Lab: Measurement Tools

We conducted a lab to show the difference between how to weigh an object using a Spring Scale and how to find the mass of an object using the Triple Beam Balance. This is a concept that is somewhat confusing to students, but I wanted to make it clear to the students by bringing in something that they would not forgot. To show that weight is really the force of gravity bearing down on an object I brought in a whole fish. Students used a Spring Scale to find the weight of the fish.

Students also used a variety of measurement tools to find different temperature values. One beaker contained room temperature water. We added ice to the same water to see how much the temperature of the water changed.