PHYSICS MEASUREMENT

Measurement
1. Measurement means the comparison of an unknown quantity with some known quantity. This
known fixed quantity is called a unit.
2. A physical quantity is a quantity which can be measured.
Examples: Length, time, volume, temperature
3. The quantities which do not depend on other quantities are known as fundamental quantities.
Examples: Mass, length, time
4. The quantities which depend on other quantities are known as derived quantities.
Examples: Area depends on length and breadth, density depends on mass and volume, speed
depends on distance and time
5. The units of measurement used in ancient times were
1. Length of the foot

2. Width of the finger

3. Cubit

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4. Hand span

6. For the sake of uniformity, the International System of Units (SI units) was adopted as the most
widely used system of measurement.
Quantity
Length
Mass
Time
Temperature

Unit

Symbol

metre
kilogram
second
Kelvin

m
kg
s
K

7. The units which are used to measure large quantities are called multiple units, and the units which
are used to measure smaller quantities are called sub-multiple units.
8. Because the fundamental units are not sufficient to measure all the quantities, the derived units are
used.
Sr. Physical
Equation
No. quantity
1.
Area
Length Breadth
2.
Volume
Length Breadth
Height
3.
Density
Mass
Volume
4.
Speed
Distance
Time

Derived unit
metre metre
metre metre metre
kilogram
metre3
metre
sec

Symbol
m2
m3
kg/m3 or kgm-3
m/s or ms-1

9. The SI unit of length is metre. Each metre (m) is divided into 100 equal divisions called centimetre
(cm).

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10. Devices for measuring length
1. The length of a straight line is measured by a metre scale or ruler correctly, without a parallax
error.

2. Large lengths are measured by a device called a measuring tape.

3. Round objects are measured by using callipers.

4. The length of a curved surface is measured using a thread.

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5. The diameter of a sphere is measured with a scale. The sphere is placed between two blocks as
shown in the figure. The distance between the blocks is the diameter of the sphere.

6. To measure the thickness of thin objects, such as coins or paper, it is required to stack them
together.

11. Vernier callipers are used to measure the length and depth of small objects up to 0.1 mm. It is also
called slide calliper.
12. The screw gauge is used to measure the diameter of a wire or the thickness of paper up to 0.01 mm.
13. The space occupied by an object is called the area or the surface area. The SI unit of area is square
metre (m2).
14. The amount of material or matter in a body is called mass. It is the quantity of matter which the body
contains regardless of its volume or any force acting on it.
15. The SI unit of mass is kilogram (kg) and the CGS unit is gram (g).
16. The mass of a body is measured with the help of a balance.

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17. The space occupied by a body is called its volume or capacity. The SI unit of volume is cubic metre,
i.e. metre3 = m3.
18. The solids of regular shapes (without curves) are called regular solids.
19. The volume of a liquid is expressed in litre (l).
20. Time is the interval between two instances or events. It is also measured with the help of mean solar
day.
21. The standard unit of time is a second and is represented by the symbol s. The larger units of time
are minute (min) and hour (h).
22. The pendulum is used to measure time. It consists of a small metal ball called a bob, attached to an
inextensible string which is fixed to a rigid support.

23. The time taken by the bob of the pendulum to make one complete oscillation is called its time period.
24. The different devices used for measuring time are the stop watch and stop clock.
25. Temperature is defined as the degree of hotness or coldness of a body. It is measured in degree
Celsius (C).

26. A thermometer is a device which measures the temperature in a reliable manner.

27. A reference scale with respect to which the temperatures can be measured is known as scale of
temperature.

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28. A clinical thermometer is used to measure the temperature of the human body.

29. A laboratory thermometer is used to measure the temperatures or temperature changes of other
objects.
30. A maximumminimum thermometer is used to measure the daily temperatures in order to prepare
weather reports. It is also known as Sixs thermometer.
31. Approximation or estimation is a quick judgement about any measurement.

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