Physical Science is a laboratory course dealing with the process of scientific investigation of objects and phenomena in our physical universe. This course introduces the interrelated nature of matter and energy and the physical laws that govern their behavior as well as their mathematical relationships. The organized nature of matter and energy and our understanding of physical laws that have produced an advanced technology and its effect on society will be emphasized. The first semester will cover basic chemistry and the second semester will cover basic physics. Before we begin there are certain fundamental skills that should be reviewed as they are foundational science concepts. These fundamental skills are divided up between the first 2 tutorials. This tutorial covers The Metric System, Temperature, Precision & Accuracy.

The Metric System

• The meter (m) is the unit for length (~1 yard)
• The gram (g) is the unit of mass (~1 small paperclip)
• The liter (l) is the unit of volume (~1 quart)
• The second (s) is the unit of time (3600 seconds in 1 hour)
  To convert hours to seconds you would multiply by 3600
  To convert seconds to hours you would divide by 3600
  
• A cube .1 meter (1 decimeter) on each side will hold 1 liter of water with a mass of 1 kilogram
• A cube 1 centimeter on each side will hold 1 milliliter of water with a mass of 1 gram
• 1 calorie of heat energy will raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius (or Kelvin)
  

The need to convert between bigger and smaller units is also greatly simplified within the metric system. Going from inches to yards to miles doesn't require special factors (e.g. 3, 12, 36, 5280 ) in the metric system. It is just a matter of moving the decimal! To convert from smaller units to larger the decimal is merely moved to the left, and moved right for converting from larger to smaller units. The table below should be copied into your notebook as an aide to quickly convert between units, especially during tests. Units toward the left of the table are bigger than toward the right by a factor of 10 for each space you move. " * " indicates the presence of a unit that is rarely used. Numbers on the bottom of the table (-12 to +12) indicate the power of ten the unit is compared to it's base unit.

example problem:
Notice that to convert 123.4 mg to .1234 g (grams) you would just find mg on the above table and then determine how many spaces and which direction to get to the next unit (g). In this case, to get from mg to g requires moving 3 spaces to the left, therefore you would move the decimal 3 places to the left. Easy!

TEMPERATURE

To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius Tc = 5/9(TF-32)
To convert Celsius to Kelvin Tk = TC + 273.15
Some equations (e.g. general gas law, lab errror calculations) require the use of the Kelvin scale (because zero really means zero).

When you are using a measuring device it is important to be precise and accurate. Precision is determined by the quality of the measuring instrument primarily. A graduated cylinder measures volumes of fluids. If the smallest divisions of a graduated cylinder are 1/10th of a mL then you are expected to make an educated guess on the next digit, i.e. 1/100th mL. Human error (e.g. the angle at which you view this instrument, flaws in manufacture, calibration errors, sabotage) can affect the accuracy of the reading.

Volume = Length x Width x Height
1 cc = 1 mL
88 x 11 x 55 = cc = mL
convert to L, move decimal 3 left