Summary

In this activity, students will view an animation that explores three forms of measurement, including length, mass, and volume. Various units of measurement will be presented for comparison, and several conversion calculations will be demonstrated using dimensional analysis.

Grade Level

Middle School, High School

Objectives

By the end of this activity, students should be able to:

• Recognize common units of measurement used for length, mass, and volume.
• Understand that different units of measurement can be used to communicate a value.
• Identify appropriate conversion factors necessary to change between units of a measurement.
• Distinguish between the forms of measurement used for length, mass, and volume.

Chemistry Topics

This activity supports students’ understanding of:

• Quantitative Chemistry
• Measurement
• Dimensional Analysis

Time

Teacher Preparation: minimal

Lesson: 10-30 minutes

Materials

• Computer and projector with internet access
• https://teachchemistry.org/classroom-resources/the-measurement-animation

Safety

• No specific safety precautions need to be observed for this activity.

Teacher Notes

• All of the animations that make-up the AACT Animation collection are designed for teachers to incorporate into their classroom lessons. Intentionally, these animations do not have any sound, so that a teacher can speak while the animation is playing, and stop the animation as needed to instruct.
• If you assign this to students outside of class time, you can create a Student Pass that will allow students to view the animation (or any other video or ChemMatters article on the AACT website).
• We suggest that a teacher pause this animation at several points, including the “Challenge Your Knowledge” questions to give students the opportunity to complete the calculation questions.
• This animation can be used to introduce measurement, unit conversion, and dimensional analysis to students.
• Related classroom resources from the AACT Library that may be used to further teach this topic:
  • Animation: Units of Chemistry
  • Simulation: Measuring Volume
  • Unit Plan: Measurement Unit Plan
  • Activity: Mysteriously Melodramatic & Maniacal Metric Measurement
  • Activity: Dimensional Analysis Showdown
  • Lab: Math and Measurement
• There is no student handout associated with this animation.