The sky turns dark before it

rains. Do you know why?

ANSWER
The clouds are too dense
with water droplets that
they prevent the sunlight
from penetrating through.
We explain this with the
help of science.

1.1 INTRODUCTION OF
SCIENCE
CHAPTER 1

WHAT IS SCIENCE?
Science is the systematic study of
nature and how it affects us and
our environment.
Science help us to understand the
natural phenomena we see
around us. Natural phenomena
are happenings that occur in
nature.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING

IS A NATURAL
PHENOMENON?
Air pollution

Apple falling down from a

tree

Construction of a dam

Formation of rainbow

Importance of science:a)It helps us to understand

ourselves
b)Science helps us to
understand our environment.
c)It makes our life more
comfortable.

Information produced from

the study of science is known
as scientific knowledge. This
knowledge is always
expanding as scientists make
new discoveries every day.

Benefit of science
Domestic- Appliances e.g washing
machine, vacuum cleaners, tap water
Transportation-vehicles, roads
Agriculture-tractors, fertilizer,
pesticides
Communication-mobile phones, e-mail,
internet
Medicine-better surgical techniques
and equipment

CAREERS IN SCIENCE
Botanist- specialist in plants
Zoologist- specialist in animals
Chemist- A person trained in chemistry
Astronomer- A person who studies
astronomy
Astronaut- A person trained to travel in
a spacecraft
Surgeon-performs medical operations

1.2 HAZARDOUS
SUBSTANCES FOUND IN
THE LABORATORY
-MISS NURUL AIN ASHIKIN BT
HALIN-

POISONOUS
CAUSES DEATH OR
HARM IF ABSORBED
THROUGH SKIN,
SWALLOWED OR
INHALED.
E.g.: mercury,
bromine, sodium
cyanide

FLAMMABLE
BURNS EASILY
E.g. ethanol,
petrol and
kerosene.

CORROSIVE
CAUSES
DAMAGES TO
SKIN AND EYES
UPON CONTACT
E.g. concentrated
sulphuric acid &
concentrated
sodium hydroxide

IRRITANT
CAUSES
DISCOMFORT TO
THE BODY
E.g.: ammonia and
chloroform

IRRITANT

RADIOACTIVE

GIVES OUT
RADIATION
E.g.: plutonium and
uranium

EXPLOSIVE
EXPLODES
EASILY
E.g. sodium
and potassium

LABORATORY APPARATUS

APPARATU FUNCTIONS
S
Test Tube
Hold small amounts of
liquid & for carrying out
reactions.
Test Tube
Hold a test tube when it is
Holder
being heated.
Beaker
Contain chemicals and for
carrying out reactions.
Conical
Contain chemicals and for
flask
carrying out reactions.

Spatula

Pick up solid
chemicals.
Thermomet Measure temperature.
er
Retort
To hold or clamp
Stand
apparatus.
Filter funnel Transfer liquid into a
container
Tripod
Support apparatus such
stand
as beakers when heating
them.

Pipette

To measure a fixed
volume of a liquid.

Burette

To measure a small volume

of a liquid accurately.

Test tube
rack

To place test tubes while

we are not using them.

Measuring To measure the volume of

cylinder
liquids.
Evaporati Evaporate liquid
ng dish

Bunsen Burner
To heat things.
Got 2 types of flames.

Luminous flame
(yellow flame)
When the air hole
is closed
Easy to see
because it is
luminous
Gives out a lot of
soot
Is not so hot
compared to blue

Non-luminous
flame (blue
flame)
When the air hole
is opened
Difficult to see
because it is nonluminous
Does not give out
soot
Is very hot

1.3 STEPS IN A SCIENTIFIC

INVESTIGATION

PROCESS SKILLS IN SCIENCE

Scientists obtain the
knowledge of science by
doing scientific
investigations.
Scientific investigations
involve the use of process
skills in science.

 Process skills in science include:

a)Asking questions (why, what, when, how)
b)Making observation (use the senses)
c)Taking measurements (thermometer,
analytical balance)
d)Recording data collected (table, sentences)
e)Analyzing and interpreting data (graph)
f) Making conclusions
g)Writing reports to communicate the
results.

STEPS IN SCIENTIFIC
INVESTIGATION
Identifying the problem

controlling variables
collecting data
data

making hypothesis

planning experiment
analyzing & interpreting

writing a report making conclusion

1.4
Physical Quantities and Their
Units

Physical Quantities
Are quantities that can be
measured.
Physical quantities are measured
in S.I units.
S.I is an abbreviation for the
French term Le Systeme
International d Unites. It means
International System of Units.

