Lab 2: Microscopy and the Metric System
Microscopy and the Metric System
Margaret E. Vorndam, M.S. Version 42-0090-00-01
Lab Report Assistant
This document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab Report Assistant is simply a summary of the experiment’s questions, diagrams if needed, and data tables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students’ writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to an instructor.
Exercise 1: Measuring Length, Weight, Volume, and
Temperature
Try the following conversions for practice.
240,000 ng =0.24 mg =0.00024 g 50 cm =500 mm =0.5 m
Procedure
1. Length: A metric ruler is useful for measuring items of length. The ruler below measures in mm, indicated by the small mm near 0.
a. How many mm are there in 1 cm?10 , in a meter (m)?1000
(Ruler is not to scale. See ruler in dissection kit.)
b. Locate a measurable object to use for this exercise. If the object is long, obtain a yardstick that includes a cm scale; they can be found in local hardware stores.
c. Record the length of the object below and do the conversions:
Name of object: ID card 8.5 cm=85mm=0.085m
Volume: Always pour an approximate volume of liquid into a clean beaker and then from the beaker into the volumetric flask or graduated cylinder. This will minimize contamination of the parent liquid source. Dispose properly of any leftover liquid. Do NOT pour it back into the original container. Why?
This is so the original liquid does not get contaminated.
When using a pipet or dropper to measure liquid, pour an aliquot into a clean beaker and then draw up the liquid from the beaker into the pipet. NEVER try to draw up chemicals by mouth. Why? Chemicals could go into your mouth, which is potentially dangerous and should never be done no matter if
Margaret E. Vorndam, M.S. Version 42-0090-00-01
Lab Report Assistant
This document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab Report Assistant is simply a summary of the experiment’s questions, diagrams if needed, and data tables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students’ writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to an instructor.
Exercise 1: Measuring Length, Weight, Volume, and
Temperature
Try the following conversions for practice.
240,000 ng =0.24 mg =0.00024 g 50 cm =500 mm =0.5 m
Procedure
1. Length: A metric ruler is useful for measuring items of length. The ruler below measures in mm, indicated by the small mm near 0.
a. How many mm are there in 1 cm?10 , in a meter (m)?1000
(Ruler is not to scale. See ruler in dissection kit.)
b. Locate a measurable object to use for this exercise. If the object is long, obtain a yardstick that includes a cm scale; they can be found in local hardware stores.
c. Record the length of the object below and do the conversions:
Name of object: ID card 8.5 cm=85mm=0.085m
Volume: Always pour an approximate volume of liquid into a clean beaker and then from the beaker into the volumetric flask or graduated cylinder. This will minimize contamination of the parent liquid source. Dispose properly of any leftover liquid. Do NOT pour it back into the original container. Why?
This is so the original liquid does not get contaminated.
When using a pipet or dropper to measure liquid, pour an aliquot into a clean beaker and then draw up the liquid from the beaker into the pipet. NEVER try to draw up chemicals by mouth. Why? Chemicals could go into your mouth, which is potentially dangerous and should never be done no matter if