Measuring Instruments

A Lesson in the Math + Fun! Series

Mar. 2006

Measuring Instruments

Slide 1

About This Presentation

This presentation is part of the Math + Fun! series devised by Behrooz Parhami, Professor of Computer Engineering at University of California, Santa Barbara. It was first prepared for special lessons in mathematics at Goleta Family School during three school years (2003-06). Math + Fun! material can be used freely in teaching and other educational settings. Unauthorized uses are strictly prohibited. Behrooz Parhami

Edition First

Released Mar. 2006

Revised

Revised

Mar. 2006

Measuring Instruments

Slide 2

We Need to Measure Many Different Things

Length Temperature

Weight

Speed

Mar. 2006

Measuring Instruments

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Temperature Measurement
Materials expand when heated Idea: Connect a reservoir to a very thin tube to make the expansion more noticeable Put tick marks and numbers next to the tube by exposing the thermometer to known temperatures (0 C for melting ice, 100 C for boiling water)
0 C 32 F 100 C 212 F

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Mar. 2006

Measuring Instruments

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A Second Way for Measuring Temperature

Different materials expand by different amounts when heated

Idea: Connect two different metals together to form a strip. Different expansions will cause the strip to bend when heated.

Bimetal strip Use spiral shape to convert the shifting motion into rotation
Mar. 2006 Measuring Instruments Slide 5

Measuring Speed
Goleta

How fast the car is moving is proportional to how fast the wheels are spinning Idea: Convert the spinning motion to electricity (as in a hand-crank flashlight that gives off more light the faster you turn the crank)

But how do you measure electricity?

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Measuring Instruments

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Measuring Electrical Voltage

When there is no electricity in the circuit, the spring keeps the needle at 0 Electricity in the circuit turns the wire coil into a magnet that pulls the iron vane The higher the electrical voltage, the stronger the magnetic pull of the wire coil and the greater the rightward movement of the needle
needles rest position spring

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Measuring Instruments

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Activity 1: Making a Scale with a Rubber Band

1. Hang a rubber band from the edge of a table or chair, attach a heavy paper clip to its end, and put it next to a strip of paper or cardboard.
Rubber band

0
Paper clip Paper or cardboard strip

0 2

2. Hang something of known weight (e.g., 2 oz) from the clip and see how far the rubber band stretches. Mark the new position of the paper clip. 3. Repeat with different weights, until the scale has been calibrated. 4. Now, use the scale to measure the weight of an object.
Mar. 2006 Measuring Instruments Slide 8

Activity 2: Making a Scale with a Coil Spring

1. Put a large coil spring on a table and place a paper plate on top of it. Use a small cardboard box next to the spring to observe and record its movements as you add weights on the paper plate.
0 0 2

2. Put something of known weight (e.g., 2 lbs) on the plate and see how far the coil spring compresses. Mark the new position of the plate. 3. Repeat with different weights, until the scale has been calibrated. 4. Now, use the scale to measure the weight of an object.
Mar. 2006 Measuring Instruments Slide 9

Selecting Suitable Instruments for Measurement

We use different instruments depending on the size, weight, speed, temperature, . . . of the object being measured. 1. We may use a 12 ruler to measure the distance between two points on a small map. 2. We may use a 10 tape measure to determine the dimensions of a desk or the size of a room. 3. We may use a 50 tape measure or a special laser device to determine the outside dimensions of a building. Challenge question A: Suggest quick and easy ways of measuring the dimensions of your school campus or of a shopping mall. Challenge question B: What instrument is used to measure small items (e.g., thickness of a nail or diameter of a copper wire)?
Mar. 2006 Measuring Instruments Slide 10

Measuring Very Large and Very Small Items

How high are the mountains to the north of us in Santa Barbara?

Micrometers for measuring small items

Measure the angle between a level line and a line that points to the peak. Convert the angle to a slope (say, 5%) and multiply by distance. In the same way, we can measure the diameter of the moon if we know the distance to it.
Mar. 2006 Measuring Instruments

How thick is your toenail?

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Activity 3: Measuring Distance Using a Wheel

For this activity, you need a wheel (you can make the wheel out of a large plastic plate or cut it out from sturdy cardboard). Attach the wheel to a stick by putting a nail or thumb tack through its center. Put a mark on the edge of the wheel so that you can count its rotations.

Push the wheel across the distance that you want to measure and count the number of times the mark meets the stick.

Multiply the number of rotations by the perimeter of the wheel to find the distance. You can avoid this step by making the perimeter equal to 1 meter (the diameter must be about 31.8 cm).
Mar. 2006 Measuring Instruments Slide 12

Activity 4: Measuring Rotation Speed

We saw that rotation speed can be measured by using the rotations to produce electricity. The faster a wheel spins, the higher the voltage that it generates. Here is another way to measure rotation speed. Connect two balls to the end of strings and attach them to the spindle.
Slow spin Fast spin

The faster the wheel spins, the higher the balls will fly. Location of the balls can be used to determine the rotation speed.
Mar. 2006 Measuring Instruments Slide 13

Next Lesson
May 2006

2006

Mar. 2006

Measuring Instruments

Slide 14