Updated: Now includes print and digital options for the lesson. Perfect for distance learning or the paperless classroom. Interactive student notes, exit ticket, and homework for Google Slides™.
In this complete lesson, students will differentiate between accuracy and precision. Accuracy will be related to percentage error, and precision is related to the precision of the measuring instrument. Students will accurately record measurements for mass, liquid volume, temperature, and length. A class activity is described in the teacher notes.
You will notice that within this lesson the words significant figures are not used. This is very important! In order for students to accept that significant figures are not just some torture devise concocted by chemistry teachers, they must have a firm understanding of the importance of sig figs. And, we establish this importance by teaching proper measurement first! At this level, the main focus on measurement is how to record the measurement properly so that anyone that reads the measurement will know the precision of the measuring instrument used.
The main concept of this lesson is precision! Some teachers just teach the dart board analogy, and leave it at that. But this is totally missing the whole point of precision!! By learning the precision of the different measurement tools, and how to correctly record that precision, students will now be in the frame of mind to accept significant figures, in the next lesson, as recording measurement in a standard way that’s used throughout the scientific community.
Lesson Objectives:
* Differentiate between and define accuracy and precision
* Correctly use scientific measuring tools including: electronic balance, triple beam balance, graduated cylinder, lab thermometer, metric ruler, and meter stick
* Correctly record a measurement showing the precision of the measurement tool
* Calculate percentage error
Prior Knowledge:
Basic middle school and high school physical science
Lesson Duration: 1 – 1 ½ class periods depending on discussion and class activity.
Included in This Resource
* PowerPoint-–editable and animated
* Student Notes- Cornell style– Cloze notes
* Student Notes – Blank
* Suggested KEY for Student Notes
* Teacher Notes (3 pages) includes background info, slide-by-slide notes, & a class activity
* Homework Assignment w/ KEY
* Exit Ticket w/ KEY
Teacher Prep Time: Just print and go!
Note on the PowerPoints: The PowerPoints included in this product are editable. They are also animated, which means that they may appear busy or overlapping in the slide edit mode, but will be awesome in the slide show mode! Please don’t edit the PowerPoints until you have seen them in the slide show mode!
This lesson is appropriate for grades 9-12 chemistry & physical science
This will be a lesson you will want to use year after year!
Chemistry Corner
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