Measuring and Calculating with Scientific Notation and Significant Figures

Measuring and Calculating with Scientific Notation and Significant Figures

Learning Objective

Understand basic units, scientific notation, accuracy, precision, and significant figures in measurements and calculations.

What do you already know about measurement and precision?

Basic Units and Quantities

Units such as meter, gram, second, and their respective quantities like length, mass, and time.

Converting to Scientific Notation

Expressing measurements in the form of a x 10^n, where 1 ≤ a < 10 and n is an integer.

Accuracy vs. Precision

Accuracy refers to how close a measurement is to the true value, while precision refers to the consistency of measurements.

Significant Figures

Digits in a measurement that are known with certainty plus one uncertain digit.

Identifying Significant Figures

Rules for determining the number of significant figures in a measurement.

Mathematical Operations with Significant Figures

Guidelines for performing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with significant figures.

Rounding with Significant Figures

Methods for rounding a number to the correct number of significant figures.

Applying Concepts in Real-World Scenarios

Using scientific notation and significant figures in practical applications such as scientific research and engineering.

Interactive Activity: Precision Challenge

Students measure the length of an object multiple times to assess precision.

Quiz: Accuracy and Precision

A short quiz to assess understanding of accuracy and precision concepts.

Problem-Solving Practice

Practice problems involving scientific notation and significant figures.

Summary and Review

Recap key concepts and allow students to ask questions for clarification.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.