(c) Lanzafame 2007 Numbers, Numbers, & More Numbers Making sense of all the numbers.

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Presentation on theme: "(c) Lanzafame 2007 Numbers, Numbers, & More Numbers Making sense of all the numbers."— Presentation transcript:

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Numbers, Numbers, & More Numbers Making sense of all the numbers

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 UNITS! UNITS! UNITS! Joe’s 1st rule of Physical Sciences - watch the units. The ability to convert units is fundamental, and a useful way to solve many simple problems. Units also provide the context for numbers.

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(c) Lanzafame Good number at the craps table. Bad number for an IQ. Okay number for a shoe size. They are all “elevens” but they are each very different things.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 UNITS! UNITS! UNITS! Numbers have no meaning without UNITS! UNITS! UNITS! The unit provides the context to the number. A number is just a number, but a number with an appropriate unit is a datum (singular of data) - a piece of information.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Data 11 pounds 11 dollars 11 points These are better than just “elevens”, these are data, the 11 has some context – but it could have more!

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Data 11 pounds of raisins vs. 11 pound baby vs. 11 pounds of sand Our units are now even more specific, providing even greater context to the number, allowing better analysis of the meaning of the number.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Derived Units Derived units are combinations of pure units that represent combinations of properties: Speed – meters/second (m/s) – a combination of distance and time Volume – m 3 – combination of the length of each of 3 dimensions

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 SI units The official standard units are all metric units. The nice thing about the standard system is that the units are all self-consistent: when you perform a calculation, if you use the standard unit for all of the variables, you will get a standard unit for the answer without having to expressly determine the cancellation of the units.

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It’s all about the DATA folks! The goal in any experimental science is to use measurement and observation as arguments in support of a thesis. Data is NOT an end unto itself. Data is part of a narrative. To be a good scientist, you need to learn to use data to craft an argument.

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“Data” has a lot of subtlety “four” “4” “4.0” “4.00” “4.00 pounds” “4.00 pounds of carbon” “4.00 pounds of carbon in the brain of Tyrannosaurus” In our everyday speak, we use these interchangeably. But they aren’t!

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The UNITS! UNITS! UNITS! mean everything “4.00” “4.00 pounds” “4.00 pounds of carbon” “4.00 pounds of carbon in the brain of Tyrannosaurus” “4.00 pounds of carbon in the brain of Teddy the Tyrannosaur whom I bred in my basement” These are not the same thing. “4.00” could be anything: 4 dollars in my pockets, 4 toes on my left foot, 4 ex-wives… Specificity is important – it avoids ambiguity!

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“Data” has a lot of subtlety “four pounds of carbon in the brain of Tyrannosaurus” “4 pounds of carbon in the brain of Tyrannosaurus” “4.0 pounds of carbon in the brain of Tyrannosaurus ” “4.00 pounds of carbon in the brain of Tyrannosaurus ” Beyond the UNITS! UNITS! UNITS!, the numbers themselves include information.

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4 is not 4.0 is not 4.00 is not A mathematician wouldn’t make a distinction. Your grandma wouldn’t make a distinction – unless she’s a scientist. A scientist makes a SIGNIFICANT distinction.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Significant Figures Units represent measurable quantities. Units contain information. There are limits on the accuracy of any piece of information. When writing a “data”, the number should contain information about the accuracy

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Sig Figs Suppose I measure the length of my desk using a ruler that is graduated in inches with no smaller divisions – what is the limit on my accuracy? You might be tempted to say “1 inch”, but you can always estimate 1 additional decimal place. So the answer is 0.1 inches

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Sig Figs The green block is about 40% of the way from 2 to 3, so it measures 2.4 inches!

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Accuracy So, the green block is 2.4 inches long. This is 2 “significant digits” – each of them is accurately known. Another way of writing this is that the green block is 2.4 +/-0.05 inches long meaning that I know the block is not 2.3 in and not 2.5 in, but it could be 2.35 or 2.45 inches (both would be rounded to 2.4 inches).

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Sig Figs 2.4 inches must always be written as 2.4 inches if it is data inches = inches = 2.4 inches BUT NOT FOR DATA! The number of digits written represent the number of digits measured and KNOWN!

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Ambiguity Suppose I told you I weigh 200 pounds. How many sig figs is that? It is ambiguous – we need the zeroes to mark positions relative to the decimal place. Even if that measurement is 200 +/- 50 pounds, I can’t leave the zeroes out!

