Mathematics in Science Essential Question How do scientists
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Mathematics in Science Essential Question: • How do scientists use math in science? Objectives: 1) Describe what math skills scientists use in collecting data and making measurements 2) Identify the math skills scientists use to analyze their data.
Mathematics and Science Estimation An approximation of a number based on reasonable assumptions. What is the difference between estimation and guessing? An estimate is based on known information ; guessing is an opinion based on little or no evidence Why do scientists use estimation? Scientists must use estimation when they cannot obtain exact numbers Example How would you estimate the number of students in this school? • One way: count the number of students in one class, and multiply that number by the number of classes in the school 35 students in one class x 30 classes = 1050 students
Mathematics and Science Accuracy vs. Precision Accuracy How close a measurement is to the true or accepted value Example: a clock reading 4: 00 pm when the actual time is 4: 00 pm Precision How close a group of measurements are to each other Example: a friend’s clocks are always 15 minutes late- the clocks are precise to each other Accuracy and precision in measurements How do you make measurements accurate and precise? Both accuracy and precision are important when making measurements • • • Use a high quality measurement tool Make measurements carefully Repeat the measurement a few times
Mathematics and Science Accuracy vs. Precision
Mathematics and Science Percent Error Percent error calculations determine how accurate or close to the true value, an experimental value really is. Equation Example Tanya measured the mass of an object to be 187 g. The object’s actual mass was 170 g. What is Tanya’s percent error? Percent error= 187 g – 170 g X 100% 170 g Percent error = 10% What do the percentages mean? A low percent error means your measurements are very accurate. A high percent error means your measurements are not very accurate.
Summary Answer the essential question and the objectives. Make sure to use complete sentences.
