SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

General Physics1
Quarter 1 – Module 1:
Title: Units of Measurements
 12

General Physics1
Quarter 1 – Module 1:
Units of Measurements
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

Welcome to the General Physics 1 12 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on

Units and Measurements!

This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by educators

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For the learner:

Welcome to the General Physics 1 12 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on

Units and Measurements!

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 Lesson

1 Units of Measurement

What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you
master the Units and Measurements. The scope of this module permits it to be
used in many different learning situations. The language used recognizes the
diverse vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the
standard sequence of the course. But the order in which you read them can be
changed to correspond with the textbook you are now using.

The module has one lesson with subtopics, namely:

 Lesson 1 – Units of Measurements
 Physical Quantities
 Conversion of Units
 Scientific Notation

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. define physical quantity;
2. differentiate fundamental and derive quantity;
3. differentiate metric and British system of measurement;
4. convert units of measurement;
5. express number in scientific notation; and
6. solve measurement problems involving conversion of units and expression in
scientific notation
 What I Know

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. Covert 6 721 millimeters to meters.

a. 6.721 c. 672 100
b. 67.21 d. 6 721 000

2. If 2 mL of liquid weighs 4 g, its density is

a. 0.5 g/mL c. 2 g/mL
b. 1 g/mL d. 4 g/mL

3. If the density of a substance is 8 g/mL, what volume would 40 g of the

substance occupy?
a. 0.2 mL c. 32 mL
b. 5 mL d. 320 mL

4. Covert 300C to 0F
a. -1.11 c. 271.89
b. 86 d. 359

5. How many cubic centimeters are there in a cubic meter?

a. 0.1 c. 102
b. 1 d. 106

6. What is the perimeter of a rectangular room that has a length of 5.1

m and a width that is 2 m less than the length?
a. 14.2 m c. 20.4 m
b. 16.4 m d. 24.4 m
 7. How much wood do you need to a form a triangular garden frame if
one side of the frame has a length of 11 ft, and the other two sides are
2 feet longer than the first side?
a. 33 ft c. 36 ft
b. 35 ft d. 37 ft

8. How many inches is 9’10”?

a. 116” c. 129”
b. 118” d. 228”

9. How many yards is 9 mi?

a. 12 672 yards c. 15 840 yards
b. 14 500 yards d. 16 040 yards

10. Tessie measures her bathroom tiles to be 10 in by 8 in. What are the
length and width in cm?
a. 20.32 cm by 19.6 cm c. 25.4 cm to 24.5 cm
b. 25.4 cm by 20.32 cm d. 35.4 cm by 12.32 cm

Lesson Units of
 1 Measurement
Physicists, like other scientists, make observations and ask basic questions.
For example, how big is an object? How much mass does it have? How far did it
travel? To answer these questions, they make measurements with various
instruments (e.g., meter stick, balance, stopwatch, etc.).

The measurements of physical quantities are expressed in terms of units,

which are standardized values. For example, the length of a race, which is a
physical quantity, can be expressed in meters (for sprinters) or kilometers (for long
distance runners). Without standardized units, it would be extremely difficult for
scientists to express and compare measured values in a meaningful way.

What’s In

How many units do we have for 1 foot or 12 inches ruler?

How many millimeters (mm), centimeters (cm), inches (in), foot (ft)?

Classify the given quantities as Metric System or British System of

measurement: 5 yards of cloth, 10 kg of banana, 8 hours watching TV, 8 inches
shoes, 30 miles walking and 70 km/h speed of Typhoon Hanna.

Notes to the Teacher

It is significant that learners had background on the use of
mathematical operations, in particular to multiplication and
division. They should familiarize conversion factor of Metric and
British system of measurement as well as prefix of power of ten
notation.
 What’s New

Physical Quantities
All physical quantities in the International System of Units (SI) are expressed
in terms of combinations of seven fundamental physical units, which are units for:
length, mass, time, electric current, temperature, amount of a substance, and
luminous intensity.

SI Units: Fundamental and Derived Units

There are two major systems of units used in the world: SI units (acronym
for the French Le Système International d’Unités, also known as the metric
system), and English units (also known as the imperial system). English units were
historically used in nations once ruled by the British Empire. Today, the United
States is the only country that still uses English units extensively. Virtually every
other country in the world now uses the metric system, which is the standard
system agreed upon by scientists and mathematicians.

Some physical quantities are more fundamental than others. In physics,

there are seven fundamental physical quantities that are measured in base or
physical fundamental units: length, mass, time, electric current temperature,
amount of substance, and luminous intensity. Units for other physical quantities
(such as force, speed, and electric charge) described by mathematically combining
these seven base units. In this course, we will mainly use five of these: length,
mass, time, electric current and temperature. The units in which they are
measured are the meter, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole, and candela. All
other units are made by mathematically combining the fundamental units. These
are called derived units.

Table 1. SI Base Units

Quantity Name Symbol

Length Meter M
Mass Kilogram Kg
Time Second S
Electric current Ampere A
Temperature Kelvin K
Amount of substance Mole Mol
Luminous intensity Candela Cd
Metric Prefixes
Physical objects or phenomena may vary widely. For example, the size of objects
varies from something very small (like an atom) to something very large (like a star).
Yet the standard metric unit of length is the meter. So, the metric system includes
many prefixes that can be attached to a unit. Each prefix is based on factors of 10
(10, 100, 1,000, etc., as well as 0.1, 0.01, 0.001, etc.). 

