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Bio 107 part 2 (Dr. Oboh)

The document discusses the importance of measurements in biology, emphasizing the use of the International System of Units (SI) for standardization. It explains various SI units and their derived forms, as well as the significance of using units to avoid confusion in scientific contexts, such as medical prescriptions. Additionally, it covers micrometry techniques for measuring objects under a microscope, detailing the types of micrometers used and the process of measuring microorganisms.

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4 views6 pages

Bio 107 part 2 (Dr. Oboh)

The document discusses the importance of measurements in biology, emphasizing the use of the International System of Units (SI) for standardization. It explains various SI units and their derived forms, as well as the significance of using units to avoid confusion in scientific contexts, such as medical prescriptions. Additionally, it covers micrometry techniques for measuring objects under a microscope, detailing the types of micrometers used and the process of measuring microorganisms.

Uploaded by

omohaann69
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Measurements in Biology

Measurements provide quantitative information that is critical in studying and


practicing science. Each measurement has an amount and a unit (standard of
comparison for measurements). Scientists primarily use the SI units or metric
systems. The metric system is a decimal based system of measurement. The current
international standard for the metric system is the International System of Units. SI
units are standards fixed by international agreement in the International System of
Units (Le Système International d’Unités). All units in this system can be expressed
in terms of seven base units: the meter (length), kilogram (mass), second (time),
ampere (electric current), kelvin (temperature), mole (amount of substance) and
candela. The candela (cd) is the unit of luminous intensity. There are other units,
some which can be derived from these base units. For example

Celsius (°C): unit of temperature; water freezes at 0 °C and boils at 100 °C

kelvin (K): SI unit of temperature; 273.15 K = 0º C

cubic meter (m3): SI unit of volume

liter (L): unit of volume; 1 L = 1,000 cm3

cubic centimeter (cm3): volume of a cube with an edge length of exactly 1 cm

kilogram (kg): standard SI unit of mass; 1 kg = approximately 2.2 pounds

milliliter (mL): 1/1,000 of a liter; equal to 1 cm3

SI units such as meters, seconds, and kilograms, as well as derived units, such as
liters (for volume) and g/cm3 (for density), are standards of comparison for
measurements. When we buy a 2-liter bottle of a soft drink, we expect that the
volume of the drink was measured, so it is two times larger than the volume that
everyone agrees to be 1 liter. Without units, a number can be meaningless, confusing,
or possibly life threatening.

Suppose a doctor prescribes phenobarbital to control a patient’s seizures and states


a dosage of “100” without specifying units. Not only will this be confusing to the
medical professional giving the dose, but the consequences can be dire: 100 mg
given three times per day can be effective as an anticonvulsant, but a single dose of
100 g is more than 10 times the lethal amount.

In many cases, fractions or multiples of units in the SI system are used. Fractional
or multiple SI units are named using a prefix and the name of the base unit. For
example, a length of 1000 meters is also called a kilometer because the
prefix kilo means “one thousand,” which in scientific notation is 103 (1 kilometer =
1000 m = 103 m). Microseconds would be 10−6 seconds and megahertz 106 hertz.
The prefixes used and the powers to which 10 are raised are listed in the Table below.

Common Unit Prefixes

Prefix Symbol Factor Example

femto F 10−15 1 femtosecond (fs) = 1 × 10−15 m (0.000000000001 m)

Pico P 10−12 1 picometer (pm) = 1 × 10−12 m (0.000000000001 m)

Nano N 10−9 4 nanograms (ng) = 4 × 10−9 g (0.000000004 g)

micro µ 10−6 1 microliter (μL) = 1 × 10−6 L (0.000001 L)

Milli M 10−3 2 millimoles (mmol) = 2 × 10−3 mol (0.002 mol)

centi C 10−2 7 centimeters (cm) = 7 × 10−2 m (0.07 m)

Deci D 10−1 1 deciliter (dL) = 1 × 10−1 L (0.1 L )

Kilo K 103 1 kilometer (km) = 1 × 103 m (1000 m)

mega M 106 3 megahertz (MHz) = 3 × 106 Hz (3,000,000 Hz)

Giga G 109 8 gigayears (Gyr) = 8 × 109 yr (8,000,000,000 Gyr)

Tera T 1012 5 terawatts (TW) = 5 × 1012 W (5,000,000,000,000 W)


MICROMETRY/MEASURING OBJECTS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
– Micrometry is the measurement of the dimensions of an object being observed
under the microscope. The method employs some special types of measuring
devices which can be attached to or put into the microscope and observed. The
object, to be measured, is calibrated against these scales.
– An object observed under a microscope by the 5X objective and the 10X eye-
piece gives an image which is 5 × 10 = 50 times of the object.
– Determining the exact size of the object is achieved through the application of
some small scales called micrometers.

– Types of Micrometry:
– There are usually two types of micrometers, i.e. stage micrometer and ocular
meter or ocular micrometer.

– i. Stage Micrometer:
– As is clear from its name is for the measurement on the stage of the microscope
where an object is to be kept. This micrometer is of a slide’s shape and size and
has a mount of very finely graduated scale. The scale measures only 1 mm and
has a least count of 0.01 mm, i.e. 1 mm region is divided into 100 divisions. As
1 mm has 1000µ, one division of stage micrometer is equivalent to 10µ.
–

– ii. Ocular Meter:


– This micrometer is used inside the eyepiece. The upper eye lens is unscrewed
and the ocular meter is put into the tube of eyepiece, and the eye lens is again
replaced in its original position. There are usually 50 or 100 divisions in the
ocular meter which are engraved on the glass.
–

Fig. A-C. A. An ocular micrometer B. Magnified ocular micrometer scale


C. L.S. of eyepiece to show position of ocular micrometer in it.
–

Measurement of the Microorganisms:


When the microscope is calibrated, then the object or organism to be measured is
kept on the stage of the microscope and is observed through the eyepiece with ocular.
The object is measured in the particular magnification by ocular divisions and then
is changed into microns by multiplying ocular divisions with calibrated value of one
ocular division in that particular magnification.
REFERENCES
Jones, M. and Parkin, M. (2020). Biology for Cambridge International AS and A
Level Practical Workbook. Cambridge University Press.
A Level Biology Drawing Skills Biological Drawing. OCR 2015.
Previous Note
Measurements | Introduction to Biology (lumenlearning.com)

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