Beaker Graduated CylindersDouble Pan Balance

Test Tubes

Meter Stick

Double Pan Balance

• The double pan balance is used to measure the mass of an object.

• The mass is the amount of matter an object has.

• The mass is measured in base units called grams (g).

Using a Double-Pan Balance• 1. First, zero the balance. It’s zeroed if the

pointer is at zero when both pans are empty. A double-pan balance usually has sliding knobs you can use to zero the balance if necessary.

• 2. Place the object you want to measure on one of the pans.

• 3. Place standard masses onto the other pan, starting with the largest standard mass. If this adds too much mass to the balance, begin with the next smaller standard mass.

• 4. Keep adding standard masses until both pans are balanced and the pointer points to zero. Determine the mass of the object in grams by adding the standard masses together.

Beakers

• Beakers are used to measure liquids.

• Beakers are used to transfer liquids from a larger source such as a bottle to smaller pieces of equipment such as a graduated cylinder.

Graduated Cylinder

• Graduated cylinders are used to measure the volume of a liquid.

• Volume is the amount of space an object takes up.

• Volume is measured in base units called liters (l).

Reading the graduated cylinder• Using a graduated cylinder

marked off in units of tenths will give you a finer measurement .

• When a liquid is placed into a glass container it forms a meniscus a curved surface that is lower in the middle than at the edges. In order to read the graduated cylinder correctly, it must be placed on a stable surface such as the desktop of the work area. Never try to read the graduated cylinder while holding it in your hand. Your eye must be level with the bottom of the meniscus. Do not look down at or up at the bottom of the meniscus.

Meniscus

Beaker vs. Graduated Cylinder

• Liquids can not be measured as accurately in a beaker as in a graduated cylinder.

• A graduated cylinder has more divisions and, as a result, it is more accurate.

50 ml divisions

1 ml divisions

Meter Stick

• A meter stick is used to measure the length, height and width of an object.

• The base unit is a meter (m).• There are 100 centimeters

(cm) in 1 meter.• There are 1000 millimeters

(mm) in a meter.

40 cm is represented by longer division line.

Smaller division lines represent mm. There are 10 mm in each cm.

Metric Measurement

What is being measured

units Unit abbreviations

Tools for measurement

Examples

mass grams g Pan balance 454 grams *of peanut butter

liquid liter l Graduated cylinder

2 liter bottle of soda

length meters m Meter stick Running the 100 meter dash

temperature Celsius o C thermometer Water freezes at 0 o C

* This is equivalent to a pound of peanut butter

Prefixes for Metric MeasurementsKilo 1000 1 km = 1000m

Centi 1/100 1cm= 1/100m =0.01m

milli 1/1000 1mm = 1/1000 m= 0.001m