Science Courses/Chemistry for KidsCourse
- AuthorMadeline Johnson
Mrs. Johnson has a bachelors degree in psychology, and masters degrees in teaching and business administration. She has six years of experience teaching all subjects at the elementary level and three years of experience teaching English and math at the secondary level.
View bio - InstructorDanielle Haak
Danielle has a PhD in Natural Resource Sciences and a MSc in Biological Sciences
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Learn about the system of measurement used in science. Explore the international system of units and understand why units are important to the scientific process.Updated: 11/21/2023
Table of Contents
- Making Measurements
- What System of Measurement is Used in Science?
- Who Uses the Metric System?
- Why are Units Important to the Scientific Process?
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do scientists use a common system of measurement?
A common system of measurement allows scientists to replicate and compare results. It also prevents misunderstandings and mistakes that could result from the use of different standards across different disciplines or countries.
What system of measurement do most scientists use?
The International System of Units (SI) is the standard of measurements used by the scientific community. SI is used to standardize measurement for parameters such as length, time, volume, electric current, temperature, luminous intensity, and mass.
Table of Contents
- Making Measurements
- What System of Measurement is Used in Science?
- Who Uses the Metric System?
- Why are Units Important to the Scientific Process?
- Lesson Summary
Measurement refers to the act of identifying and recording the length, size, or amount of an object, area, or substance. Measurement is used to compare information collected about an object, area, or substance to a standardized quantity. Measurement can be used for a variety of purposes such as describing how tall a person is in meters and centimeters. A meter and a centimeter are both standardized quantities, therefore comparisons can be made between the relationship between a person's height and the meters and centimeters measured to record the height. There are many different systems used in measurement to measure a variety of information using standardized scales.
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Scientists use a shared system of measurement known as the International System of Units (SI). The International System of Units is more commonly referred to as the metric system. Although there are slight differences between the International System of Units and the metric system, the terms are often used interchangeably. The metric system is the standardized unit of measure used by most of the world outside the United States.
The International System of Units (SI) is the agreed-upon standard of measurements used by the scientific community and it is used to standardize measurements for length, time, volume, electric current, temperature, luminous intensity, and mass. Replication refers to how a scientist repeats an experiment from another scientist to compare results. The International System of Units supports the replication of experiments because it allows all scientists to utilize common measurements when replicating experiments.
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The metric system is the most common system used worldwide and is the standard for most of the world. Scientists use the metric system when designing and conducting scientific inquiries. Practitioners in the medical field use the metric system for recording patient information. The general public uses the metric system to measure and express quantities in daily life.
A scientist may use the metric system to record data related to a subject's height, measured in meters, when conducting research on the side effects of a new medicine that is being tested. A doctor will use information on body mass, measured in kilograms, for a surgical patient to determine the correct dosage of anesthesia to administer to the patient. A caregiver may use information on body mass, measured in kilograms, to track the growth patterns of a child. The use of kilograms as a common unit allows comparisons to be made between data points on body mass in all three scenarios.
Using an agreed-upon and standardized system of measurements benefits professional communities by preventing errors that could result from different methods. If a scientist uses feet and inches to report the height of a subject who is being monitored for side effects from a new medicine, and another scientist replicates the inquiry using meters, there will be difficulties comparing the results of the two inquiries without converting the data to a common measurement. If a doctor reports the body mass of a surgical patient using English pounds, but the anesthesiologist is accustomed to the use of kilograms, medical errors could result if the two professionals are using different units to report the patient's body mass. If the caregivers for a child measure a child's body mass in English pounds, and a car seat company reports the body mass recommendations in kilograms, confusion, and mistakes could result due to the different units.
Why Do Scientists Use the Metric System?
Why do scientists use a common system of measurement? Scientists use a common system of measurement because clearly defined and standardized units of measurement are important for scientific accuracy. Using standardized units across the scientific community helps to prevent mistakes due to miscommunication or misunderstanding due to differences in units. A unit is a single quantity that is defined and standardized. A unit is used to compare unknown quantities to a standard quantity.
