Chapter 1: Units, Physical

Quantities, and Vectors

University Physics I
PHYS 2425
Richland College
Dallas, Texas

Pearson Education holds the copyright for most parts of this document.
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In this chapter we will study these topics:

• Definition of PHYSICS, Physical Theory, and Physical Law
• Units of Measurement
• Reference Point and Frame of Reference
• Working with units and significant figures in calculations
• Vector and scalar quantities
• Addition and subtraction of vectors graphically and using vector
components
• Unit vectors
• Multiplication of vectors: the scalar (dot) product and the vector (cross)
product
• Steps for solving problems in Physics
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Definition of Physics
• PHYSICS
• From greek “φύσις”, which means “nature”.
• Was referred to (together with Chemistry) until the 19th century as “Natural
Philosophy”
• Isaac Newton’s famous book on mechanics (a branch of Physics) is called “Philosophiæ
Naturalis Principia Mathematica” (“Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”)
• General dictionary definition: A science that deals with matter, energy, and
their interactions. (merriam-webster.com)
• Physics is an experimental science in which physicists seek patterns
that relate the phenomena of nature.
• The patterns are called physical theories.
• A very well established or widely used theory is called a physical law or
principle.
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What can be measured in Physics?

The most fundamental measurements in Physics are for:
• Mass
• Length
• Area
• Volume
• Time
• Temperature
• Force
• Electric Current
• Electric Voltage
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Units of Measurement
• A measuring unit is a standard magnitude of a quantity (for example:
length) used to measure that quantity in different situations
• In Science, units are adopted by convention
• Units are sometimes called dimensions (do not confuse with spatial dimensions)
• Why it is important to standardize units of measurement?
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Units of Measurement: Standardization

• Standardization of the rod and the foot units in medieval Germany:

“To correctly and legally find the length

of a rod, according to the scientific use,
proceed as follows: Stand at the door
of a church on a Sunday, and ask
sixteen men to stay, tall and short, as
they leave the church after the service.
Then make them place their left feet in
line one after another. The length thus
obtained will be a rod, correct and legal
to measure and survey the land, and its
sixteenth part will be a correct and
legal foot.”
Jacob Kobel, “Von Ursprung der Teilung” (1522) From the book “Physics in Perspective”, by Eugene Hecht
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Units of Measurements: The SI units

• International System (SI) of Units
• Established in the 1960s by the international scientific community
• Based mostly on the metric system (created during 18th century)
• Meter for length
• Seconds for time
• Kilograms for mass
• Kelvin for temperature
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Units prefixes
• Prefixes can be used to create larger and smaller units for the
fundamental quantities. Some examples are:
• 1 µm = 10−6 m (size of some bacteria and living cells)
• 1 km = 103 m (a 10-minute walk)
• 1 mg = 10−6 kg (mass of a grain of salt)
• 1 g = 10−3 kg (mass of a paper clip)
• 1 ns = 10−9 s (time for light to travel 0.3 m)
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Using and converting units

• An equation must be dimensionally consistent. Terms to be added or
equated must always have the same units. (Be sure you’re adding
“apples to apples.”)
• Always carry units through calculations.
• Convert to standard units as necessary, by forming a ratio of the same
physical quantity in two different units, and using it as a multiplier.
• This is called a conversion factor
• For example, to find the number of seconds in 3 min, we write:
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Significant Figures
• The uncertainty of a measured quantity is indicated by its number of
significant figures.
• For multiplication and division, the answer can have no more
significant figures than the smallest number of significant figures in
the factors.
• For addition and subtraction, the number of significant figures is
determined by the term having the fewest digits to the right of the
decimal point.
Scientific Notation
• Also known as powers-of-10 notation
• Useful for showing significant figures in very large or very small
numbers.
• Example:
• 384,000,000 m = 3.84 x 108 m (Distance from Earth to Moon)
• 0.000000000000000000160 C = 1.60 x 10-19 C (magnitude charge electron)
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Reference Point
• Reference Point
• A point used to find or describe the location of something. (collinsdictionary.com)
• Frame of Reference
• An arbitrary set of axes with reference to which the position or motion of
something is described or physical laws are formulated. (merriam-webster.com)
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Vectors and Scalars

