SI UNITS & METRIC

CONVERSIONS,
SIGNIFICANT DIGITS,
ROUNDING RULES
AND GRAPHING
 INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS (SI
UNITS)
• The scientific communities of many countries,
including Canada, have agreed on a system of
measurement called SI (système international
d’unités – International System of Units). The
system is based upon seven fundamental SI units,
calledQuantity Name
base units. Base Unit Symbol
length metre m
mass gram g
time second s
electric current ampere A
temperature kelvin K
Amount of substance mol n
luminous intensity candela Cd
Energy Joule J
Volume Litre L
 •An important feature of SI units is the use of
prefixes to express small or large sizes of any
quantity conveniently.
•SI unit prefixes act as multipliers to increase or
decrease the value of a number in multiples of 10.
•Multiply to go down and divide to go up
Conversion chart:
 3x
3x
MOVE
3x
DECIMAL TO LEFT (DIVIDE)
3x 3x 3x
-------Each square is one decimal place
101 109 106 -------
10 3
102 101 100 10-1 10-2 10-3 10-6 10-9 10-
2 12

t G M k h da BASE UNIT d c m µ n p
(m, g, L, J,
s)

OVE DECIMAL TO RIGHT (MULTIPLY) 

Prefi Symb Factor by which unit is Example Multiplier
x ol multiplied (to get to
base)
Giga G 1 000 000 000 1 000 000 000m = 1 109
Gm
Mega M 1 000 000 1 000 000 m = 1 106
Mm
Kilo k 1 000 1 000 m = 1 103
km
Hect h 100 100 m = 1 102
o hm
Deca da 10 10 m = 1 101
dam
1 1
Deci d 0.1 0.1 m = 1 10-1
dm
Centi c 0.01 0.01 m = 10-2
1cm
Milli m 0.001 0.001 m = 1 10-3
mm
Micro µ 0.000 001 0.000 001 m = 10-6
1µm
Nano n 0.000 000 0.000 000 001 m = 1 10-9
001 nm
Try these:
1. Convert 342 g to kg
= 0.342 kg
2. Convert 0.4 cm to hm
= 0.00004hm
3. Convert 2000 kL to mL
= 2 000 000 000 mL
4. Convert 0.98 dm to dam
= 0.0098 dam
  Used to represent
very long numbers
in a small way
using the
significant digits
SCIENTIFIC
NOTATION
• Written in form of:
a x 10n,
• a is the coefficient
(value is at least 1,
but less than 10)
• n is the exponent
  To determine the
exponent, count the
number of decimal
places to move to get
a number between 1
and 10
 To determine a –
HOW TO WRITE IN number between 1
SCIENTIFIC
N O TAT I O N
and 10
 If writing a LARGE
number – move
decimal to LEFT =
positive exponent
Ex: 154 000 nm –
need to move decimal
5 places to the left :.
5
 If writing a very small
number (less than 1) 
move decimal to
RIGHT = negative
exponent
Ex: 0.000 000 315 m –
need to move decimal
7 places to the right :.
3.15 x 10-7 m
 If in the coefficient (a)
there is only one
significant digit and all
zeros, keep one zero
Ex: 300 000 000 m/s
= 3.0 x 108 m/s
 When converting from scientific notation
to standard form, need to move the
decimal place the opposite way:
 Ex: 1.24 x 106
 Positive exponent – need to move
decimal place to the right 6 times (fill in
missing places with zeros)
 1.24 x 106  1 240 000
 Negative exponent – need to move the
decimal place to the LEFT 4 times (fill in
the missing places with zeros)
 3.4 x 10-4  0.00034
 YOU TRY…

Convert the following to scientific

notation:  1.234 x 106

1) 1, 234, 000 4.0 x 10 -5

2) 0.0000400

Convert thefollowing
0.00796into standard
form:
 465 000
3) 7.96 x 10-3
4) 4.65 x 105
 SIGNIFICANT DIGITS

