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1IZTJDTBOEQIZTJDBM
NFBTVSFNFOU
Range of magn|tudes of quant|t|es |n our
un|verse
Physics seeks to explain the universe itself, from the very large to the very
small. At the large end, the size of the visible universe is thought to be around
10
25
m, and the age of the universe some 10
18
s. The total mass of the universe is
estimated to be 10
50
kg.
The reaIm of physics 1.1
AssessmehI sIaIemehIs
!.!.! Slale and compare quanlilies lo lhe nearesl order ol magnilude.
!.!.2 Slale lhe ranges ol magnilude ol dislances, masses and limes lhal
occur in lhe universe, lrom lhe smallesl lo lhe largesl.
!.!.3 Slale ralios ol quanlilies as dillerenl orders ol magnilude.
!.!.4 Lslimale approximale values ol everyday quanlilies lo one or lwo
signilcanl lgures and/or lo lhe nearesl order ol magnilude.
|c. Jc .o krc. .|| t||s |s t.uo`
\|.t || t|o.o |s nc.o t|.r cro
ur|vo.so`
A p|.rot ..s .ocort|y J|sccvo.oJ |r
t|o ccrsto||.t|cr ||b.. (.bcut 20 ||g|t
yo..s |.cn |..t|) t|.t |.s .|| t|o .|g|t
ccrJ|t|crs tc suppc.t .||or |||o ||s
..t|sts |np.oss|cr s|c.s us |c. |t
n|g|t |cck
2
1IZTJDTBOEQIZTJDBMNFBTVSFNFOU 1
|ost n.ss |s t|o n.ss c| . p..t|c|o
.|or .t .ost, t|o n.ss |rc.o.sos ||
t|o p..t|c|o ncvos |.st orcug|
|| .o c.r sp||t .r .tcn .|y c.rt
.o sp||t .r o|oct.cr`
The diameter of an atom is about 10
10
m, and of a nucleus 10
15
m. The smallest
particles may be the quarks, probably less than 10
18
m in size, but there is a much
smaller fundamental unit of length, called the Planck length, which is around 10
35
m.
There are good reasons for believing that this is a lower limit for length, and we
accept the speed of light in a vacuum to be an upper limit for speed (3 10
8
ms
1
).
This enables us to calculate an approximate theoretical lower limit for time:
time =
distance
_______
speed
=
10
35
m
________
10
8
ms
1
= 10
43
s.
If the quarks are truly fundamental, then their mass would give us a lower limit.
Quarks hide themselves inside protons and neutrons so it is not easy to measure
them. Our best guess is that the mass of the lightest quark, called the UPQUARK, is
around 10
30
kg, and this is also the approximate rest mass of the electron.
You need to be able to state ratios of quantities as differences of orders of magnitude.
For example, the approximate ratio of the diameter of an atom to its nucleus is:
10
10
m
_______
10
15
m
= 10
5
10
5
is known as a difference of fve orders of magnitude.
Scno p|ys|c|sts t||rk t|.t t|o.o ..o
st||| urJ|sccvo.oJ p..t|c|os .|cso
s|.o |s ..curJ t|o ||.rck |orgt|
\|.t ..o t|o .o.scrs |c. t|o.o
bo|rg . |c.o. ||n|t |c. |orgt|`
\|y s|cu|J t|o.o bo . |c.o. ||n|t
|c. t|no`
|.cJuct|cr .rJ Joc.y c| bcttcn ,u..ks
|o.o ..o s|x typos c| ,u..ks c.||oJ VQ,
EPXO, DIBSN, TUSBOHF, UPQ .rJ CPUUPN
Figure 1.1 |o ox.ct pcs|t|cr c|
o|oct.crs |r .r .tcn |s urco.t.|r, .o
c.r cr|y s.y .|o.o t|o.o |s . ||g|
p.cb.b|||ty c| |rJ|rg t|on
3
This is not a small ratio; it means that if the atom were as big as a football pitch,
then the nucleus would be about the size of a pea on the centre circle. This implies
that most of the atoms of all matter consist of entirely empty space.
Another example is that the ratio of the rest mass of the proton to the rest mass of
the electron is of the order:
1.67 10
27
kg
_____________
9.11 10
31
kg
2 10
3
You should be able to do these estimations without using a calculator.
You also need to be able to estimate approximate values of everyday quantities to
one or two signifcant fgures.
For example, estimate the answers to the following:
How high is a two-storey house in metres:
What is the diameter of the pupil of your eye:
How many times does your heart beat in an hour when you are relaxed:
What is the weight of an apple in newtons:
What is the mass of the air in your bedroom:
What pressure do you exert on the ground when standing on one foot:
There is help with these estimates at the end of the chapter.
Measurement and uncertainties 1.2
AssessmehI sIaIemehIs
!.2.! Slale lhe lundamenlal unils in lhe Sl syslem.
!.2.2 Dislinguish belween lundamenlal and derived unils and give
examples ol derived unils.
