IntroductoryPhysics

PhysicalQuantities,Units
andMeasurement
(Updated:20150702)

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SutharsanJohnIsles

ExpectedPriorKnowledge

Itisassumedthatyouknowthefollowing
sufficientlywell.Ifyoufeelthatyoudonot
knowthemsufficiently,pleasevisitthosetopics
inyourbooksbeforecontinuingfurther:
{
{
{
{
{
{

MathematicalSymbols
TheRealNumberSystem
FractionsandDecimals
SignificantFigures
AnglesandBearings
Indices
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Terminology

Afeature
{

anoticeablepartofsomething
http://simple.wiktionary.org/wiki/feature

Whatdoyounoticeaboutthetwolinesbelow?

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Terminology

Acharacteristic
{

atypicalfeatureofsomething
http://simple.wiktionary.org/wiki/characteristic

Compare the vehicles below. What is characteristic of both

vehicles?

Alimousine

Anordinarycar
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Terminology

Aproperty
{

somethingthatgivesanobjectitscharacteristics

Observe a piece of rubber band. What do you notice when

it is pulled and released? What could you say is
characteristic of objects made with the same type of
material? Ultimately, what can you say is a property of
rubber?
Note: Rubber is not the only elastic material. (Spandex used
in stretch jeans, is another example.)
SutharsanJohnIsles

Terminology

Physical
{

something that is real in the sense that it can be

seen, felt, etc. (i.e. not imaginary) and can thus be
described in terms of what you observe or perceive
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_property

Consider the following:

You can feel the effects of a force (throwing you off) as you
stand at the edge on a merrygoround while it is spinning.
You can see that one line is longer than the other.
SutharsanJohnIsles

Terminology

Aphysicalproperty
{

ameasurable(orperceived)propertyofsomething
observablewithouthavingtochangethe
compositionoridentityofthatthing

Examples of physical properties include the

following:

Length
Mass
Colour
Smell

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Temperature
Solubility
Resistivity
Conductivity
8

Terminology

Thefollowingaresubsetsofphysical
properties:
{
{
{
{

Mechanicalproperties
Electricalproperties
Thermalproperties
Opticalproperties

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Terminology

Aquantity
{

somethingthatcanbequantified(givena
numberto)

Aphysicalquantity
{

aphysicalpropertythatcanbeexpressedin
numbers

E.g.Lengthbeingquantified:13 cm

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Units

Therearetwocommonsystemsofunits:
{

SIunits(SystmeInternationaldUnits)

E.g.metre,kilogram,second

TheBritishengineeringsystem(a.k.a.
imperialsystemofunits)

E.g.foot,pound,second

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11

WhySIUnits?

Tworeasons:
{

Facilitatesinternationaltradeand
communications
Facilitatesexchangeofscientificfindingsand
information

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PhysicalQuantities

Thesemaybedividedintobasequantities
andderivedquantities.
Basequantitiesareexpressedinbase
units.
Derivedquantitiesareexpressedin
derivedunits.
Therearesevenbasequantities andthus
sevenbaseunits.
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SIBaseQuantities&Units
Quantity

Symbol

Unit

Abbreviation

Length

metre

Mass

kilogram

kg

Time

seconds

Electric current

ampere

Thermodynamic temperature

kelvin

Amount of substance

mole

mol

Luminous intensity

Iv

candela

cd

http://www.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/chapter2/21/
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CommonSIPrefixesforUnits
Prefix Symbol

Value

Decimal Equivalent

Scale (Short)
quadrillion

peta

1015

1 000 000 000 000 000

tera

1012

1 000 000 000 000

trillion

giga

109

1 000 000 000

billion

mega

106

1 000 000

million

kilo

103

1 000

deci

10-1

0.1

tenth

centi

10-2

0.01

hundredth

milli

10-3

0.001

thousandth

micro

10-6

0.000 001

millionth

nano

10-9

0.000 000 001

billionth

thousand

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_and_short_scales
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Multiples&Submultiples
ofSIUnits TheMetre
Multiples
Value Symbol

Submultiples
Name

Value Symbol

Name

103 m

km

kilometre

10-1 m

dm

decimetre

106 m

Mm

megametre

10-2 m

cm

centimetre

109 m

Gm

gigametre

10-3 m

mm

millimetre

1012 m

Tm

terametre

10-6 m

micrometre

1015 m

Pm

petametre

10-9 m

nm

nanometre

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metre
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Conversionbetweenmultiples
andsubmultiplesofabaseunit

Howdoyouconvertfromkilometrestometres?
{

E.g.Convert3 km tometres
Solution
3 km = 3 kilo metre
= 3 1000 1 m
= 3000 m

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Conversionbetweenmultiples&
submultiplesofabaseunit