Table 2  Metric Prefixes and symbols used to denote the different various factors of 10 in the
metric system
Example Example Example Example
Prefix Symbol Value
Name Symbol Value Description

Distance
18 18
Exa E 10 Exameter Em 10  m light travels
in a century

30 million
Peta P 1015 Petasecond Ps 1015 s
years

Powerful
Tera T 1012 Terawatt TW 1012 W
laser output

A
9 9
Giga G 10 Gigahertz GHz 10  Hz microwave
frequency

High
Mega M 106 Megacurie MCi 106 Ci
radioactivity

About 6/10
Kilo K 103 Kilometer Km 103 m
mile

hector H 102 Hectoliter hL 102 L 26 gallons

Teaspoon of
Deka Da 101 Dekagram Dag 101 g
butter

____ ____ 100 (=1)

Less than
Deci D 10–1 Deciliter dL 10–1 L
half a soda

Fingertip
Centi C 10–2 Centimeter Cm 10–2 m
thickness

Flea at its
Mili M 10–3 Millimeter Mm 10–3 m
shoulder
 Example Example Example Example
Prefix Symbol Value
Name Symbol Value Description

Detail in
Micro µ 10–6 Micrometer µm 10–6 m
microscope

Small speck
Nano N 10–9 Nanogram Ng 10–9 g
of dust

Small
Pico P 10–12 Picofarad pF 10–12 F capacitor in
radio

Size of a
Femto F 10–15 Femtometer Fm 10–15 m
proton

Time light
takes to
Atto A 10–18 Attosecond As 10–18 s
cross an
atom

The metric system is convenient because conversions between metric units can be
done simply by moving the decimal place of a number. This is because the metric
prefixes are sequential powers of 10. There are 100 centimeters in a meter, 1000
meters in a kilometer, and so on. In nonmetric systems, such as U.S. customary
units, the relationships are less simple—there are 12 inches in a foot, 5,280 feet in
a mile, 4 quarts in a gallon, and so on. Another advantage of the metric system is
that the same unit can be used over extremely large ranges of values simply by
switching to the most-appropriate metric prefix. For example, distances in meters
are suitable for building construction, but kilometers are used to describe road
construction. Therefore, with the metric system, there is no need to invent new
units when measuring very small or very large objects—you just have to move the
decimal point (and use the appropriate prefix).

What is It
Unit Conversion and Dimensional Analysis
A conversion factor relating meters to kilometers. A conversion factor is a ratio
expressing how many of one unit are equal to another unit. A conversion factor is
simply a fraction which equals 1. You can multiply any number by 1 and get the
same value. When you multiply a number by a conversion factor, you are simply
multiplying it by one. For example, the following are conversion factors:

1 foot/12 inches = 1 to convert inches to feet, 1 meter/100 centimeters

= 1 to convert centimeters to meters,

1 minute/60 seconds = 1 to convert seconds to minutes

In this case, we know that there are 1,000 meters in 1 kilometer.

Now we can set up our unit conversion. We will write the units that we have and
then multiply them by the conversion factor (1 km/1,000m) = 1, so we are simply
multiplying 80m by 1:

Using Scientific Notation with Physical Measurements

Scientific notation is a way of writing numbers that are too large or small to be
conveniently written as a decimal. For example, consider the number
840,000,000,000,000. It’s a rather large number to write out. The scientific
notation for this number is 8.40 × 1014. Scientific notation follows this general
format

x   ×   10y

In this format x is the value of the measurement with all placeholder zeros
removed. In the example above, x is 8.4. The x is multiplied by a factor, 10 y, which
indicates the number of placeholder zeros in the measurement. Placeholder zeros
are those at the end of a number that is 10 or greater, and at the beginning of a
decimal number that is less than 1. In the example above, the factor is 10 14. This
tells you that you should move the decimal point 14 positions to the right, filling in
placeholder zeros as you go. In this case, moving the decimal point 14 places
creates only 13 placeholder zeros, indicating that the actual measurement value is
840,000,000,000,000.
Numbers that are fractions can be indicated by scientific notation as well. Consider
the number 0.0000045. Its scientific notation is 4.5 × 10–6. Its scientific notation
has the same format

x   ×   10y

Here, x is 4.5. However, the value of y in the 10y factor is negative, which indicates
that the measurement is a fraction of 1. Therefore, we move the decimal place to
the left, for a negative y. In our example of 4.5 × 10–6, the decimal point would be
moved to the left six times to yield the original number, which would be 0.0000045.
 What’s More

Activity 1.1 Conversion of Units

Convert the given quantities:

1. 150 cm to m
2. 360 mm to m
3. 2100 cm3 to l
4. 1.2 GV to V
5. 4.6 ms to s
6. 450 K to 0F

Activity 1.2 Scientific Notation

 Express the following numbers in scientific notation.
1. 98
2. 0.0026
3. 0.0000401
4. 643.9
5. 816

 Transform the following scientific notation to standard notation

1. 6.455 x 104
2. 3.1 x 10-6
3. 5.00 x 10-2
4. 7.2 x 103
5. 9 x 105

Activity 1.3 Problem Solving

Problem Solving: Solve the given problem. Identify the given quantities solve for
the unknown quantities. BOX the final answer.

1. The temperature of a windshield on a winter morning is 10 0F. If the melting

point is 00C, how many degrees must the temperature of the windshield be
raised before the ice can melt?
2. Farmers must monitor their cattle for signs of infection or disease. A cow’s
healthy body temperature is 102.5 0F. What is its body temperature in
degrees Celsius?
3. Conrad is making veggie burgers for 18 children with special dietary needs
at summer camp. The burgers should be 50 g each. How many pounds of
veggies burger mix should he defrost?

What I Have Learned

1. Physical quantities are unit that describes the size of the quantity.
There are number that gives us the count of times the unit is
contained in the quantity being measured.
2. Physical Quantities are classified as fundamental and derived quantities.
Fundamental Quantities are the simplest form. Derived Quantities are
combination of fundamental Quantities.
3. Systems of measurement are Metric System of System International (SI) and
English System or British System of measurement.
4. Conversion of unit common method used is the factor-label method.
5. Scientific Notation is a convenient way of writing very small or very large
numbers. To write in scientific notation, follow the form N x 10 a, where N is
a number between 1 and 10, but not 10 itself, a is an integer (positive or
negative number)

What I Can Do

Calculate your mass in gram, kilogram and lb.

Calculate the length of your notebook in mm, cm, inches, foot and km.
Calculate your temperature in 0C, 0F and K.
Show the conversion of units and express your answer in scientific notation.

