Mr. Lowrie's Science Site
  • Home
  • Environmental Systems
    • First Week Stuff
    • Key Terms Glossary
    • Unit 1: Introduction to Environmental Science >
      • Chapter 1: Science and the Environment >
        • Section 1: Understanding Our Environment
        • Section 2: The Environment and Society
      • Chapter 2: Tools of Environmental Science >
        • Section 1: Scientific Methods
        • Section 2: Statistics and Models
        • Section 3: Making Informed Decisions
      • Chapter 3: The Dynamic Earth >
        • Section 1: The Geosphere
        • Section 2: The Atmosphere
        • Section 3: The Hydrosphere and Biosphere
    • Unit 2: Ecology >
      • Chapter 4: The Organization of Life >
        • Section 1: Ecosystems: Everything is Connected
        • Section 2: Evolution
        • Section 3: The Diversity of Living Things
      • Chapter 5: How Ecosystems Work >
        • Section 1: Energy Flow in Ecosystems
        • Section 2: The Cycling of Materials
        • Section 3: How Ecosystems Change
      • Chapter 6: Biomes >
        • Section 1: What is a Biome?
        • Section 2: Forest Biomes
        • Section 3: Grassland, Desert, and Tundra Biomes
      • Chapter 7: Aquatic Ecosystems >
        • Section 1: Freshwater Ecosystems
        • Section 2: Marine Ecosystems
    • Unit 3: Populations >
      • Chapter 8: Understanding Populations >
        • Section 1: How Populations Change in Size
        • Section 2: How Species Interact with Each Other
      • Chapter 9: The Human Population >
        • Section 1: Studying Human Populations
        • Section 2: Changing Population Trends
      • Chapter 10: Biodiversity >
        • Section 1: What is Biodiversity?
        • Section 2: Biodiversity at Risk
        • Section 3: The Future of Biodiversity
    • Unit 4: Water, Air, and Land >
      • Chapter 11: Water >
        • Section 1: Water Resources
        • Section 2: Water Use and Management
        • Section 3: Water Pollution
      • Chapter 12: Air >
        • Section 1: What Causes Air Pollution?
        • Section 2: Air, Noise, and Light Pollution
        • Section 3: Acid Precipitation
      • Chapter 13: Atmosphere and Climate Change >
        • Section 1: Climate and Climate Change
        • Section 2: The Ozone Shield
        • Section 3: Global Warming
      • Chapter 14: Land >
        • Section 1: How We Use Land
        • Section 2: Urban Land Use
        • Section 3: Land Management and Conservation
      • Chapter 15: Food and Agriculture >
        • Section 1: Feeding the World
        • Section 2: Crops and Soil
        • Section 3: Animals and Agriculture
    • Unit 5: Mineral and Energy Resources >
      • Chapter 16: Mining and Mineral Resources >
        • Section 1: Minerals and Mineral Resources
        • Section 2: Mineral Exploration and Mining
        • Section 3: Mining Regulations and Mine Reclamation
      • Chapter 17: Nonrenewable Energy >
        • Section 1: Energy Resources and Fossil Fuels
        • Section 2: Nuclear Energy
      • Chapter 18: Renewable Energy >
        • Section 1: Renewable Energy Today
        • Section 2: Alternative Energy and Conservation
      • Chapter 19: Waste >
        • Section 1: Solid Waste
        • Section 2: Reducing Solid Waste
        • Section 3: Hazardous Wastes
    • Unit 6: Our Health and Future >
      • Chapter 20: The Environment and Human Health >
        • Section 1: Pollution and Human Health
        • Section 2: Biological Hazards
      • Chapter 21: Economics, Policy, and the Future >
        • Section 1: Economics and International Cooperation
        • Section 2: Environmental Policies in the United States
        • Section 3: The Importance of the Individual
  • AP Environmental Science
    • First Week Stuff
    • Unit I: Humans and Sustainability: An Overview >
      • Chapter 1: Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability
    • Unit II: Science, Ecological Principles, and Sustainability >
      • Chapter 2: Science, Matter, Energy, and Systems
      • Chapter 3: Ecosystems: What are They and How Do They Work?
      • Chapter 4: Biodiversity and Evolution
      • Chapter 5: Biodiversity, Species Interactions, and Population Control
      • Chapter 6: The Human Population and Its Impact
      • Chapter 7: Climate and Biodiversity
      • Chapter 8: Aquatic Biodiversity
    • Unit III: Sustaining Biodiversity >
      • Chapter 9: Sustaining Biodiversity: Saving Species and Ecosystem Services
      • Chapter 10: Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: Saving Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services
      • Chapter 11: Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
    • Unit IV: Sustaining Natural Resources >
      • Chapter 12: Food Production and the Environment
      • Chapter 13: Water Resources
      • Chapter 14: Nonrenewable Mineral Resources
      • Chapter 15: Nonrenewable Energy
      • Chapter 16: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
    • Unit V: Sustaining Environmental Quality >
      • Chapter 17: Environmental Hazards and Human Health
      • Chapter 18: Air Pollution
      • Chapter 19: Climate Disruption
      • Chapter 20: Water Pollution
      • Chapter 21: Solid and Hazardous Waste
      • Chapter 22: Urbanization and Sustainability
    • Unit VI: Sustaining Human Societies >
      • Chapter 23: Economics, Environment, and Sustainability
      • Chapter 24: Politics, Environment, and Sustainability
      • Chapter 25: Environmental Worldviews, Ethics, and Sustainability
  • Chemistry
    • First Week Stuff
    • Matter

Introduction and Measurement


Measurement in Physics:  Physics is based on measurement of physical quantities.  Certain physical quantities have been chosen as base quantities (such as length, time, and mass);  each has been defined in terms of a standard and given a unit of measure (such as meter, second, and kilogram).  Other physical quantities are defined in terms of the base quantities and their standards and units.

SI Units:  The unit system emphasized in this book is the International System of Units (SI).  The three physical quantities meter, second, and kilogram are used frequently in mechanics.  Standards, which must be both accessible and invariable, have been established for these base quantities by international agreement.  These standards are used in all physical measurement, for both the base quantities and the quantities derived from them.  Scientific notation and the metric prefixes are used to simplify measurement notation.

Changing Units:  Conversion of units may be performed by using chain-link conversions in which the original data are multiplied successively by conversion factors written as one piece and the units are manipulated like algebraic quantities until only the desired units remain.
Length:  The meter is defined as the distance traveled by light during a precisely specified time interval.

Time:  The second is defined in terms of the oscillations of light emitted by an atomic (cesium-133) source.  Accurate time signals are sent worldwide by radio signals keyed to atomic clocks in standardizing laboratories.

Mass:  The kilogram is defined in terms of a platinum-iridium standard mass kept near Paris.  For measurements on an atomic scale, the atomic mass unit, defined in terms of the atom Carbon-12, is usually used.

Density:  The density of a material is the mass per unit volume.
Picture

Files:
Chapter 1 Presentation
File Size: 371 kb
File Type: pptx
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Skills Needed:
  • Base unit memorization
  • Metric prefix memorization
  • Scientific notation
  • Calculation of orders of magnitude
  • Conversion between metric units
  • Dimensional Analysis
  • Significant figures
  • Estimation of measurements
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