________________
circumference of table-tennis ball: ________________

Biology Laboratory Manual B/Chapter 1 57


Analysis and Conclusions
1. Comparing and Contrasting Which of the measurements did you
find easiest to make? Which did you find most difficult? Why do
you think so?
Millimeters may have been difficult because they are so small. Finding the circumferences may have been

difficult because the string moves or stretches.

2. Comparing and Contrasting One student measured the height of a


plant as 52 mm. Another student measured the same plant to the
nearest tenth of a centimeter. What was the second student’s
measurement? Was one method more precise? Explain your answer.
The second student got 5.2 cm. The two methods are equally precise because 1 millimeter is the same as

one-tenth of a centimeter.

3. Calculating A cube measuring 1 cm in each dimension holds


1 milliliter of water. Describe the dimensions of a cube that could
hold 1 liter of water. What is the volume of this cube in cubic
centimeters?
The cube measures 10 cm on each edge. The volume is 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm, or 1,000 cubic centimeters,

which equals 1 liter.

4. Measuring Why might two people measuring the same


temperature get very different results?
They may have used different units of measurement; for example, Fahrenheit and Celsius degrees.

5. Inferring Why might it be a good practice to measure a quantity


several times and average the results?
Minor errors in measurement would cancel each other. Also, an obviously incorrect measurement would

stand out from the other data.

6. Comparing and Contrasting Look at the measurements that you


recorded in step 8. In what way are these two balls similar? In what
way are they quite different?
They have about the same circumference, radius, diameter, and volume. The mass of the golf ball is

much greater.

7. Forming Operational Definitions Describe a single measurement


that would describe the similarity and difference that exists
between the golf ball and table-tennis ball.
© Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Some students may realize that density is the ratio that describes mass per unit volume.

Going Further
Find a local map that shows distances to the nearest tenth of a mile.
Then have a friend with a car drive a short distance, such as 3 miles.
Your friend should try to drive at a constant speed; for example, 30
miles per hour. Time the trip with a stop watch or watch with a second
hand. Calculate the speed (distance divided by time) and compare the
calculated speed with the speed shown on the car’s speedometer. Do
you think it is more accurate to calculate speed or to measure it? Give
reasons for your opinion.
58 Biology Laboratory Manual B/Chapter 1

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