Example of physical quantities

and their S.I units
Physical
Quantity

S.I unit

Length

Metre (m)

mass

Kilogram (kg)

Time

second (s)

Temperature

Kelvin (K)

Electric current

Ampere (A)

Using prefixes in
measurements
We usually use prefixes when
the quantities we measure
have very big values or
very small values.
The use of prefixes make it
easier for us to write the
measurements.

Prefix

Symbol

True value of Value of the

the symbol
symbol in
the standard
form

tera

1000 000 000

000

X1012

giga

1000 000 000

X109

mega

1000 000

X106

kilo

1000

X103

deci

0.1

X10-1

centi

0.01

10X-2

mili

0.001

10X-3

micro

0.000001

10X-6

nano

0.000000001

10X-9

piko

0.0000000000
01

10X-12

PHYSICAL QUANTITIES
Rewrite the values of these
measurements using prefixes:
a) 90000 g = kg
b) 300 m = mm
c) 0.0055 kg = g
d) 0.04 km = m
e) 8.3 mg = kg
f) 3.8 mm = km

exercise
g) 3.4 kg = g
h) 8500 cm = m
i) 9800 000 s = ..s
j) 320 g = .kg
k)450 m = km
l) 12 500 000 m = Mm
m)4900 mg = kg

1.5 Concept of Mass and

weight

Concept of weight
Weight of an object is the force of the
gravitational pull that acts on the
object.
It can changes as it depends on the
gravitational attraction that acts on the
object at a given place.
The S.I unit for weight is newton (N)
Weight is measured by using a spring
balance or a compression balance.

spring balance

compression balance

Concept of mass
Is quantity of matter that is present in
the object.
It is fixed although it may be moved to
different places.
It doesnt influenced by the force of the
gravitational pull.
S.I unit for mass is kilogram (kg).
Is measured by using a lever balance, a
triple beam balance or an electronic
balance.

Lever balance

Triple beam balance

Electronic balance

differences between weight

and mass
Weight

Mass

Due to pull of the Earth

on the object

The amount of matter in

the object

Measured by spring
balance or compression
balance

Measured by lever
balance, triple balance or
electronic balance.

Value is not always the

same, depends on where
it is measured.

Fixed and does not

depend on where it is
measured.

S.I unit is Newton

S.I unit is Kilogram

1.6 Use of Measuring Tools

Measuring length
Length is usually measured in units of
kilometres, metres, centimetres and
milimetres.
S.I unit for length is metre (m).
Tools for measuring length:
a) the metre ruler, half-metre ruler or ruler
b) the measuring tape
c) external and internal caliper

The metre ruler, half-metre

ruler or ruler
To measure the
length of short
straight lines.
Correct eye position
is very important in
order to obtain an
accurate reading.

The measuring tape

To measure
the length of
long straight
lines.

The length of a curved

line
1) Using thread and a ruler
-Tie a small knot/make a mark with a
pen near the end of a piece of
cotton thread.
-Lay the thread along the curved
line a little at a time.
-then, measure the length of the
thread with a ruler.

The length of a curved

line

2) Opisometer (map measurer) &

ruler

External and internal

calipers
We can use calipers together with a
metre
ruler,
to
measure
the
diameters of round or cylindrical
objects.
External calipers: external diameter
of an object.
Internal calipers : internal diameter
of an object.

Internal Diameter

Internal Caliper

External Diameter

External Caliper

Measuring Area
We can estimate the area of
regular or irregular shapes by
tracing the shapes onto a piece of
graph paper.

Method:
1) Count the number of complete
squares.
2) An incomplete square is counted
if half or
more of the square is covered.
3)
Do not count an incomplete
square if less
than half of the square is covered.

Measuring Volume
We often need to measure the
volume of liquids.
We use a measuring cylinder,
burette or pipette to measure the
volume of a liquid.
We usually measure the volume of a
liquid in mililitres (ml) and the volume
of a solid in cubic centimetres (cm 3).

Burette

Pipette

Measuring cylinder

 Correct eye position is very

important when taking readings from
the scale of a measuring tool.

Water Displacement Method

To find the volume of a regular object
and irregular object.
In this method, the object is dropped
into a measuring cylinder. This will
cause the water level in the measuring
cylinder to rise. The water level rises
because the water in the measuring
cylinder has been displaced by the
object.

y mL

x mL

 The volume of water displaced = y-x

The volume of the stone = The
volume of water displaced.
= (y-x) ml = (y-x) cm3

conclusion
We can measure physical quantities
accurately by using a suitable
measuring tools.
The accuracy of our measurements
can be improved by:
a)Avoiding parallax error.
b)Using a hand lens to help us to
see the scale more clearly.

Importance of standard
units in everyday life
CHAPTER 1.7

 The use of standard units make it

easier for people from different
countries to communicate with
each other.
The use of a standard unit means a
measurement in that unit has the
same value anywhere in the world.