Assessment
Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter
on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Covert 6 721 millimeters to meters.
a. 6.721 c. 672 100
b. 67.21 d. 6 721 000

2. If 2 mL of liquid weighs 4 g, its density is

a. 0.5 g/mL c. 2 g/mL
b. 1 g/mL d. 4 g/mL

3. If the density of a substance is 8 g/mL, what volume would 40 g of

the substance occupy?
a. 0.2 mL c. 32 mL
b. 5 mL d. 320 mL

4. Covert 300C to 0F
a. -1.11 c. 271.89
b. 86 d. 359

5. How many cubic centimeters are there in a cubic meter?

a. 0.1 c. 102
b. 1 d. 106
6. What is the perimeter of a rectangular room that has a length of 5.1 m
and a width that is 2 m less than the length?
a. 14.2 m c. 20.4 m
b. 16.4 m d. 24.4 m

7. How much wood do you need to a form a triangular garden frame if

one side of the frame has a length of 11 ft, and the other two sides are 2
feet longer than the first side?
a. 33 ft c. 36 ft
b. 35 ft d. 37 ft

8. How many inches is 9’10”?

a. 116” c. 129”
b. 118” d. 228”
9. How many yards is 9 mi?
a. 12 672 yards c. 15 840 yards
b. 14 500 yards d. 16 040 yards

10. Tessie measures her bathroom tiles to be 10 in by 8 in. What are the
length and width in cm?
 a. 20.32 cm by 19.6 cm c. 25.4 cm to 24.5 cm
b. 25.4 cm by 20.32 cm d. 35.4 cm by 12.32 cm

Assessment What's More What I Know

1. A Activity 1.1 1. A
2. C 2. C
3. B 1. 1.5 m 3. B
4. B 4. B
5. D 5. D
2. 0.36 m 6. B
6. B
7. D 3. 2.1 l 7. D

8. B 8. B
4. 1.2 x 10 V
9
9. C 9. C

10. B 5. 4.6 x 10-3 s 10. B

6. 350.6 0F

Activity 1.2

A.

1. 9.8 x 101

2. 2.6 x 10-3

3. 4.01 x 10 -5

4. 6.439 x 102

5. 8.16 x 102

B.

1. .0006455

2. 0.0000031
 Lesson

2 Accuracy and Precision

What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you
master the accuracy and precision. The scope of this module permits it to be used
in many different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse
vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard
sequence of the course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to
correspond with the textbook you are now using.

The module has one lesson, namely:

 Lesson 2 – Accuracy and Precision

After going through this module, you are expected to:

7. define accuracy and precision;
8. differentiate accuracy and precision; and
9. illustrate an example of accuracy and precision

What I Know

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. It is described as the degree of how close the measurements are to the

true value.
a. accuracy c. reliability
b. precision d. validity
2. It refers to the degree to which successive measurements agree with
each other.
a. accuracy c. reliability
b. precision d. validity
3. Which group of measurements is most precise?
a. 0.005 g, 0.0049 g, 0.0051 g
b. 1.23 cm3, 2.21 cm3, 9.92 cm3
c. 23.4 mm, 12.4 mm, 50.2 mm
d. 2.3 x 10-2 kg, 2.31 x 102 kg, 2.29 x 1012 kg

4. The volume of a liquid is 20.5 ml. Which of the following sets of

measurement the value with good accuracy?
a. 18.6 ml, 17.6 ml, 19.6 ml, 17.2 ml
b. 18.8 ml, 19.0 ml, 19.2 ml, 18.8 ml.
c. 19.3 ml, 19.2 ml, 18.6 ml, 18.7 ml
d. 20.2 ml, 20.5 ml, 20.3 ml 20.1 ml
5. The mass of unknown substance is 2.86 g. Which of the following
sets of measurement represents the value with both accuracy and
precision?
a. 1.78 g, 1.80 g, 1.76 g, 1.81 g
b. 1.95 g, 2.02 g, 1.96 g, 2.01 g
c. 2.81 g, 1.98 g, 2.40 g, 2.78 g
d. 2.85 g, 2.86 g, 2.84 g, 2.81 g
6. The volume of a liquid is 25.5 ml. A student measures the volume and
finds it to be 25.2 mL, 25.1 mL, 24.9 mL, and 25.3 mL in the first,
second, third, and fourth trial, respectively. Which of the following
statements is true for his measurements?
a. They have poor precision.
b. They have poor accuracy.
c. They are neither precise nor accurate.
d. They have good precision.
 7. The mass of an unknown substance is 2.86 g. Which of the following
sets of measurement represents the value with both accuracy and
precision?
a. 1.78 g, 1.80 g, 1.76 g, 1.81 g
b. 1.98 g, 2.02 g, 1.96 g, 2.01 g
c. 2.85 g, 2.86 g, 2.84 g, 2.81 g
d. 2.81 g, 1.98 g, 2.40 g, 2.78 g
8. The volume of a sample of concentrated hydrochloric acid is 10.5 ml. A
student measures the volume and finds it to be 8.6 mL, 8.8 mL, 8.2 mL, and
8.6 mL in the first, second, third, and fourth trial, respectively. Which of the
following statements is true for his measurements?
a. They have poor precision.
b. They have poor accuracy.
c. They are neither precise nor accurate.
d. They have good precision.

9. Looking at the above rifle target, how would you describe the shooting of
this contestant?
a. accurate and imprecise c. inaccurate and precise
b. accurate and precise d. inaccurate and imprecise
10. Which of the following will allow measurement of a liquid's volume with
the greatest precision?
a. 50 ml cylinder graduated in 1ml increments
b. 100 ml cylinder graduated in 0.5 ml increments
c. 100 ml cylinder graduated in 1 ml increments
d. 200 ml cylinder graduated in 5 ml increments
 Lesson

2 Accuracy and Precision

Science is based on experimentation that requires good measurements. The validity

of a measurement can be described in terms of its accuracy and its precision.

