Final answer:
The best unit for measuring the mass of a colony of bacteria is grams (g). Grams are a smaller unit of the kilogram, which is the base SI unit for mass, making grams suitable for measuring small samples like bacterial colonies. The correct answer is option b.
Step-by-step explanation:
The most appropriate unit for measuring the mass of a colony of bacteria is grams (g). Mass is a measure of the amount of matter that an object contains, and in the context of a biology laboratory, we often deal with small quantities. The base SI unit of mass is the kilogram (kg), but for such small samples like bacterial colonies, grams, which are 1/1000 of a kilogram, are more suitable. In contrast, liters measure volume, meters measure length, and kilowatts measure power, making them unsuitable for measuring mass. Therefore, the correct option for this question is (b) Grams.
Abbreviations for units related to mass and their definition in terms of the base unit are important to understand. For example:
- Kilometer (km) - 1,000 meters (m), the base unit of length.
- Milligram (mg) - 1/1,000 of a gram (g), the base SI unit smaller than a kilogram.
- Nanosecond (ns) - 1/1,000,000,000 of a second (s), the base unit of time.
- Centiliter (cL) - 1/100 of a liter (L), the unit used to measure volume.
To measure the mass of items in a lab or classroom, using the correct unit is crucial for accuracy. For solid masses like bacterial colonies, measurements in grams are usually accurate and convenient.