1. If a sprinter runs 100m in 10 seconds what is his speed?
If a motor scooterist travels 8km in 15 minutes what is her speed?
How did you do? Feeling Good?
Who was fastest?

2. Term 1 – Atoms and Matter
Atoms – Lesson 2

3. Measurement as Entertainment

4. Learning
Intentions..
To understand that scientists must use

units precisely and accurately in their
measurements and calculations.

5. Role Play Activity
Imagine if measurements didn’t exist or if you
had to deal with someone who didn’t understand
measurement.
•What could happen?
•What couldn’t happen?
•Each group will have a different location.
•Construct a short role play in that location

6. Success Criteria
A short role play (2-3 minutes) set in the
location given.
 One or more of your characters does not
understand or recognise measurement as
an idea OR measurement as an idea does
not exist.
 Development of a problem caused by the
absence of measurement.
 Entertainment


7. How can we measure?
 Technology
has only existed since the
industrial revolution. How did people
measure before then?
 What could we use to measure?

8. Ancient Measures
Length
Digit
 Hand span
 Cubit
 Furlong (distance a

plow team could drive
without resting the
horses)
Weights and volumes





Grain (of barley)
Penny weights
(coins)
Cups
Barrels
Mouthfuls!

9. Imperial Measures
Imperial Standard units were made law in 1824 in
England and were brought to Australia by British
settlers. Used in Australia until 1966.
Length
Weights and volumes
Inch (3 barley corns)
 Foot (12 inches)
 Yard (3 feet or a stride)
 Mile (5000ish feet)


Ounces
 Pounds (7000 grains or
16 oz)

Stones (2 wool sacks or
14 lbs)

Tons (2000 lbs)

10. 1791
First adopted in France soon after the revolution.
Metre based on circumference of the Earth.
Litre is based on the weight of water.
1960
1970
Global scientific community agree to adopt the SI metric
system
Government pass the metrification bill
1977
Australian metrification completed
2013

11. 1800
1900
1980

12. Group and order these units
ms
km
m
cm3
Gl
cm
kg
Ml
h
s
l
mg
mm
g
ml
tonne

13. Group and order these units
How did it but…
How do you do it?
kg
base unit
prefix
size
ml
measurement

14. Prefixes
Giga
G
Billion (1 000 000 000)
Mega
M
Million (1 000 000)
Kilo
k
Thousand (1 000)
Centi
c
Hundredth (1/100 or 0.01)
Milli
m
Thousandth (1/1000 or 0.001)
Micro
μ
Millionth (1/1000000 or 0.000001)
Nano
n
Billionth (1/1000000000 or
0.000000001)

15. SI base Units
Measurement
Base unit
length
Metres (m)
mass
Kilograms (kg)
temperature
Kelvin (K)
time
Seconds (s)
current
Ampere (A)
amount of substance Mole (M)

16. Base units build to make other
units
N (kgm/s2)
m/s
m
s
s
kg
kg

17. Conversions
Rule
If the units get bigger the numbers get
smaller.
If the units get smaller the numbers get
Example 1
100
bigger. metres is the same as 0.1 kilometres
100 metres is the same as 10 000 centimetres
100 metres is the same as 100 000 millimetres

18. Conversions can get messy
 Learn
how to put units into order of
size.
 Remember the rule! It will tell you
when you have gone wrong.
 Only then can you worry about
conversion factors
HINT: convert to base unit first