• A scalar quantity can be described by a single number.
• Examples: temperature, mass, time, length, etc.
• A vector quantity has both a magnitude and a direction in space.
• Examples: velocity, acceleration, force, electric field, etc.
• Vectors are represented graphically by arrows, which are also called vectors.
• In this book, a vector quantity is represented in boldface italic type
with an arrow over it: .
• The magnitude of is written as A or | |.
• The direction of a vector can be described by the angle the vector
makes with one of the axes of the reference frame.
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Drawing Vectors
• Draw a vector as a line with an arrowhead at
its tip. That is, and arrow without the
fletching or “tail”.
• The length of the line shows the vector’s
magnitude.
• A scale is used for this. Example: a force with a
magnitude of 5 pounds can be represented as an
“arrow” of length 5 cm.
• The direction of the arrow shows the
vector’s direction.
• The direction is given by the angle the arrow
makes with one of the axes of the reference
frame.
• This angle is usually measured counterclockwise
from the positive side of the x axis.
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Drawing Vectors
• Example of vector quantity:
The displacement
• Displacement: change in the
position of an object.
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Vectors with equal magnitude but opposite

directions
• When a vector is multiplied by
– 1, the magnitude of the
vector does not change, but
the direction of the vector
changes by 180°. That is, the
new direction is opposite to
the original direction.
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Adding two vectors graphically:

head-to-tail method
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Adding two vectors graphically:

head-to-tail method
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Adding two vectors graphically:

head-to-tail method
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Adding more than two vectors graphically:

head-to-tail method
• The head-to-tail method can be used to add several vectors.
• The vectors can be added in any order.
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Adding more than two vectors graphically:

head-to-tail method
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Subtracting Vectors
• When you subtract one
vector from a second
vector, you are actually
adding the negative of
that one vector to the
second vector.
A – B = A + (– B )
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Multiplying a Vector by a Scalar

• If c is a scalar, the
product c has
magnitude |c|A.

• The figure illustrates

multiplication of a vector
by (a) a positive scalar
and (b) a negative scalar.
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Components of a Vector
• Adding vectors graphically
provides limited accuracy. Vector
components provide a general
method for adding vectors.
• Any vector can be represented
by an x component Ax and a y
component Ay, which are the
projections of the vector onto x
and y axes, respectively.
• Trigonometry is used to obtain the
components.
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Positive and Negative Components

“SOHCAHTOA”

Trigonometry
is used to
obtain the
components
of a vector.

(v-fedun.staff.shef.ac.uk)
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Calculations using Components

• We can use the components of a vector
to find its magnitude and direction:

• We can use the components of a set of

vectors to find the components of their
sum R = A + B + C + …. :

or the components of their subtraction

R = A – B:
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Unit Vectors
• A unit vector has a magnitude of
1 with no units.
• The unit vector points in the +x
direction, points in the +y
direction, and points in the +z
direction.
• Unit vectors are used to express
a vector in terms of its
components:
= Ax + Ay
Warning: terms with different unit
vectors cannot be added or subtracted!
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Addition and Subtraction of Vectors

using unit vector notation
• The addition of vectors A and B using unit vector notation:
A + B = (Ax + Bx) + (Ay + By) + (Az + Bz)

• The subtraction of vectors A and B using unit vector notation:

A – B = (Ax – Bx) + (Ay – By) + (Az – Bz)
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The Scalar (dot) Product

• The scalar product of two vectors A and B is given by:
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The Scalar Product

The scalar product can be
positive, negative, or zero,
depending on the angle
between A and B .
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Calculating the Scalar Product using

Components
• The scalar product of two vectors is the sum of the products of their
respective components.
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The Vector Product (Cross Product)

• The magnitude of the Vector Product is given by:

• And its direction given

by the right hand rule:
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The Vector Product

• The vector product is anticommutative:
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Steps for solving problems in Physics

•Identify the relevant concepts, target variables, and known
quantities, as stated or implied in the problem.
•Set Up the problem: Choose the equations that you’ll use to solve
the problem, and draw a sketch of the situation.
•Execute the solution: This is where you “do the math.”
•Evaluate your answer: Compare your answer with your estimates,
and reconsider things if there’s a discrepancy.
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Steps for solving problems in Physics

• Idealized models