What’s In

How to be accurate and precise in conversion of units and in expressing numbers

in scientific notation.

A student measures a test tube, she reported 15 g in mass, but the actual mass of
the test tube was 32 g. Is the data accurate?

A student measures the following temperature 40.3 0C, 410C and 400C. Is the data
given precise?

What’s New

Accuracy vs Precision
 What is It

Accuracy 
It is how close a measurement is to the correct value for that measurement. For
example, let us say that you are measuring the length of standard piece of bond
paper. The packaging in which you purchased the paper states that it is 11 inches
long, and suppose this stated value is correct. You measure the length of the paper
three times and obtain the following measurements: 11.1 inches, 11.2 inches, and
10.9 inches. These measurements are quite accurate because they are very close to
the correct value of 11.0 inches. In contrast, if you had obtained a measurement of
12 inches, your measurement would not be very accurate. This is why measuring
instruments are calibrated based on a known measurement. If the instrument
consistently returns the correct value of the known measurement, it is safe for use
in finding unknown values.

Precision 
It states how well repeated measurements of something generate the same or
similar results. Therefore, the precision of measurements refers to how close
together the measurements are when you measure the same thing several times.
One way to analyze the precision of measurements would be to determine the
range, or difference between the lowest and the highest measured values. In the
case of the printer paper measurements, the lowest value was 10.9 inches and the
highest value was 11.2 inches. Thus, the measured values deviated from each
other by, at most, 0.3 inches. These measurements were reasonably precise
because they varied by only a fraction of an inch. However, if the measured values
had been 10.9 inches, 11.1 inches, and 11.9 inches, then the measurements would
not be very precise because there is a lot of variation from one measurement to
another.
The measurements in the paper example are both accurate and precise, but in
some cases, measurements are accurate but not precise, or they are precise but
not accurate. Let us consider a GPS system that is attempting to locate the position
of a restaurant in a city. Think of the restaurant location as existing at the center of
a bull’s-eye target. Then think of each GPS attempt to locate the restaurant as a
black dot on the bull’s eye.
 What’s More

Activity 1.1 Accuracy vs Precision

1. Measure the length, width and height of your 60 leaves regular notebook to
determine the volume of it using a ruler in centimeter (cm).

2. Determine the true value of volume of notebook.

3. Make 3 trials of the said measurement.

4. Record your data table.

True value of Volume of Notebook: __________________________

Notebook Length Width Height Volume

Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average

5. What is the accurate measured volume?

6. What is the precise measure volume?

What I Have Learned

1. Accuracy refers to the closeness of a measured value to a standard value or

known value.
2. Precision refers to the closeness of two or more measurements to each other.
 What I Can Do

Do you experience accurateness and preciseness of data or information in

your daily living?
Do you have encounter on some news in particular to the use of social
media?
How accuracy and precision applicable to this situation.
Cite some ways or techniques to be utilized to get accurate and precise
information.

Assessment

Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a
separate sheet of paper.

1. It is described as the degree of how close the measurements are to the

true value.
a. accuracy c. reliability
b. precision d. validity

2. It refers to the degree to which successive measurements agree with each

other.
a. accuracy c. reliability
b. precision d. validity

3. Which group of measurements is most precise?

a. 0.005 g, 0.0049 g, 0.0051 g
b. 1.23 cm3, 2.21 cm3, 9.92 cm3
c. 23.4 mm, 12.4 mm, 50.2 mm
d. 2.3 x 10-2 kg, 2.31 x 102 kg, 2.29 x 1012 kg
4. The volume of a liquid is 20.5 ml. Which of the following sets of
measurement the value with good accuracy?
a. 18.6 ml, 17.6 ml, 19.6 ml, 17.2 ml
b. 18.8 ml, 19.0 ml, 19.2 ml, 18.8 ml.
c. 19.3 ml, 19.2 ml, 18.6 ml, 18.7 ml
d. 20.2 ml, 20.5 ml, 20.3 ml 20.1 ml

5. The mass of unknown substance is 2.86 g. Which of the following sets of

measurement represents the value with both accuracy and precision?
a. 1.78 g, 1.80 g, 1.76 g, 1.81 g
b. 1.95 g, 2.02 g, 1.96 g, 2.01 g
c. 2.81 g, 1.98 g, 2.40 g, 2.78 g
d. 2.85 g, 2.86 g, 2.84 g, 2.81 g

6. The mass of a sample of a copper nitrate is 3.82 g. A student measures

the mass and finds it to be 3.81 g, 3.82 g, 3.79 g and 3.80 g in the first,
second, third and fourth trial, respectively. Which of the following
statements is true for his measurements?
a. They have good accuracy but poor precision.
b. They have poor accuracy but good precision.
c. They are neither precise nor accurate.
d. They have good accuracy and precision.

Mass Data Sample

TRIAL 1 TRIAL 2 TRIAL 3 TRIAL 4
Student A 1.43 g 1.52 g 1.47 g 1.42 g
Student B 1.43 g 1.40 g 1.46 g 1.44 g
Student C 1.54 g 1.56 g 1.58 g 1.50 g
Student D 0.86 g 1.24 g 1.52 g 1.42 g
7. Four students each measured the mass of one 1.43 g sample four times.
The results in the data above indicate that the data collected by reflect the
greatest accuracy and precision.
a. Student A b. Student B c. Student C d. Student D

8. The accepted value is 1.43. Which correctly describes this student’s

experimental data?

Trial Measurement
1 1.29
2 1.93
3 0.88

a. Accurate but not precise c. Precise but not accurate

b. Both accurate and precise d. Neither accurate nor precise

9. What is meant by the term accuracy?

a. The extent to which the value approaches its true value.
b. The level of detail at which data is stored.
c. The lack of bias in the data.
d. The overall quality of data.

10. What is meant by the term precision?

a. The extent to which the value approaches its true value.
b. The level of detail at which data is stored.
c. The lack of bias in the data.
d. The overall quality of data.
 Additional Activities

A grocery store sells 5-lb bags of mangoes. You purchase four bags over the course
of a month and weigh the mangoes each time. You obtain the following
measurements:

Week 1 weight: 4.8  lb

Week 2 weight: 5.3  lb

Week 3 weight: 4.9  lb

Week 4 weight: 5.4  lb

Is the measurement accurate or precise?