!.2.3 Converl belween dillerenl unils ol quanlilies.
!.2.4 Slale unils in lhe accepled Sl lormal.
!.2.5 Slale values in scienlilc nolalion and in mulliples ol unils wilh
appropriale prelxes.
!.2.6 Describe and give examples ol random and syslemalic errors.
!.2.7 Dislinguish belween precision and accuracy.
!.2.8 Lxplain how lhe ellecls ol random errors may be reduced.
!.2.9 Calculale quanlilies and resulls ol calculalions lo lhe appropriale
number ol signilcanl lgures.
!.2.!0 Slale uncerlainlies as absolule, lraclional and percenlage uncerlainlies.
!.2.!! Delermine lhe uncerlainlies in resulls.
!.2.!2 ldenlily uncerlainlies as error bars in graphs.
!.2.!3 Slale random uncerlainly as an uncerlainly range () and represenl il
graphically as an 'error bar'.
!.2.!4 Delermine lhe uncerlainlies in lhe slope and inlercepls ol a slraighl
line graph.
1 |o J|.noto. c| . p.ctcr |s c| t|o c.Jo. c| n.gr|tuJo c|
A 10
12
n b 10
15
n 10
18
n | 10
21
n
Exerc|se
|| ncst c| t|o .tcn |s onpty sp.co
.|y Jcos stu| |oo| sc sc||J`
4
1IZTJDTBOEQIZTJDBMNFBTVSFNFOU 1
The SI system of fundamenta| and der|ved un|ts
If you want to measure something, you have to use a unit. For example, it is useless
to say that a person`s mass is 10, 60, 140 or 600 if we do not know whether it is
measured in kilograms or some other unit such as stones or pounds. In the old
days, units were rather random; your mass might be measured in stones, but your
height would not be measured in sticks, but in feet.
Soon after the French Revolution, the International System of units was developed.
They are called the SI units because SI stands for Systme International.
There are seven base, or fundamental, SI units and they are listed in the table
below.
Name Symbol CohcepI
melre or meler m lenglh
kilogram kg mass
second s second
ampere A eleclric currenl
kelvin K lemperalure
mole mol amounl ol maller
candela cd inlensily ol lighl
Mechanics is the study of matter, motion, forces and energy. With combinations
of the frst three base units (metre, kilogram and second), we can develop all the
other units of mechanics.
density =
mass
_______
volume
kg m
3
speed =
distance
_______
time
m s
1
As the concepts become more complex, we give them new units. The derived SI
units you will need to know are as follows:
Name Symbol CohcepI
8rokeh dowh ihIo
base SI uhiIs
newlon N lorce or weighl kg m s
2
joule J energy or work kg m
2
s
2
wall W power kg m
2
s
3
pascal Pa pressure kg m
!
s
2
herlz Hz lrequency s
!
coulomb C eleclric charge As
voll V polenlial dillerence kg m
2
s
3
A
!
ohm U resislance kg m
2
s
3
A
2
lesla T magnelic leld slrenglh kg s
2
A
!
weber Wb magnelic lux kg m
2
s
2
A
!
becquerel 8q radioaclivily s
!
Scno pocp|o t||rk t|o |cct ..s
b.soJ cr, c. Jo|roJ by, t|o |orgt|
c| t|o |cct c| .r |rg||s| k|rg, but |t
c.r bo t..coJ b.ck tc t|o .rc|ort
|gypt|.rs
|o syston c| ur|ts .o rc. c.|| S|
..s c.|g|r.||y Jovo|cpoJ cr t|o
c.Jo.s c| ||rg |cu|s `\| c| |..rco
|o ur|t |c. |orgt| ..s Jo|roJ
|r to.ns c| t|o J|st.rco |.cn t|o
o,u.tc. tc t|o pc|o, t||s J|st.rco
..s J|v|JoJ |rtc 10 000 o,u.| p..ts
.rJ t|oso .o.o c.||oJ k||cnot.os
|o ur|t |c. n.ss ..s Jo|roJ |r
to.ns c| pu.o ..to. .t . co.t.|r
tonpo..tu.o, cro ||t.o (c. 1000 cn
3
)
|.s . n.ss c| ox.ct|y cro k||cg..n
|ut .rct|o. ..y, 1 cn
3
c| ..to.
|.s . n.ss c| ox.ct|y 1 g..n
|o ur|ts c| t|no gc b.ck tc t|o
.rc|orts, .rJ t|o soccrJ ..s
s|np|y .ccoptoJ .s . |..ct|cr
c| . sc|.. J.y |o b.so ur|t |c.
o|oct.|c|ty, t|o .npo.o, |s Jo|roJ
|r to.ns c| t|o |c.co bot.oor t.c
cu..ortc...y|rg .|.os .rJ t|o ur|t
|c. tonpo..tu.o, t|o ko|v|r, ccnos
|.cn .r o..||o. sc.|o Jovo|cpoJ by
. S.oJ|s| n.r c.||oJ o|s|us
5
Worked exampIes
1 Give units for the following expressed as (i) the derived unit (ii) base SI units:
(a) force
(b) kinetic energy.