 Includes all numbers that are

correctly reported (certain
digits) from a measurement
and the last digit is
uncertain
• Ex. 115.6 g
• 115 are certain digits
 THE BASIC RULES
 Zeros at the beginning of a number are never
significant Ex. 0.235 – 3 SDs
 Zeros at the end of whole numbers are not
significant Ex: 12,000 – 2 SDs
 All non-zero digits in a number are always
significant Ex: 43567 – 5 SDs
 Zeros between numbers and zeros at the end
of a number with a decimal point are
significant
Ex: 107.5 – 4 SDs, Ex: 303.0 – 4 SDs
 All digits in the coefficient of a number written
in scientific notation are significant
Ex: 5.4 x 103 – 2 SDs, 5.400 x 103 – 4 SDs
 When adding or subtracting measured
quantities, look for the quantity with the
fewest number of digits (right of the
decimal point), the final answer can’t have
more digits than this quantity
 The answer cannot be more precise than
the least precise value
• Ex: 12.52 g
+ 349.0 g
+ 8.24 g
369.76 g
• Because 349.0 has the lowest quantity of
digits, the answer is rounded to 369.8g
• When multiplying or dividing,
the answer must contain no
more significant digits than the
quantity with the fewest
significant digits
• Answer cannot be more certain
than the least certain value
Ex: 1.15g x 16cm3 = 18g
cm3
 ROUNDING

• When the number you will be dropping > 5 

round up
• Ex: 2.56 = 2.6
• When the number you will be dropping < 5 
round down
• Ex: 2.53 = 2.5
• When the number you will dropping = 5 
make it even
• Ex: 2.55 = 2.6
• Ex: 2.45 = 2.4
 GRAPHING
 Graphs are useful tools in science because
trends in data are easy to visualize
represented graphically
 A line graph is beneficial in the classroom
for many types of data, and is probably the
most widely used scientific graph
 Line graphs can be used to show how
something changes over time or the
relationship between two quantities
• They can also be readily used to
estimate (i.e. for data points that were
not actually measured):
• Interpolate – predict between
measured points on the graph
• Extrapolate – predict beyond the
measured points along the same slope
• GRAPHING TIPS & RULES:
• Use pencil & use as much of the paper as
possible
• Identify the variables and decide which goes
on the x axis (independent) and which goes on
the y axis (dependent)
• Label each axis, include units and select the
scale
• Divide each axis uniformly into appropriate
units using the maximum amount of space
available i.e. each square along the axis
must represent the same interval
• Include a title, and legend (if applicable)
• Plot the data points as ordered pairs (x,y)
 GRAPHING TERMS
Correlation/trend: the degree to which
two sets of data vary
together/relationship between the data
• Positive, Negative, or No correlation
• Line of Best fit: it is the average rate of
change between the variables, and it
follows the trend
• Outlier: a point that seems outside the
trend and might not want to be included
in any calculations or the line of best fit.
 EXAMPLE
Time Position
(mins) (m)
• The following data was collected while
0 0
experimenting with position and time
5 15
of a miniature motorized car travelling
10 30

on a straight track 15 45
20 60
• Draw the graph 25 75

• What is the independent variable?

• What is the dependent variable?
• Estimate the position of the car after 2.5
mins
• Estimate the position of the car after 30
mins
 Time vs Position
80

70

60

50
Position (m)

40

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Time (mins)
• What is the independent variable?
• Time
• What is the dependent variable?
• Position
• Estimate the position of the car after 2.5 mins
• 7.5 m
• Estimate the position of the car after 30 mins
• 90 m
• Calculate the slope of the line
• y2-y1 = 75 – 45 = 30 = 3 m/min
x2-x1 = 25 – 15 10
• Does the graph represent a linear relationship?
Explain.
Yes – data follows a direct relationship (change is
 SEATWORK/HOMEWORK

• Handout