 Answer Key

Assessment What's More What I Know

Length = 15 cm
1. A 1. A
2. B Width = 22 cm 2. B
3. A Height = 1 cm 3. A
4. D 4. D
5. D Volume = 330 cm3 5. D
6. D 6. D
7. B 7. B
8. D 8. D
9. A 9. A
10. B 10. B
Lesson Random and Systematic
3 Error

What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is

here to help you master the random error and systematic error.
The scope of this module permits it to be used in many different
learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse
vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow
the standard sequence of the course. But the order in which you
read them can be changed to correspond with the textbook you
are now using.

The module has one lesson, namely:

 Lesson 3 – Random and Systematic Error

After going through this module, you are expected to:

10. define random and systematic error;
11. differentiate random and systematic error; and
12. illustrate an example of random and systematic error
 What I Know

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. In a zoology class, Pedro measured the length of an earthworm using a

ruler for three times as part of the data gathering procedure of his
experiment. What type of measurement error might he commit?
a. calibration error c. random error
b. human error d. systematic error

2. April forgot to calibrate her analytical balance before she measured the
mass of her reactants in a chemistry experiment. She committed 78%
percentage error in her measurement. What type of measurement
error did she commit?
a. human error c. random error
b. parallax error d. systematic error

3. The observation error of a measured quantity

a. corresponds to the random error in the measurement
b. the difference between the measured and true values and is
inevitably present
c. the result of a mistake or blunder but can be reduced by taking
several measurements and averaging them

4. A group of measurements for which there is insignificant random error

but significant systematic error is
a. imprecise and biased c. precise and biased
b. imprecise and unbiased d. precise and unbiased

5. Compared to the precision of individual measurements, the arithmetic

mean of 150 measurements subject to random error can be written using
a. one additional significant digit
b. one fewer significant digit
c. two additional significant digits
6. Which of these is not true for systematic errors?

a. They arise due to errors in the measuring instrument used.

b. They are reproducible that are consistently in the same direction.

c. Repeating the observations or increasing the sample size can

eliminate them.

d. They arise from the design of the study.

7. Which of these is not true for random errors?

a. They are difficult to detect.

b. They are less likely for small sizes.

c. They do not arise from the design of the study.

8. Systematic errors lead to a lack of:

a. accuracy in measurement

b. gradation of measuring instrument

c. precision in measurement

d. significant digits in measurement

9. Random error lead to a lack of:

a. accuracy in measurement

b. gradation of measuring instrument

c. precision in measurement

d. significant digits in measurement

10. Repeated measurement of quantity can reduce the effects of

a. both random and systematic errors

b. neither random errors nor systematic errors

c. random errors

d. systematic errors
 Lesson Random and Systematic
3 Error

All experimental uncertainty is due to either random errors or systematic errors.

Random errors are statistical fluctuations (in either direction) in the measured data
due to the precision limitations of the measurement device.

What’s In

Differentiate the following terms:

1. fundamental and derived quantities

2. Metric and British System of Measurement

3. accuracy and precision

Notes to the Teacher

It is significant that learners had background on the use of
measuring device such as ruler, protractor and triple platform
balance.
 What’s New

Random errors
It is usually result from the experimenter’s inability to take the same measurement
in exactly the same way to get exact the same number.

Systematic errors
There are reproducible inaccuracies that are consistently in the same direction.
Systematic errors are often due to a problem which persists throughout the entire
experiment. Note that systematic and random errors refer to problems associated
with making measurements. Mistakes made in the calculations or in reading the
instrument are not considered in error analysis. It is assumed that the
experimenters are careful and competent!

What is It

Definition of Random Error

The uncertain disturbances occur in the experiment is known as the random
errors. Such type of errors remains in the experiment even after the removal of the
systematic error. The magnitude of error varies from one reading to another. The
random errors are inconsistent and occur in both the directions.
 The presence of random errors is determined only when the different readings are
obtained for the measurement of the same quantity under the same condition.

Definition of Systematic Error

The constant error occurs in the experiment because of the imperfection of the
mechanical structure of the apparatus is known as the systematic error. The
systematic errors arise because of the incorrect calibration of the device.

The error is mainly categorized into three types.

 Instrumental Error
 Environmental Error
 Observational Error

Instrumental Error – The instrumental error occurs because of the three reasons.

1. Misuse of the apparatus.

2. Imperfection in the mechanical structure of the apparatus.
3. The error occurs because of the loading effect.
 What’s More

Activity 1.1 Random and Systematic Error

1. Measure the length, width and height of your 60 leaves notebook to determine
the volume of it using a ruler in centimeter (cm).

2. Determine the true value of volume of notebook.

3. Make 3 trials of the said measurement.

4. Record your data table.

True value of Volume of Notebook: __________________________

Notebook Length Width Height Volume

Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average

5. What is the random error?

6. What is the systematic error?

What I Have Learned

1. The random error happens because of any disturbances occurs in the

surrounding like the variation in temperature, pressure or because of the observer
who takes the wrong reading.

2. The systematic error arises because of the mechanical structure of the

apparatus. The complete elimination of both the error is impossible.
 What I Can Do

From time to time we check our time, do you encounter random or

systematic error? How to minimize the random or systematic error?
In using money in every transaction for transportation, buying goods and
paying services, do you encounter random or systematic error? How to overcome
random or systematic error?

Assessment

Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a
separate sheet of paper.