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Scientists need to use specific units in science because units allow for comparison between the known unit and an unknown quantity that is being measured. A meter is a standard unit that can be compared to the height of a person. The height of a person is not a standard unit, because each person may be different heights, therefore the height of a person is an unknown quantity. The height of the person can be compared to and defined by how many standard units or meters can be used to measure the height of a person. Scientists need specific units to ensure accuracy and comparability across measurements. The SI system and metric system use the same units to measure length, time, and mass. The SI system and metric system use different units to measure temperature.
Measurement Units
The measurement units that are used both in the SI system and the metric system are listed below.
- Length- meter
- Mass- kilogram
- Time- seconds
The metric system uses Celsius to measure temperature, whereas, the SI system used kelvin.
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Measurement refers to the act of identifying and recording the information about an object or quantity of a substance. Scientists use a shared system of measurement known as International System of Units (SI). Although there are slight differences between The International System of Units and the metric system, the terms are often used interchangeably. The metric system is the standardized unit of measure used by most of the world outside the United States. Scientists need specific units to ensure accuracy, comparability, and repeatability in scientific inquiries. Repeating an experiment is called replication. Scientists repeat experiments to compare results.
The SI system and metric system use the same units to measure length, time, and mass, but use different units to measure temperature. The International System of Units (SI) is the shared system of units used to label measurements in science. Scientists measure length in meters. For example, you would say an alligator is 1.5 meters in length, not 5 feet long. Meters are part of the commonly used metric system. The SI unit used to measure mass is the kilogram. For example, the average African elephant weighs 6,000 kilograms (kg). Scientists measure time in seconds. The second is the SI unit for time.
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Video Transcript
Making Measurements
Imagine you're trying to find out how much an elephant weighs. You're pretty sure it weighs a lot, but you don't know the exact number. So you ask your teacher, and she tells you an elephant weighs the same as three hippos.
Well that's nice to know, but how much does a hippopotamus weigh? Again, you ask your teacher, and she tells you a hippopotamus weighs the same as five alligators. That's a cool fact to know, but you still don't understand how much an elephant weighs because comparing elephants to alligators can be confusing.
Comparing Measurements
To avoid confusion when measuring, scientists use a shared system of measurement, called the International System of Units (SI). 'Unit' is the word used to describe how something is measured. When researching a question in science, we collect data, interpret it, and share the results with other scientists. A common measurement system allows us to make direct comparisons instead of having to know things like how much a certain animal weighs.
For example, when we're measuring weight, a standard unit used by scientists is kilograms. Let's say the average elephant found in Africa weighs about 6,000 kilograms; if we use this unit of measurement, we can compare the weight of an elephant to other animals. If the average weight of a hippopotamus is 2,000 kilograms, it takes three hippopotamuses to weigh the same as one elephant. And if the average weight of an alligator is 400 kilograms, it takes five alligators to weigh the same as one hippopotamus, or 15 alligators to weigh the same as one elephant.
It's easier to use common units than to remember how many alligators equal one elephant, right? Another important part of science is replication. When a scientist reports his or her results, other scientists sometimes repeat, or replicate, the experiment and compare their results to those of the first scientist. If we didn't have a common system of measurement, it would be almost impossible to compare results and understand what they mean.
The SI unit for mass or weight is the kilogram, but what other units are shared? Generally speaking, scientists use the metric system, which is a decimal system used internationally for weights and measures, for reporting scientific results. The most commonly used SI units for measuring different variables are:
- Mass: kilogram
- Time: seconds
- Temperature: degrees Celsius
- Length: meter
- Electric current: ampere
- Light intensity: candela
- Amount of substance: mole
Lesson Summary
Scientists use a shared system for reporting measurements called the International System of Units (SI). We use common measurement systems because science involves a lot of replication (i.e., repetition) to confirm results. The most common system used in science is the metric system, which is a decimal system used internationally for weights and measures.
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