Understanding Significant Digits and Scientific Notation in Science
This agenda covers the critical concepts of significant digits and scientific notation, emphasizing accuracy and reliability in measurements. Students will learn the rules for identifying significant digits and how to express values in scientific notation. Engaging activities, including team competition, will reinforce these concepts. By the end of the session, participants will confidently answer problems using the correct number of significant digits and in scientific notation, ensuring their calculations reflect precision necessary for scientific endeavors.
Understanding Significant Digits and Scientific Notation in Science
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Presentation Transcript
Agenda • The Importance of Accuracy and Reliability • Significant Digits • Scientific Notation • Activity Time! • What If?? • Team Competition
Learning Goals • You will be able to successfully answer questions: • With the appropriate number of significant digits • In scientific notation
Validity & Accuracy • Validity= How “true” something is • Reliability= How “consistent” something is http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/qmss/images/target.gif
Rules for Significant Digits • All digits that are not zero are significant. Example: 16.2 Example: 18,648
Rules for Significant Digits • Zeros between non zero digits are significant. Example: 200.5 Example: 100.01
Rules for Significant Digits • “Placeholder Zeros” are not significant digits • i.e. Zeros with no numbers to the left Example: 0.02 Example 0.00009
Rules for Significant Digits • Zeros to the right of a decimal point are significant if there is a number to the left of it. Example: 16.0 Example: 102.100
When Will I Use This? • When answering problems! • When adding or subtracting report the answer with the same number of decimals as the least precise measurement • When multiplying or dividing report answer with the same number of significant digits as the least precise measurement • This may require you to convert your answer to Scientific Notation • Onlyrequired for numbers greater than 10
Scientific Notation • Reduce the number to a number below 10 • With the appropriate number of significant digits • Add to on 10X to make number equivalent to your original answer • Moving the decimal 1 place to the left = 101 • Moving the decimal 1 place to the right = 10-1
Scientific Notation • Answer the following with three significant digits • Example: 287 • Example: 840,000 • Example: 0.0000683
Isotopes Text 1.3: Page 27-31
Learning Goals • By the end of this class, the students will be able to: • Differentiate between isotopes of the same element • Determine the relative atomic mass based on isotope mass or isotopic abundance
Please Remember! • To complete your Grade 10 Review for FRIDAY! • Will be Formatively Assessed!
Isotopes • Isotopes are like different “species” of an element • They only differ in the number of neutrons in their nucleus
Bohr-Rutherford Model Electron (-) Proton (+) Neutron (o)
Chemical Nature of the Atom • The chemical characteristics or nature of an element is dependent on the ratio between: • Protons (+) and electrons (-)! • This balance results in the charge of the atom • The number of neutrons in an atom can change • This does not alter the chemical nature or characteristics of the atom
How do you Figure? • Mass Number (A) • Sum number of protons and neutrons • Measured in Atomic mass units (u) • Equivalent to 1/12th of a C-12 atom or… • I u =/ 1.66x10^24g
How do you Figure? • Atomic Number (Z) • Number of protons in the atom • So how can we determine the number of neutrons??
Determining Number of Protons • If Atomic Number (A) is the number of… • Protons and Neutrons • And Mass Number (Z) is the number of… • Protons Neutrons = A- Z
But wait… • Didn’t we say you can have MORE than 1 number of neutrons in one element? • Wouldn’t that change the weight? • This is why the periodic table also reports the average atomic mass • This number takes into consideration the relative abundance of each individual isotope