1. In a zoology class, Pedro measured the length of an earthworm using a

ruler for three times as part of the data gathering procedure of his
experiment. What type of measurement error might he commit?
a. calibration error c. random error
b. human error d. systematic error

2. April forgot to calibrate her analytical balance before she measured the
mass of her reactants in a chemistry experiment. She committed 78%
 percentage error in her measurement. What type of measurement
error did she commit?
a. human error c. random error
b. parallax error d. systematic error

3. The observation error of a measured quantity

a. corresponds to the random error in the measurement

b. the difference between the measured and true values and is

inevitably present

c. the result of a mistake or blunder but can be reduced by taking

several measurements and averaging them

4. A group of measurements for which there is insignificant random error

but significant systematic error is
a. imprecise and biased c. precise and biased

b. imprecise and unbiased d. precise and unbiased

5. Compared to the precision of individual measurements, the arithmetic

mean of 150 measurements subject to random error can be written using
a. one additional significant digit

b. one fewer significant digit

c. two additional significant digits

6. Which of these is not true for systematic errors?

a. They arise due to errors in the measuring instrument used.

b. They are reproducible that are consistently in the same direction.

c. Repeating the observations or increasing the sample size can

eliminate them.

d. They arise from the design of the study.

7. Which of these is not true for random errors?

a. They are difficult to detect.

b. They are less likely for small sizes.

c. They do not arise from the design of the study.

8. Systematic errors lead to a lack of:

a. accuracy in measurement

b. gradation of measuring instrument

c. precision in measurement

d. significant digits in measurement

9. Random error lead to a lack of:

a. accuracy in measurement

b. gradation of measuring instrument

c. precision in measurement

d. significant digits in measurement

10. Repeated measurement of quantity can reduce the effects of

a. both random and systematic errors

b. neither random errors nor systematic errors

c. random errors

d. systematic errors
 Additional Activities

A grocery store sells 5-lb bags of mangoes. You purchase four bags over the course
of a month and weigh the mangoes each time. You obtain the following
measurements:

Week 1 weight: 4.8  lb

Week 2 weight: 5.3  lb

Week 3 weight: 4.9  lb

Week 4 weight: 5.4  lb

Does the measurement have random error?

Does the measurement have systematic error?

 Answer Key

Assessment What's More What I Know

1. C Length = 15 cm
1. C
2. D
Width = 22 cm 2. D
3. B
Height = 1 cm 3. B
4. B
4. B
5. A Volume = 330 cm3 5. A
6. B
6. B
7. B
7. B
8. B
8. B
9. A
9. A
10. D
10. D
 Lesson
Estimate Error Using
4 Variance

What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you
master the estimate error using variances. The scope of this module permits it to be
used in many different learning situations. The language used recognizes the
diverse vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the
standard sequence of the course. But the order in which you read them can be
changed to correspond with the textbook you are now using.

The module has one lesson, namely:

 Lesson 4 – Estimate error using variance

After going through this module, you are expected to:

13.Estimate errors from multiple measurements of a physical quantity using
variance; and
14.Calculate standard deviation and percentage error
 What I Know

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. Evaluate the percentage error of the following measurement:

True Value = 89.49 km
Trial 1 = 85.44 km
Trial 2 = 82.56 km
Trial 3 = 84.49 km
Trial 4 = 81.45 km

a. 3.16% c. 6.71%
b. 5.26% d. 7.02%

2. What is the sample standard deviation from the data given 12, 13, 29,
18, 61, 35, 21?

a. 15.87 b. 17.14 c. 41.98 d. 293.67

3. If a number is added to a set that is far away from the mean how does
this affect standard deviation?

a. increase c. stay the same

b. decrease d. both increase & decrease

For numbers 4-5.
The density of silver is 13.35 g/cm 3. Experimental results gave the
following data:
16.45 g/cm3
10.56 g/cm3
12.75 g/cm3
15.35 g/cm3

4. The experimental value is_____ g/cm3.

a. 11.45 c. 13.78
b. 12.26 d. 14.16
5. The percentage error of the measurement is
a. 1% c. 3%
b. 2% d. 4%

6. Alec measured the width and height of a rectangle, but was only able
to measure them to the nearest centimeter. He recorded the width as 8
cm and the height as 5 cm. Which of the following is true for the area A
cm2 of the rectangle?
a. 40 c. 33.75  A  46.75
b. 39.5  A  40.5 d. 33.75  A  46.75

7. Benny measured the width and height of a rectangle, but was only
able to measure them to the nearest foot. He recorded the width as 12
feet and the height as 5 feet. Which of the following is true for the area A
ft2 of the rectangle?
a. 51.75  A  68.75 c. A = 60
b. 51.75  A  68.75 d. 59.5  A  60.5
8. Olivia measured the length and width of a rectangular garden, each to
the nearest 0.1 yd. She recorded the length of the garden as 41.5 yds.
and the width of the garden as 30.8 yds. Which of the following is true for
the area A yds2 of the garden?
a. 1274.5875  A  1281.75 c. 1274.5875  A  1281.75
b. 1278.15  A  1278.25 d. 1278.2

9. Garth wanted to find the area of a square. He measured the length of

the square as 2 cm. Later, the actual length of the square was more
accurately measured as 2.1 cm. What is the relative error in his area
calculation to the nearest hundredth?
a. .01 c. .09
b. .08 d. 0.10

10. Kyle wanted to find the area of a circle. He measured the radius of
the circle as 5.4 cm. Later, the actual radius of the circle was more
accurately measured as 5.35 cm. What is the relative error in his area
calculation to the nearest thousandth?
a. .018 c. .020
b. .019 d. .022

11. In an experiment, the temperature of a solution is measured by a

student to be 79 degrees, but the true value of the temperature is 85
degrees. What is the percent error in this measurement?
a. .07% b. 1.07% c. 7.1% d. 92%

12. A student measured the length of a table to be 65 cm, but the table
was actually 62 cm long. What was the percent error in this
measurement?
a. 0.95% b. 1.04% c. 4.8% e. 48%
13. The period of oscillation of a simple pendulum is given by

where l is about 100 cm and is known to 1mm accuracy. The

period is about 2s. The time of 100 oscillations is measured by a stop
watch of least count 0.1 s. The percentage error in g is

a. 0.1% b. 0.2% c. 0.8% d. 1%

14. The percentage errors in the measurement of mass and speed

are 2% and 3% respectively. How much will be the maximum error in
the estimation of the kinetic energy obtained by measuring mass and
speed?

a. 1% b. 5% c. 8% d. 11%

15. While measuring the acceleration due to gravity by a simple

pendulum, a student makes a positive error of 1% in the length of
the pendulum and a negative error of 3% in the value of time period.
His percentage error in the measurement of  by the

relation   will be

a. 2% b. 4% c. 7% d. 10%
 Lesson
Estimate Error Using
4 Variance

What’s In

 Compare and contrast:

1. scientific notation and significant figure

2. random and systematic error

 Illustrate scientific notation and significant figure through an example.

