Length is how long something is . There are several measuring devices for length. The metric measurement for length is the meter.
Ruler
The first tool that can be used to measure length is a ruler. A ruler can be made of metal, wood or plastic. A ruler has linear measurement markings.
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Micrometer
Another instrument used to measure length is the micrometer screw gauge, or micrometer. The micrometer uses a small calibrated screw that is turned left or right to measure small lengths. The screw is adjusted according to the size of the item being measured.
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Tape Measure
A tape measure, also known as a measuring tape, is used to measure size or distance. A tape measure can be metal, plastic, or a strip of cloth with linear markings for measurement.
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Odometer
An odometer is an instrument used to measure distance traveled by a vehicle, whether it is an automobile or bicycle.
Example of Instruments Used to Measure Length
Measuring tools for length include rulers, tape measures, and micrometer screw gauges, but the tool that is the most precise is the vernier caliper. Vernier calipers are a precision type tool with sliding jaws attached to a graduated beam. The sliding jaws on the calipers measure length and can be used to measure the diameter of pipes.
Vernier calipers have a precision tolerance of +- 0.03 mm. Measuring length involves measuring linear dimensions or a straight line between two points. The vernier caliper will measure a variety of objects, but is most often used to measure the diameter of pipes or wire. Most vernier calipers have both metric and standard measurements. Vernier calipers can be used to measure objects by following these steps:
- Loosen the thumb screw to insert the object being measured. Close the sliding jaw on the object.
- Tighten the thumb screw and remove the object from the jaws.
- To find the measurement for the first digit, look at the line below the first zero that appears on the sliding scale.
- Find the next two digits by looking at the line on the sliding scale that is across from the line on the fixed scale. The last two digits come from the sliding scale not the fixed scale.
A vernier caliper and is an important tool for measuring small lengths in engineering, physics and some biology.
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Volume is the amount of space taken up by a liquid, solid, or gas. The metric measurement for volume is the liter. Several instruments in science can be used to measure volume, including graduated cylinders, volumetric flasks, burettes, and pipettes. Graduated cylinders have marks on the side of the cylinder to determine the amount of liquid. Graduated cylinders can also be used to measure volume using displacement.
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Example of Instrument Used to Measure Volume
The graduated cylinder is used to measure volume. Displacement or water displacement is used to find the volume of an object. The object is immersed in a liquid, and the amount of liquid that is displaced is the volume of the object. Using displacement to find the volume of an object is achieved using the following steps:
- Add liquid to a graduated cylinder and note the initial volume.
- Submerge the object in the liquid and find the final volume.
- Subtract the initial volume from the final volume to find the volume of the object.
Water displacement can be used to find the volume of a solid object like an aluminum cylinder. Add water to a graduated cylinder, note the volume. Submerge the aluminum cylinder in the water and note the volume. Subtract the beginning volume from the ending volume to find the volume of the aluminum cylinder.
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Mass is a measure of how much matter is in an object. The standard measurement for mass is the gram. Weight and mass are not the same measurement since weight depends on gravity and mass is the amount of matter in an object. Tools used to measure mass include the equal arm beam balance, the triple beam balance and the electronic balance.
Example of Instrument Used to Measure Mass
Mass can be measured using the equal arm beam balance. The equal arm beam balance is the simplest tool to use when measuring mass. The equal arm beam balance has a beam that is supported in the center by a fulcrum with a pivot point. The beam has two pans on either end that hold the objects being measured. When two objects are the same mass, the pans are at equal heights. If the equal arm beam balance is used to determine the mass of an object, weights with known mass can be used on one pan to determine the mass of the object with an unknown mass. After placing weights on the pan, add the mass of the weights and the mass of the object will be determined. If the masses of two objects need to be compared, an equal arm beam balance would be the best tool to use.
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Time is a progression of events. It involves events from the past to the present and into the future. The metric measurement for time is the second. Time can be measured using not only seconds, but minutes and hours also. Tools that can be used to measure time include a stopwatch, clock and pendulum.
- A stopwatch is used to measure an amount of time of an event with hands on a dial and buttons to start and stop time. A stopwatch could be used to time how fast a race is run. A clock is used to measure time using hands and numbers on a dial.
- A clock is used to tell time.
- A pendulum is a weight or bob suspended from a fixed point that swings freely back and forth due to gravity and momentum. A pendulum could be used to keep beat to music.
Example of Instrument Used to Measure Time
An example of an instrument used to measure time is the pendulum. The pendulum is found in a clock and is also used in music to keep beat. A simple example of a pendulum is a playground swing. The pendulum weight or bob is the swing, and the chain is the length of chain holding the bob. The period of a pendulum is found using the formula {eq}T = 2 π√(L/g), {/eq} where T is time, L is the length of the string holding the pendulum bob or weight and g is acceleration due to gravity.
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Measurement is finding the amount of something, like length, volume, mass and time using scientific measuring tools. The metric system measures length, mass, volume, and time and is based on ten. Length is measured using a micrometer screw gauge, also known as a micrometer, and is very precise. Mass is measured using an equal arm beam balance that is supported in the center by a fulcrum. The equal arm beam balance can be used to compare the masses of two objects. Volume is the amount of space taken up by a liquid, solid, or gas. Volume is measured using a graduated cylinder, but it can also be used to find the volume of a solid using displacement. Displacement, or water displacement, is used to find the volume of an object. Displacement is achieved using the following steps:
- Add liquid to a graduated cylinder and note the initial volume.
- Submerge the object in the liquid and find the final volume.
- Subtract the initial volume from the final volume to find the volume of the object.
