High School Chemistry : Measurements

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for High School Chemistry

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Example Questions

Example Question #31 : High School Chemistry

Convert the given value to scientific notation.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Scientific notation is used to simplify exceptionally complex numbers and to quickly present the number of significant figures in a given value. The value is converted to an exponent form using base ten, such that only a single-digit term with any given number of decimal places is used to represent the significant figures of the given value. Non-significant zeroes can be omitted from the leading term, and represented only in the base ten exponent.

The given number has three significant figures (60.1), so there will be three digits multiplied by the base ten term.

To generate the single-digit leading term the decimal must be placed after the 6 (6.01). Then count the digits to the right of the decimal to determine the change in decimal placement (the decimal moves past the zero only). Our ten will be raised to the power of one because there is only one digit to the right of the final decimal placement.

Our final answer is 

Example Question #1 : Scientific Notation And Significant Figures

Convert the given value to standard notation.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Converting a value from scientific notation to standard notation is a simple matter of multiplication.

Since we are always multiplying by a base ten term, the value of the exponent determines the increase/decrease in terms of orders of magnitude. In this case, an exponent of 4 indicates a four-fold increase in order of magnitude. Some may find it easiest to determine the answer by simply adjusting the decimal four digits to the right, adding zeroes as necessary.

Whether you choose to multiply or to simply shift the decimal, the final answer will be .

Example Question #2 : Scientific Notation And Significant Figures

Convert the given value to standard notation.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Converting a value from scientific notation to standard notation is a simple matter of multiplication.

Since we are always multiplying by a base ten term, the value of the exponent determines the increase/decrease in terms of orders of magnitude. In this case, an exponent of  indicates a four-fold decrease in order of magnitude. Some may find it easiest to determine the answer by simply adjusting the decimal four digits to the left, adding zeroes as necessary.

Whether you choose to multiply or to simply shift the decimal, the final answer will be .

Example Question #6 : Using Scientific Notation

Convert the given value to scientific notation, rounding to four significant figures.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Scientific notation is used to simplify exceptionally complex numbers and to quickly present the number of significant figures in a given value. The value is converted to an exponent form using base ten, such that only a single-digit term with any given number of decimal places is used to represent the significant figures of the given value. Non-significant zeroes can be omitted from the leading term, and represented only in the base ten exponent.

We are told that the final value must have four significant figures, so there will be four digits multiplied by the base ten term. Since the given value has only one significant figure, we will need to add three zeroes (4000).

To generate the single-digit leading term the decimal must be placed after the 4 (4.000). Then count the digits to the right of the decimal to determine the change in decimal placement (the decimal moves past three zeroes). Our ten will be raised to the power of three because there are three digits to the right of the final decimal placement.

Our final answer is .

Example Question #7 : Using Scientific Notation

Convert the given value to scientific notation, rounding to four significant figures.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Scientific notation is used to simplify exceptionally complex numbers and to quickly present the number of significant figures in a given value. The value is converted to an exponent form using base ten, such that only a single-digit term with any given number of decimal places is used to represent the significant figures of the given value. Non-significant zeroes can be omitted from the leading term, and represented only in the base ten exponent.

We are told that the final value must have four significant figures, so there will be four digits multiplied by the base ten term. Since the given value has only three significant figures, we will need to add a zero (2310).

To generate the single-digit leading term the decimal must be placed after the 2 (2.310). Then count the digits to the left of the decimal to determine the change in decimal placement (the decimal moves past three zeroes and the 2). Our ten will be raised to the power of negative four because there are four digits to the left of the final decimal placement.

Our final answer is .

Example Question #31 : Measurements

Convert the given value to scientific notation, rounding to four significant figures.

 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Scientific notation is used to simplify exceptionally complex numbers and to quickly present the number of significant figures in a given value. The value is converted to an exponent form using base ten, such that only a single-digit term with any given number of decimal places is used to represent the significant figures of the given value. Non-significant zeroes can be omitted from the leading term, and represented only in the base ten exponent.

We are told that the final value must have four significant figures, so there will be four digits multiplied by the base ten term. We take only the first four digits, rounding the final digit depending on the final term; in this case we round up (3219).

To generate the single-digit leading term the decimal must be placed after the 3 (3.219). Then count the digits to the right of the decimal based on the original value to determine the change in decimal placement (the decimal moves past the following digits in the original term: 128941207). Our ten will be raised to the power of nine because there are nine digits to the right of the final decimal placement.

Our final answer is .

Example Question #3 : Scientific Notation And Significant Figures

Convert the given value to scientific notation, rounding to six significant figures.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Scientific notation is used to simplify exceptionally complex numbers and to quickly present the number of significant figures in a given value. The value is converted to an exponent form using base ten, such that only a single-digit term with any given number of decimal places is used to represent the significant figures of the given value. Non-significant zeroes can be omitted from the leading term, and represented only in the base ten exponent.

We are told that the final value must have six significant figures, so there will be six digits multiplied by the base ten term. We take only the first six digits, rounding the final digit depending on the final term; in this case we round up (123457).

To generate the single-digit leading term the decimal must be placed after the 1 (1.23457). Then count the digits to the left of the decimal to determine the change in decimal placement (the decimal moves past the 1 only). Our ten will be raised to the power of negative one because there is only one digit to the left of the final decimal placement.

Our final answer is .

Example Question #11 : Scientific Notation And Significant Figures

What is  written in scientific notation?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Numbers in scientific notation must be written with the first number  .

How ever many decimal places that you have to move your number to the right the exponent is positive. If you have to move the decimal point to the left to get your number the exponent is negative.

The number is . You would first write this number as , move the decimal point 6 places to the right to obtain your number thus the exponent is 

 

Example Question #32 : High School Chemistry

How is 13,200 written in scientific notation?

Possible Answers:

None of these

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Any time we write a number in scientific notation, we want to keep the same number of significant figures, but have the decimal end up where it was in the original number. For the number 13,200, we have 3 significant figures: 1,3, & 2. So right now what we have is 132; our next step is to insert a decimal somewhere on 132 that would turn it into a number between 1-10. We are left with 1.32 To get to 1.32, we have to move the nonexhistent decimal from the end of 13200 four places to the left. Anytime we move decimals to the left, the exponent in scientific notation gets larger.

Example Question #51 : Expressions & Equations

Convert the given value to scientific notation.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Scientific notation is used to simplify exceptionally complex numbers and to quickly present the number of significant figures in a given value. The value is converted to an exponent form using base ten, such that only a single-digit term with any given number of decimal places is used to represent the significant figures of the given value. Non-significant zeroes can be omitted from the leading term, and represented only in the base ten exponent.

The given number has only one significant figure (), so there will only be one digit multiplied by the base ten term.

There are two non-significant zeroes, so our ten will be raised to the power of two.

Our final answer is 

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