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Scientific Notation To avoid this ambiguity, numbers are usually written in scientific notation. Scientific notation writes every number as #.#### multiplied by some space marker. For example 2.0 x 10 2 pounds would represent my weight to TWO sig figs. The 10 # markes the position, so I don’t need any extra zeroes lying around

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 How many significant figures are there in the number ? Preceding zeroes are NEVER significant. Trailing zeroes are significant IF YOU DON’T NEED THEM.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 SI units and Latin prefixes Sometimes, SI units are written with a prefix indicating a different order of magnitude for the unit. For example, length should always be measured in meters, but sometimes (for a planet) a meter is too small and sometimes (for a human cell) a meter is too large

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Prefixes & Units So, if I measure a planet and determine it to be 167,535 meters in circumference, this can be written a number of ways m x 10 5 m x 10 3 m = km

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Other systems The metric system isn’t the only system of measurement units. Any arbitrary system of units could be used, as long as the specific nature of each unit and its relationship to the physical property measured was defined. The “English units” we use in the USA is an example of another system of units.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Converting Between Systems If two different units both apply to the same physically measurable property – there must exist a conversion between them.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Converting Between Systems If I am measuring length in “Joes” and Sandy is measuring length in “feet” and Johnny is measuring length in “meters”, since they are all lengths there must exist a reference between them. I measure a stick and find it to be 3.6 “Joes” long. Sandy measures it and finds it to be 1 foot long, while Johnny measures it and finds it to be meters long.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Dimensional Analysis Also called the “Factor-label Method”. Relies on the existence of conversion factors. By simply converting units, it is possible to solve many simple and even mildly complex problems.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Conversion Factors Dimensional analysis treats all numerical relationships as conversion factors of 1, since you can multiply any number by 1 without changing its value.

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(c) Lanzafame foot = 12 inches

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 One is Most Powerful “One” is the multiplicative identity – you can multiply any number in the universe by 1 without changing its value. Multiplying by 1 in the form of a ratio of numbers with units will NOT change its value but it WILL change its units!

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 The simplest Example I am 73 inches tall, how many feet is that? I know you can do this in like 10 seconds, but HOW do you do it?

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 The Path The first thing you need to ask yourself in any problem is….? What do I know? The second thing you need to ask yourself in any problem is…? What do I want to know? (Or, what do I want to find out?)

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 The Path The solution in any problem is a question of finding the path from what you know to what you want to know. In a dimensional analysis problem, that means finding the conversion factors that lead from what you know to what you want to know.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 The simplest Example The thing I know - START The thing I want - FINISH THE PATH – how I get from START to FINISH

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 The Path

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 The Path

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 The Path

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Too Simple? As simple as that seems, the problems don’t get any more difficult! There is more than 1 step, many different conversion factors, but the steps in solving the problem remain the same.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Another Example If there are 32 mg/mL of lead in a waste water sample, how many pound/gallons is this? Do we recognize all the units? mg = g mL = Liters

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Another Example If there are 32 mg/mL of lead in a waste water sample, how many pound/gallons is this? How would we solve this problem? What’s the first thing to do?

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Dimensional Analysis

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Dimensional Analysis

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Dimensional Analysis

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Two Step Path

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 One possible path

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Sig Figs in a Calculated Answer Significant Figures represent the accuracy of a measurement – what if the answer isn’t measured but calculated? The calculated value must come from know values. These known values have accuracy of their own. Accuracy = sig figs You can determine the accuracy (sig figs) of a calculated value based on the accuracy of the values used to do the calculation.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Calculating Sig Figs 2 different rules exist: Multiplication/Division - the answer has the same number of sig figs as the digit with the least number of sig figs Ex. 1.0 x = 12 Addition/Subtraction - the answer has the same last decimal place as all digits have in common Ex = 16.7 ( rounded)

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Helpful Hints When adding numbers in scientific notation, be sure the decimal points are in the proper place You can only add numbers that have the SAME UNITS!

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Addition/Subtraction and Units You CAN’T add any two numbers, because the units don’t mix: 73 inches kg = 173 ???? To add two numbers, they MUST have the same units!

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 I have 48 cents in my pocket and $32 in my wallet. How much money do I have. I can’t just add them together: 48 cents + 32 dollars = 80 ??? But I can if I give them the same units: 48 cents * 1 dollar = 0.48 dollars 100 cents 32 dollars dollars = dollars (or $32.48)

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Same type – different units All of the conversions we’ve done so far have been simply changing the unit of measure without changing the type of measurement. Inches to feet. Inches measures length. Feet measures length. mL to L to quarts to gallons. All measure volume. That’s great but kind of boring. I mean, I don’t get any taller if I use inches instead of feet. I don’t know anything new. (c) Lanzafame 2007

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Different unit. Different type. OOOOO….NOW WE’RE TALKING! Here’s some real chemistry. If I can change a unit of mass into a unit of length, I’ve learned something new! But I need to have some physical relationship between length and mass for that to work. (c) Lanzafame 2007

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The most important chemical conversion! (c) Lanzafame 2007

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What is Density? Density is the mass to volume ratio of a substance. It allows you to compare the relative “heaviness” of two materials. A larger density material means that a sample of the same size (volume) will weigh more.

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Ratios are Conversion Factors Density is the ratio of mass to volume. So, if you want to convert mass to volume or volume to mass – it’s the DENSITY!

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(c) Lanzafame 2007

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Equalities are ratios – Conversion factors

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Conversion Factors Powers of 1

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(c) Lanzafame 2007 Sample problem The density of aluminum is 2.7 g/mL. If I have a block of aluminum that is 1 meter on each side, then what is the mass of the block? Where do we start? We know the volume (length*width*height): 1 m x 1 m x 1 m = 1 m 3 Where do we want to go? Grams (or kilograms or cg or some unit of mass!)