Notes to the Teacher

It is significant that learners had background on mathematical
operations.
 What’s New

Absolute, Relative and Percentage Error

The Absolute Error is the difference between the actual and measured value.

Example: a fence is measured as 12.5 meters long, accurate to 0.1 of a meter

Length = 12.5 ±0.05 m
So:
Absolute Error = 0.05 m
And:
Relative Error = 0.05 m 12.5 m = 0.004
And:
Percentage Error = 0.4%
Example: The thermometer measures to the nearest 2 degrees. The temperature
was measured as 38° C
The temperature could be up to 1° either side of 38° (i.e. between 37° and 39°)
Temperature = 38 ±1°
So:
Absolute Error = 1°
And:
Relative Error = 1°38° = 0.0263...
And:
Percentage Error = 2.63...%
 What is It

But ... when measuring we don't know the actual value! So we use the maximum
possible error.

In the example above the Absolute Error is 0.05 m

What happened to the ± ...? Well, we just want the size (the absolute value) of the
difference.

The Relative Error is the Absolute Error divided by the actual measurement.

We don't know the actual measurement, so the best we can do is use

the measured value:

Relative Error = Absolute Error Measured Value

The Percentage Error is the Relative Error shown as a percentage.

Estimating Uncertainty in Repeated Measurements

Suppose you time the period of oscillation of a pendulum using a digital instrument
(that you assume is measuring accurately) and find: T = 0.44 seconds. This single
measurement of the period suggests a precision of ±0.005 s, but this instrument
precision may not give a complete sense of the uncertainty. If you repeat the
measurement several times and examine the variation among the measured values,
you can get a better idea of the uncertainty in the period. For example, here are the
results of 5 measurements, in seconds: 0.46, 0.44, 0.45, 0.44, 0.41.
(5)

x1 + x2 +  + x
Average (mean) = N
N
  

For this situation, the best estimate of the period is the average, or mean.
Whenever possible, repeat a measurement several times and average the results.
This average is generally the best estimate of the "true" value (unless the data set is
skewed by one or more outliers which should be examined to determine if they are
bad data points that should be omitted from the average or valid measurements
that require further investigation). Generally, the more repetitions you make of a
measurement, the better this estimate will be, but be careful to avoid wasting time
taking more measurements than is necessary for the precision required.

Consider, as another example, the measurement of the width of a piece of paper

using a meter stick. Being careful to keep the meter stick parallel to the edge of the
paper (to avoid a systematic error which would cause the measured value to be
consistently higher than the correct value), the width of the paper is measured at a
number of points on the sheet, and the values obtained are entered in a data table.
Note that the last digit is only a rough estimate, since it is difficult to read a meter

stick to the nearest tenth of a millimeter (0.01 cm).

sum of observed widths 155.96 cm

Average no. of observations = 31.19 cm
5

This average is the best available estimate of the width of the piece of paper, but it
is certainly not exact. We would have to average an infinite number of
measurements to approach the true mean value, and even then, we are not
guaranteed that the mean value is accurate because there is still some systematic
error from the measuring tool, which can never be calibrated perfectly. So how do
we express the uncertainty in our average value? One way to express the variation
among the measurements is to use the average deviation. This statistic tells us on
average (with 50% confidence) how much the individual measurements vary from
the mean.

|x1 − x| + |x2 − x| +     + |

d = 
xN − x|
  N
However, the standard deviation is the most common way to characterize the
spread of a data set. The standard deviation is always slightly greater than
the average deviation, and is used because of its association with the normal
distribution that is frequently encountered in statistical analyses.

STANDARD DEVIATION

To calculate the standard deviation for a sample of N measurement:

1 Sum all the measurements and divide by N to get the average, or mean.

2 Now, subtract this average from each of the N measurements to

obtain N "deviations".

3. Square each of these N deviations and add them all up.

4 Divide this result by (N − 1) and take the square root. We can write out the
formula for the standard deviation as follows. Let the N measurements be
called x1, x2, ..., xN. Let the average of the N values be called x. 

 Then each deviation is given by δxi = xi − x, for i = 1, 2,    , N. 

 The standard deviation is:
s =  (δx12 + δx22 +     + δxN2)
(N − 1)

   

In our previous example, the average width x  is 31.19 cm. The deviations are:
The average deviation is: d = 0.086 cm. 
The standard deviation is: 
s =  (0.14)2 + (0.04)2 + (0.07)2 + (0.17)2 + (0.01)2
5−1

  = 0.12 cm.
 
The significance of the standard deviation is this: if you now make one more
measurement using the same meter stick, you can reasonably expect (with
about 68% confidence) that the new measurement will be within 0.12 cm of the
estimated average of 31.19 cm. In fact, it is reasonable to use the standard
deviation as the uncertainty associated with this single new measurement.
However, the uncertainty of the average value is the standard deviation of the
 mean, which is always less than the standard deviation (see next section).
Consider an example where 100 measurements of a quantity were made. The
average or mean value was 10.5 and the standard deviation was s = 1.83. The
figure below is a histogram of the 100 measurements, which shows how often a
certain range of values was measured. For example, in 20 of the measurements,
the value was in the range 9.5 to 10.5, and most of the readings were close to
the mean value of 10.5. The standard deviation s for this set of measurements
is roughly how far from the average value most of the readings fell. For a large
enough sample, approximately 68% of the readings will be within one standard
deviation of the mean value, 95% of the readings will be in the interval x ± 2 s,
and nearly all (99.7%) of readings will lie within 3 standard deviations from the
mean. The smooth curve superimposed on the histogram is
the gaussian or normal distribution predicted by theory for measurements
involving random errors. As more and more measurements are made, the
histogram will more closely follow the bell-shaped gaussian curve, but the
standard deviation of the distribution will remain approximately the same.