2 Check if these equations work by substituting units into them.
(a) power = work/time or energy/time
(b) power = force velocity
4PMVUJPOT
1 (a) (i) N (ii) kg (m s
2
) or kg m s
2
(b) (i) J (ii) kg (m s
1
)
2
or kg m
2
s
2
2 (a) W : J/s or W : (kg m
2
s
2
)/s or W : kg m
2
s
3
(b) W : N (m s
1
) or W : (kg m s
2
) (m s
1
) or W : kg m
2
s
3
In addition to the above, there are also a few important units that are not
technically SI, including:
Name Symbol CohcepI
lilre l volume
minule, hour, year, elc. min, h, y, elc. lime
kilowall-hour kWh energy
eleclronvoll eV energy
degrees celsius C lemperalure
decibel d8 loudness
uniled alomic mass unil u mass ol nucleon
xaminer's hint:
|c.co = n.ss .cco|o..t|cr
xaminer's hint:
k|rot|c oro.gy =
1
_
2
nv
2
2 \||c| one c| t|o |c||c.|rg ur|ts |s . ur|t c| oro.gy`
A o\ b \ s
1
\ n
1
| | n s
1
3 \||c| one c| t|o |c||c.|rg ||sts . Jo.|voJ ur|t .rJ . |urJ.nort.| ur|t`
A .npo.o soccrJ
b ccu|cnb k||cg..n
ccu|cnb ro.tcr
| not.o k||cg..n
Exerc|ses
6
1IZTJDTBOEQIZTJDBMNFBTVSFNFOU 1
Worked exampIe
Convert these units to SI:.
(a) year (b) C (c) kWh (d) eV
4PMVUJPO
(a) 1 year = 1 365 days 24 hours 60 minutes 60 seconds
3.15 10
7
s
(b) Here are some common conversions:
0 K = 273 C
273 K = 0 C
300 K = 27 C
373 K = 100 C
(c) 1 kWh (energy) = 1000 W (power) 3600 s (time)
= 3 600 000 J
= 3.6 10
6
J
(d) electrical energy = electric charge potential difference
1 eV = 1.6 10
19
C 1 V
= 1.6 10
19
J
The SI units can be modifed by the use of prefxes such as MILLI as in millimetre
(mm) and KILO as in kilometre (km). The number conversions on the prefxes are
always the same; MILLI always means one thousandth or 10
3
and KILO always means
one thousand or 10
3
.
These are the most common SI prefxes:
Prex AbbreviaIion VaIue
lera T !0
!2
giga C !0
9
mega M !0
6
kilo k !0
3
cenli c !0
2
milli m !0
3
micro !0
6
nano n !0
9
pico p !0
!2
lemlo l !0
!5
xaminer's hint: c c|.rgo k||c..tt
|cu.s tc cu|os |rvc|vos us|rg t|o
o,u.t|cr
oro.gy = pc.o. t|no
1 k\ = 1000 \
.rJ 1 |cu. = 60 60 soccrJs
xaminer's hint: |o o|oct.crvc|t
|s Jo|roJ .s t|o oro.gy g.|roJ by .r
o|oct.cr .cco|o..toJ t|.cug| . pctort|.|
J||o.orco c| cro vc|t Sc t|o o|oct.crvc|t
|s o,u.| tc t|o c|..go cr .r o|oct.cr
nu|t|p||oJ by cro vc|t
4 |.rgo 2 360 000 ' tc sc|ort||c rct.t|cr .rJ tc V '
5 A pcpu|.. ..J|c st.t|cr |.s . |.o,uorcy c| 1 090 000 |. |.rgo t||s tc sc|ort||c rct.t|cr .rJ tc V|.
6 |o .vo..go ..vo|orgt| c| .||to ||g|t |s 50 10
2.0
tlme (s) 0.2
outller
dlstance
(m) 0.l
3.0
l.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
___
20
& = 20 N cos 60 = 10 N
xaminer's hint: |r t|o .|g|t.rg|oJ
t.|.rg|o Ab, t|o Yccnpcrort (') |s
.J.cort tc t|o 60 .rg|o .|||o t|o 20 |
|c.co |s t|o |ypctoruso
12 A |c.co c| 35 | pu||s . b.|ck cr . |ovo| su.|.co .t .r .rg|o c| 40 tc t|o |c.|.crt.| |o |.|ct|cr.|
|c.co cppcs|rg t|o nct|cr |s 68| \|.t |s t|o .osu|t.rt |c.co ' p...||o| tc t|o borc|`
Exerc|se
xaminer's hint: |o.o |s .r ox.np|o
c| |c. not tc .rs.o. . b.s|c ,uost|cr
||rJ Y