Measuring tools for length include vernier calipers, which are a precision tool with sliding jaws attached to a graduated beam that are used to measure length. Vernier calipers can also be used to measure the diameter of pipes. The micrometer screw gauge uses a small screw that is used to measure small lengths. The screw is adjusted according to the size of the item being measured. Mass is a measure of how much matter is in an object. Mass can be measured using the equal arm balance, which has a beam that is supported in the center by a fulcrum with a pivot point. The equal arm beam can be used to compare the masses of two objects. Time is a progression of events. It involves events from the past to the present and into the future. A tool that can be used to measure time is the stopwatch. It can be used to measure how fast a race is run. Another tool that can be used to measure time is a pendulum. A pendulum is a weight or bob suspended from a fixed point that swings freely back and forth due to gravity and momentum. An example of a pendulum would be a swing on a playground.
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Video Transcript
Measurement in Science
You may have measured many things in your life, whether it's the gallons of gas you put in your car, your shoe size, how far you ran for your workout, or even your height. Measuring in science is a lot like measuring in the everyday world, but with a little more detail and some unique instruments.
Scientists use the metric system, or the international measurement system, which uses the following base units:
- Meter for length
- Gram for mass
- Liter for volume
- Second for time
Different prefixes (the letters before the base unit) are used in the metric system to denote how many base units something contains. For example, a kilometer is 1000 meters, a milliliter is 1/1000th of a liter.
| Prefix | Meaning |
|---|---|
| kilo | 1000 |
| hecto | 100 |
| deka | 10 |
| base unit | 1 |
| deci | 0.1 |
| centi | 0.01 |
| milli | 0.001 |
Now that you have some metric system terminology under your belt, let's go on a science tools tour.
Let's start with tools you would use to measure length, or the distance between the two points.
When you need to measure length you might use a ruler. This is a straight piece of material, generally wood, plastic, or metal, with calibrated lines for measuring distance.
Vernier calipers may not be a tool that comes to mind. While this can be used to measure length like a ruler, vernier calipers are often used to measure the thickness and diameter of objects like pipes. This tool is more precise than a ruler and it's made up of an arm and a jaw.
Let's zoom in to see what the measurement is and briefly go over how to read this type of tool.
- Make sure the object is snug between the 'jaws' of the caliper (which you can see in this image here). Read the main scale on the calipers. Here it is 3.
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- Next, see which little line (in this case a millimeter) lines up with the 0. Here it is 5 (each line is 1). So our current reading is 3.5 cm.
- Look for alignment between the two scales (Where on the centimeter (cm) scale and the millimeter (mm) scale do the lines line up?). If you look closely, the 2 on the mm scale lines up with the cm scale. So this means 0.02.
- Add up the values you have: 3.5 + 0.02 = 3.52. Don't forget the units: 3.52 cm.
Let's continue our science tools tour with the micrometer screw gauge. This is another tool used to measure length, specifically the diameter of objects like wire. It can also be used for other measurements. This measuring tool is u-shaped and the object needing to be measured is held snugly with a screw. Reading it is very similar to reading a Vernier caliper.
Measuring Tools for Volume & Mass
Now that you're familiar with a few tools used to measure length, let's check out tools for measuring volume, or the amount of space an object takes up. There are several tools that can be used to measure volume, such as a graduated cylinder (in the image appearing here).
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Our focus here will be finding the volume of a solid by using displacement, looking at how much fluid is displaced when an object is placed in water. Think about filling a bathtub full and then climbing in. What happens? It overflows. This is because you displaced the water with your volume, which caused the tub to overflow.
To measure using this technique you need to do the following:
- Place water in a graduated cylinder and record this number as 'starting volume.'
- Add the object to the water and record the new number as 'final volume.'
- And finally, to find the volume of the object, you subtract: final volume - starting volume.
Next, we should look at a tool called equal arm beam balance. This tool is used to measure mass. Mass measures how much matter an object contains. To use this balance, you need a set of known masses to add to one side until you balance your unknown mass on the other side.
Measuring Time
So far our tour has highlighted science tools in the world of length and volume, but now let's check out how to measure time, or the duration of an event.
Oftentimes a stopwatch or a watch that has buttons that can start and stop it works well. Most stopwatches can measure time in milliseconds, seconds, minutes, and hours.
Another tool used to tell time is a simple pendulum, which is constructed from a string attached to a fixed surface that allows it to swing, while on the other end of the string is a weight called a bob. Galileo Galilei found that gravity and the length of the string impact a pendulum's swing. You can use this formula to figure out the time it takes the pendulum to swing:
T is time, l is length of the string and g acceleration due to gravity. Don't worry too much about the formula, just know it exists. You're probably thinking, ''I've never seen a clock that uses a pendulum.'' However, you probably have! The pendulum on a clock swings every second, as you can see here.
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Lesson Summary
Wow, our science tools tour is over! Remember, scientists use the metric system, or the international measurement system, which has the base units of meter for length, liter for volume, gram for mass, and second for time. Prefixes denote how many of each base unit is being used.
From rulers to pendulums, the world of measurement has all sorts of interesting contraptions to help us. Let's take a moment to review:
- Length, or the distance between two lengths: Tools used to measure length include a ruler, a Vernier caliper, and a micrometer screw gauge. Vernier calipers and micrometer screw gauges are more precise and can be used to measure the diameter of objects like pipe and wire.
- Volume, or the amount of space an object takes up: Graduated cylinders can be used to determine the volume of an object using displacement (i.e. looking at how much fluid is displaced when an object is placed in water), by subtracting the starting volume from the final volume.
- Mass, which measures how much matter an object contains: The amount of matter an object contains can be measured by comparing it to known masses using an equal arm beam balance.
- Time, or the duration of an event: A stopwatch or a pendulum (which contains a weight on a string that can swing) can be used to measure time.
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