if you have any questions let me know but can you do the work in the file I uploaded, just press edit and do it pleaseMEASUREMENT
Objective:
The objective of this experiment is to compare the English and Metric Systems in measuring the physical quantities of length and mass and become familiar with the units for length and mass that are most useful in astronomy.
Apparatus:
Internet web browser for:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty ( or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty)
Additional resources:
For a supplemental review of exponents and scientific notation, see: https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/muen-math-ee-scientificnotation/scientific- notation/#.XVM2Py2ZPe0
To review the names of large numbers and their values in exponential notation, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_large_numbers
Theory/Introduction:
Length
The English system of units of measurement, used by few countries on Earth today, has origins in sizes which vary, in other words, a size that cannot be reliably reproduced. For example, at different times, an inch1, was defined by the size of three barleycorn grains, end-to-end, or the average size of a man’s thumb. Neither of these are consistent standards of reference. In this system, to measure length or distance, you can use units such as inches, or the 12 inches (in) in a foot (ft), or the 3 feet in a yard (yd), and 1760 yards in a mile (mi). And, the subdivision of an inch used may be fourths, or eighths, or sixteenths of an inch, as shown here:
Fractions of an Inch2:
The Metric system has its own historical path and is based on quantities that can be reproduced (although this is now true, more recently, for the English system, as well). For example, the basic unit of length or distance in the metric system is the meter (m). The size of the meter3 uses the reliable speed of light. It is the distance light travels in 1/299,728,458 of a second. This distance can be re- created in anyone’s lab.
/ Among the differences between the two systems, there is the great advantage that metric system is based on the same number as our counting system (the number 10). All units are based on
factors of 10, 100, 1000, etc., such that 1000 meters is a kilometer (1 km =103 m) and 1/1000
1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inch
2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inch
3https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metre
of a meter is a millimeter (1 mm = 10-3 m).
In astronomy, and in our class, some useful multiples of the meter are nanometers (nm, 10-9 m) a
billionth of a meter, micrometers (mm, 10-6 m), a millionth of a meter, and centimeters (cm, 10-2 m), a hundredth of a meter.
10 millimeters in 1 centimeter4 :
Mass
The mass of an object refers to the amount of matter it contains. The periodic table of elements5 lists the known types of matter (with the general exception of dark matter, which is not yet understood and is discussed in the latter half of this course).
The weight of an object (on Earth) is not the same as mass, although mass and weight are sometimes used interchangeably in everyday language. Weight is the force on an object due to the mass and size of the Earth beneath us, in addition t the mass of the object. Since the gravitational force depends on distance from the Earths center, weight depends on location whereas mass doesnt.
So, if you were on another celestial body, your weight is different than your weight on Earth, while your mass does not change, since you are still made of the same amount of matter. Thus, mass is a useful quantity, in astrophysics, and weight, not so much.
English units for mass include ounces (oz) and pounds (lb).
Metric units for mass include grams (gm), or more commonly used kilograms (kg, 103 g).
In astronomy, masses measured are usually enormous multiples of kilograms!
Even the mass of the Earth is cumbersome – it is about 6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg, or in scientific notation it is about 6 × 1024 kg, or in words it is about 6 septillion kg.
So, more useful units are invented, as needed. For example, the mass of the Earth, itself,
becomes a unit of mass to compare masses of planets: Mearth = M? = 6 × 1024 kg. M? is the symbol for the unit of Earth-mass.
In these units, the mass of the planet Jupiter is about 318 M?. In other words, Jupiter is about 318 times the mass of Earth. In Earth masses, the mass of the Sun is about 333,000 M?. In other words, the Sun is about 333,000 times the mass of earth.
Similarly, the mass of the Sun becomes its own unit to compare the masses of stars. In kilograms, the mass of the Sun is Msun = 2 × 1030 kg. The unit is called the Solar-mass, M? : M? = 2 × 1030 kg. In
4https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metre Alert: this graphic may not fully render if you print out this file.
5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_table
