DATA

SCIENCE is…

the search for

relationships
that explain
and predict
the behavior
of the
universe.
 PHYSICS is…

the science
concerned with
relationships
between matter,
energy, and its
transformations.
 There is no such thing as
absolu te ce rtai nty
of a scientific claim.
The validity of a scientific conclusion is always limited by:

• the experiment
design, equipment, etc...

• the experimenter
human error, interpretation, etc...

• our limited knowledge

ignorance, future discoveries, etc...
 Scientific Law
a statement describing a natural event

Scientific Theory
an experimentally confirmed explanation
for a natural event

Scientific Hypothesis
an educated guess (experimentally untested)
 developed in France in 1795
a.k.a. “SI” - International System of Units

The U.S. was (and still is) reluctant to “go metric.”

• very costly to change

• perception of “Communist” system
• natural resistance to change
• American pride
 The SI unit of:
• length is the meter, m
• time is the second, s
• mass is the kilogram, kg.
• electric charge is the Coulomb, C
• temperature is the degree Kelvin, K
• an amount of a substance is the mole, mol
• luminous intensity is the candle, cd
 • The second is defined in terms of
atomic vibrations of Cesium-133 atoms.
• The meter is defined in terms of the speed of light.
• The kilogram is still defined by
an official physical standard.

“Derived units” are combinations

of these “fundamental units”
Examples include speed in m/s, area in m2,
force in kg.m/s2, acceleration in m/s2,
volume in m3, energy in kg.m2/s2
1018 exa E 10− 18 atto a
1015 peta P 10− 15 femto f
1012 tera T 10− 12 pico p
109 giga G 10− 9 nano n
106 mega M 10− 6 micro µ
103 kilo k 10− 3 milli m
102 hecto h 10− 2 centi c
101 deka da 10− 1 deci d
 Explore the metric system at
link1, link2, link3, and link4.

See definitions of metric units here.

Click here to do conversions.
All measurements have some degree of uncertainty.

Precision
single measurement - exactness, definiteness
group of measurements - agreement, closeness together

Accuracy
closeness to the accepted value

accepted - observed
% error = accepted x 100%
Example of the differences between precision and
accuracy for a set of measurements:

Four student lab groups performed data collection activities in order

to determine the resistance of some unknown resistor (you will do this
later in the course). Data from 5 trials are displayed below.

Group Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 avg

1 34 612 78 126 413 132.6
2 126 127 126 128 125 126.4
3 20 500 62 980 938 500
4 502 501 503 498 499 500.6
Suppose the accepted value for the resistance is 500 Ω.
Then we would classify each groups’ trials as:

Group 1: neither precise nor accurate

Group 2: precise, but not accurate
Group 3: accurate, but not precise
Group 4: both precise and accurate
 1. All non-zero digits
are significant.
2. Final zeros after significant digits
are significant.
3. Zeros between other significant digits
are significant.
4. Leading zeros and final zeros
before the decimal
are not significant.
 Operations with Significant Digits

Addition and Subtraction

round the sum or difference
to the least precise decimal place

Multiplication and Division

round so that the product or quotient
has a total number of significant digits
equal to the total number of significant digits
of the least precise quantity
 Learn more about significant digits
here and here.

Check your understanding here and here.

The “bottom line” is that the precision to which a

measured or calculated amount is written provides
valuable information as to the precision (certainty)
of that value and the device used to measure it.