What’s More

Calculate the average and standard deviation of the given width of paper. Enter
your calculated deviation per observation on Column 3.

Observation Width (cm) Deviations (cm)

1 31.33
2 31.15
3 31.26
4 31.02
5 31.20

Average: ___________
Standard Deviation: ______________
Computation:
Interpretation:
 What I Have Learned

1. The accepted value of a measurement is the true or correct value based on

general agreement with a reliable reference. 
2. The experimental value of a measurement is the value that is measured during
the experiment. 
3. The error of an experiment is the difference between the experimental and
accepted values.

Error = experimental value − accepted value

4. The percent error is the absolute value of the error divided by the accepted
value and multiplied by 100%.
% Error=|experimental value − accepted value | accepted value×100%

What I Can Do

Determine the accepted value, experimental value of your food intake in a

day I terms of calories. Calculate the percentage error.
 Meal Accepted Value Experimental
Value

Breakfast

Snack

Lunch

Snack

Dinner

Calculate the average mean and standard deviation of calories in a week.

Day Mean Standard

Deviation

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Average

Assessment

Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a
separate sheet of paper.

1. Evaluate the percentage error of the following measurement:

 True Value = 89.49 km
Trial 1 = 85.44 km
Trial 2 = 82.56 km
Trial 3 = 84.49 km
Trial 4 = 81.45 km

a. 3.16% c. 6.71%
b. 5.26% d. 7.02%

2. What is the sample standard deviation from the data given 12, 13, 29,
18, 61, 35, 21?

a. 15.87 b. 17.14 c. 41.98 d. 293.67

3. If a number is added to a set that is far away from the mean how does
this affect standard deviation?

a. increase c. stay the same

b. decrease d. both increase & decrease

For numbers 4-5.

The density of silver is 13.35 g/cm 3. Experimental results gave the
following data:
16.45 g/cm3
10.56 g/cm3
12.75 g/cm3
15.35 g/cm3

4. The experimental value is_____ g/cm3.

 a. 11.45 c. 13.78
b. 12.26 d. 14.16

5. The percentage error of the measurement is

a. 1% c. 3%
b. 2% d. 4%

6. Alec measured the width and height of a rectangle, but was only able
to measure them to the nearest centimeter. He recorded the width as 8 cm
and the height as 5 cm. Which of the following is true for the area A cm 2 of
the rectangle?
a. 40 c. 33.75  A  46.75
b. 39.5  A  40.5 d. 33.75  A  46.75

7. Benny measured the width and height of a rectangle, but was only
able to measure them to the nearest foot. He recorded the width as 12 feet
and the height as 5 feet. Which of the following is true for the area A ft 2 of
the rectangle?
a. 51.75  A  68.75 c. A = 60
b. 51.75  A  68.75 d. 59.5  A  60.5

8. Olivia measured the length and width of a rectangular garden, each to

the nearest 0.1 yd. She recorded the length of the garden as 41.5 yds. and
the width of the garden as 30.8 yds. Which of the following is true for the
area A yds2 of the garden?
a. 1274.5875  A  1281.75 c. 1274.5875  A  1281.75
b. 1278.15  A  1278.25 d. 1278.2

9. Garth wanted to find the area of a square. He measured the length of the
square as 2 cm. Later, the actual length of the square was more accurately
measured as 2.1 cm. What is the relative error in his area calculation to the
nearest hundredth?
 a. .01 c. .09
b. .08 d. 0.10

10. Kyle wanted to find the area of a circle. He measured the radius of the
circle as 5.4 cm. Later, the actual radius of the circle was more accurately
measured as 5.35 cm. What is the relative error in his area calculation to
the nearest thousandth?
a. .018 c. .020
b. .019 d. .022

11. In an experiment, the temperature of a solution is measured by a

student to be 79 degrees, but the true value of the temperature is 85
degrees. What is the percent error in this measurement?
a. .07% b. 1.07% c. 7.1% d. 92%

12. A student measured the length of a table to be 65 cm, but the table was
actually 62 cm long. What was the percent error in this measurement?
a. 0.95% b. 1.04% c. 4.8% e. 48%

13. The period of oscillation of a simple pendulum is given by

where l is about 100 cm and is known to 1mm accuracy. The

period is about 2s. The time of 100 oscillations is measured by a stop
watch of least count 0.1 s. The percentage error in g is

a. 0.1% b. 0.2% c. 0.8% d. 1%

14. The percentage errors in the measurement of mass and speed are
2% and 3% respectively. How much will be the maximum error in the
estimation of the kinetic energy obtained by measuring mass and
speed?

a. 1% b. 5% c. 8% d. 11%

15. While measuring the acceleration due to gravity by a simple

pendulum, a student makes a positive error of 1% in the length of the
pendulum and a negative error of 3% in the value of time period. His
percentage error in the measurement of  by the relation   
will be

a. 2% b. 4% c. 7% d. 10%

Additional Activities

Solve the given problem:

1. A student measured the length of a table to be 65 cm, but the table was actually
62 cm long. What was the percent error in this measurement?
2. In an experiment, the temperature of a solution is measured by a student to be
79 degrees, but the true value of the temperature is 85 degrees. What is the
percent error in this measurement?

Answer Key
Assessment What's More What I Know

1. C *the answer varies 1. C

2. B depend on age and 2. B
3. D weight. 3. D
4. C 4. C
5. C 5. C
6. B 6. B
7. D 7. D
8. B 8. B
9. C 9. C
10. B 10. B
11. B 11. B
12. C 12. C
13. A 13. A
14. D 14. D
15. C 15. C