Howdoyouconvertfrommetrestokilometres?
{

E.g.Convert70 m tokilometres
Solution
Beginwith1 km = 1000 m
1
Recognisethat1 m =
km
1000
1
70 m = 70
km
1000
= 0.07 km
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Conversionbetweenmultiples&
submultiplesofabaseunit

Howdoyouconvertfrommillimetresto
metres?
{

E.g.Convert45 mm tometres
Solution

1
45 mm = 45
metre
1000
1
= 45
1 m
1000
45
m
=
1000
= 0.045 m
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Conversionbetweenmultiples&
submultiplesofabaseunit

Howdoyouconvertfrommillimetresto
centimetres?
{

E.g.Convert13 mm tocentimetres
Solution

1
metre
13 mm = 13
1000
1
1
= 13
1 m
100
10
1
= 13 cm
10
= 1.3 cm
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Conversionbetweenmultiples&
submultiplesofabaseunit

Howdoyouconvertfromcentimetresto
millimetres?
{

E.g.Convert11.5 cm tomillimetres
Solution
1
11.5 cm = 11.5
metre
100
10
= 11.5
1 m
1000
1
= 115
1 m
1000
= 115 mm
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SIDerivedQuantities&Units

Derivedunitsaredefinedasproductsofpowers
ofthebaseunits.
http://www.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/chapter1/14.html

Therearederivedunitsexpressedonlyinterms
ofbaseunits.
{

E.g.squaremetres[m2],metrespersecond[m/s],
etc.

Therearealsoderivedunitswithspecialnames,
usuallynamesofscientists,andsymbolsfor
theirunits.
{

E.g.Newtons[N],Pascal[Pa],etc.
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SIDerivedQuantities&Units
Name

Symbol

Derivation

Unit

area

mm

m2

volume

m2 m

m3

speed, velocity

ms

m/s

acceleration

m/s s

m/s2

density

kg m3

kg/m3

force

kg m/s2

kg m/s2 = N

pressure

N m2

N/m2 = Pa

E, W

Nm

Nm=J

power

Js

J/s = W

electrical charge

As

As=C

electric potential difference

WA

W/A = V

electrical resistance

VA

V/A =

(or M)

Nm

Nm

energy, work

moment of force (torque)

Note highlighted: Essence of derivation in each case is different.

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Trivia

Doyouknowthefullnamesofscientists
afterwhomthefollowingunitswerenamed?
{
{
{
{
{
{
{

Newton
Pascal
Joule
Watt
Coulomb
Volt
Ohm

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Conversionbetweenmultiples&
submultiplesofderivedunits

Howdoyouconvertfromsquaredcentimetres
tosquaredmetres?
{

E.g.Convert8 cm2 tosquaredmetres

Solution
8 cm 2 = 1 cm 8 cm

1
1
= 1
1 m 8
1 m
100
100
1
=8
1 m2
10000
= 0.0008 m 2
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StandardForm

Alsocalledthescientificnotation,itisa
wayofrepresentingnumbersthataretoo
largeortoosmall.
ItisgenerallydenotedasA 10n,where
1A <10andA c R andn isaninteger.
Dependingontherequirement,A canbe
inanynumberofsignificantfigures.
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StandardForm Examples

Howdoyouexpress0.0008 instandardform?
Solution
8
0.0008 =
10000
8
= 4
10
= 8 104

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StandardForm Examples

Howdoyouexpress80000 instandardform?
Solution
80000 = 8 10000

= 8 104

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StandardForm Examples

Oneofthebestestimatestoanumbercalledthe
AvogadrosNumberis
602,214,141,070,409,084,099,072.Ifonlythefirst4
digitsofthisnumberweresignificant,howwouldyou
expressthisnumberinstandardform?
Solution
602214141070409084099072
602200000000000000000000
= 6.022 1023

http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/an-exact-value-for-avogadros-number
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ScalarandVectorQuantities

Ascalarquantityhasmagnitudeonly and
iscompletely describedbyacertain
numberwithappropriateunits.
{

E.g.Thedistance is7 m.

Otherexamplesofscalarquantities
includemass,time andtemperature.

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ScalarandVectorQuantities

Avectorquantityhasbothamagnitude
andadirection andcanberepresentedby
astraightlineinaparticulardirection.
{

E.g.Thedisplacement is5 m inthedirection

045.

Otherexamplesofvectorquantities
includevelocity,force andmomentum.

