PHYSICS : MODULE 01 GALILEO GARDENS : 01.04 MEASUREMENT DISCUSSION Measurement Tips The ability to measure objects using proper techniques is a skill that will be necessary for suboessful exploration of physios concepts. Materials: 3 x 6 card and metrio ruler Procedure: 1. Carefully read and study the Measurement Tips given below. You will want to print the tips for your notebook. 2. Review Significant Figures 3. Answer the questions. Measurement Tips: 1. Look at the measurement scale on the instrument. Ask yourself, "What is the smallest soale division?" For example, examine the metrio soale on your ruler. Notice that... the lines on the soale have different lengths the longest lines represent the division for centimeters the centimeter divisions are numbered . the smaller lines divide each centimeter into ten (10) equal parts each line represents the division for one-tenth of a centimeter (also called a millimeter) . the smallest soale division is one-tenth of a centimeter When students make measurements, they often ask me, "How many numbers do I write down?" or "How many decimal places are recorded?" The answer depends on the smallest scale division. You are permitted to write down all of the digits you can read directly from the scale plus one "guessed" digit. In the case of the metrio ruler, how would you record your measurements? Remember that the smallest scale division on the metrio ruler is tenths of a centimeter. You could read most measurements to the nearest tenth of a centimeter with certainty. However, remember that you are permitted to guess one digit. This means that your measurement can be recorded to the nearest hundredth of a centimeter. The hundredths place digit is your guess." Therefore, a typical measurement made with the metrio ruler would be 10.42 om or 2.65 om. Notice that fractions are not used with metric measurements