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ScalarandVectorQuantities

Whyisitusefultounderstandwhichquantityisavector
andwhichquantityisascalar?
{

Considerthefollowingformulawherev isthefinalvelocity,u is
theinitialvelocity,a istheaccelerationandt isthetimefor
whichthevehicleaccelerated:
v = u + at

{
{
{

Solvefora whenv =10 m/s,u =0 m/s andt =2 s.

Solvefora whenu =10m/s,v =0 m/s andt =2 s.
Whatdoyouobserveabouttheanswers?

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32

ScalarandVectorQuantities

Theformulaforavectorquantityisdesigned
withtheallowanceforpositiveandnegative
valuesanddifferenceinmeaningforeach.
Accelerationisavectorquantity.
{

Anegativeaccelerationisactuallyadeceleration.

Negativevaluesindicategoinginordoingthe
opposite.
Canascalarquantityhaveanegativevalue?
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ScalarandVectorQuantities

Temperatureisascalarquantity.
Whiletemperaturesmayhavenegativevalues,
theydonotrepresentachangeindirection.
Atemperaturereadingatanypointintimeisa
staticfigure.

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34

PrecisionandAccuracy

Thetermprecision referstohowconsistentlyan
instrumentmeasuressomething.
Accuracy,ontheotherhand,referstohow
closethemeasuredvalueistotheactualvalue.
Thus,aninstrumentcanbeprecise,but
inaccurate.
{

E.g.
Aclockthatisconsistentlyoneminutelateatany
pointintime.
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NotesonAccuracy

Howaccuratethereadingis,isdependent
onthetypeofinstrumentbeingused.This
isreferredtothedegreeofaccuracy.
Itisimportanttokeepinmindthe
sensitivityandstabilityoftheinstrument
whenmeasuring,especiallyinthecaseof
thermometers.Thesecanaffectaccuracy
aswell.
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TheRuler

Lookattherulershown.
Whatwouldyousayisthedegreeof
accuracyofthisinstrument?

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TheModernVernierCallipers

Can you name the

parts of this
instrument?

Image source: http://www.mitutoyo.co.jp/eng/useful/catalog/pdf/202.pdf

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38

TheModernVernierCallipers
Inside jaws
Screw clamp
Depth probe

Vernier scale

Main scale

Outside jaws
Image source: http://www.mitutoyo.co.jp/eng/useful/catalog/pdf/202.pdf
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39

TheModernVernierCallipers

InventedbyPierre
Vernier.
Thewordvernieris
nowusedtoreferto
certainmovablepartsof
measuringinstruments.
Measurestoanaccuracy
of0.01 cm or0.1 mm

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40

TheMicrometerScrewGauge

Do you think you can

name the parts of this
instrument?

Image source: http://www.mitutoyo.co.jp/eng/useful/catalog/pdf/50.pdf

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TheMicrometerScrewGauge
Anvil

Spindle

Sleeve (with main scale)

Lock

Thimble
Rotating
scale

Ratchet

Frame
Image source: http://www.mitutoyo.co.jp/eng/useful/catalog/pdf/50.pdf
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42

TheMicrometerScrewGauge

Thefirstmicrometric
screwwasinventedby
WilliamGascoigneand
themoderndayMSGisa
resultofaseriesof
adaptationsbyother
inventors.
Measurestoanaccuracy
of0.001 cm or0.01 mm

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43

ComparingAccuracies

Note:
Whiletheword
accuracyhasbeen
used,itshouldbenoted
thatnomeasurement
canbesaidtobe100%
accurateandthere
wouldalwaysbea
certainlevelof
uncertainty.

Device
Ruler
Vernier Calipers
Micrometer
Screw Gauge

SutharsanJohnIsles

Accuracy
1 mm
0.1 mm
0.01 mm

44

Acknowledgement

Createdby: Sutharsan JohnIsles

Mathematica fontsbyWolframResearch,Inc.
References
{
{
{
{
{
{
{
{

http://www.wikipedia.org
http://www.bipm.org/en/home/
Giancoli,D.C.(2005).Physics:Principleswithapplications.Upper
SaddleRiver,NJ:PearsonEducation,Inc.
Duncan,T.(2000).Advancedphysics.London,UK:Hodder Murray.
Chang,R.(1994).Chemistry.Hightstown,NJ:McGrawHill,Inc.
Hughes,E.(1888).Hugheselectricalandelectronictechnology (10th
ed.).Harlow,England:PearsonEducationLimited
Poh,L.Y.(2007).EffectiveguidetoOLevelPhysics(2nded.).
Singapore:PearsonEducationSouthAsiaPteLtd.
Billstein,R.,Libeskind,S.&Lott,J.W.(2001).Aproblemsolving
approachtomathematicsforelementaryschoolteachers.(7thed.).
Reading,MA:AddisonWesleyLongman
SutharsanJohnIsles

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