CHAPTER 1 :

PHYSICAL QUANTITIES
AND UNITS
A - Level
Physics
ACPH12

MS. NUR SYAHIDA ABDUL RAHIM 1

0132509120, INTEC EDUCATION COLLEGE 2018
PHYSICAL QUANTITIES AND UNIT

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 LEARNING OUTCOME

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1. A physical quantity is a quantity that can be measured
and consists of a numerical magnitude and a unit.
2. The physical quantities can be classified into base
quantities and derived quantities.
3. There are seven base quantities: length, mass, time,
current, temperature, amount of substance and
luminous intensity.
4. The SI units for length, mass, time, temperature and
amount of substance, electric current are metre,
kilogram, second, kelvin, mole and ampere respectively.
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 INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICS

• ‘Physikos’ – knowledge of nature [Greek]

• Natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion
through space-time, as well as all applicable concepts, such as energy
and force

• General analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the

universe behave.

• To explain the fundamental nature of the universe by using simple

explanations 5
 PHYSICAL QUANTITIES

• Definition:
• Quantity that can be measured an described numerically
• Categorized into 2 types: Example: Height = 1.5 m
• Base quantity
• Derived quantity Physical
quantity
• Each quantity will carry their own units Numerical
• Base unit figures
• Derived unit
• Expressed using magnitude and unit Unit

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 PHYSICAL QUANTITIES
Are classified into two types:
• Base quantities Derived quantity
• Derived quantities For example : is like the house that
was build up from a collection of
Base quantity
bricks (basic quantity)
For example : is like the
brick – the basic building
block of a house

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 BASE QUANTITIES AND UNITS
• Physical quantity which cannot be expressed in any other physical
quantities.
• SI Units – International System of Units

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 Base
Description
quantity
Length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a
Length
time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second.
Equal to the mass of the international prototype of the
Mass
kilogram - Pavillon de Breteuil (Sèvres).
Duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation
Time corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine
levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom.
Constant current which, if maintained in two straight
parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible circular
Electric
cross-section, and placed 1 meter apart in vacuum, would
current
produce between these conductors a force equal to 2 x 10-7
9
Newton per meter of length.
 Base quantity Description
Thermodynamic The fraction 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic
temperature temperature of the triple point of water.
• Amount of substance of a system which contains
as many elementary entities as there are atoms in
0.012 kilogram of carbon 12.
Amount of
• When the mole is used, the elementary entities
substance
must be specified and may be atoms, molecules,
ions, electrons, other particles, or specified groups
of such particles.
The luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a
Luminous source that emits monochromatic radiation of
intensity frequency 540 x 1012 hertz and that has a radiant
intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian.
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 SCALAR QUANTITY

• Physical quantity which has magnitude only, such as

distance and speed.

VECTOR QUANTITY

• Physical quantity which has both magnitude and direction,

such as displacement and velocity.

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 DERIVED QUANTITY & EQUATIONS

• A derived quantity has an equation which links to other

quantities.
• It enables us to express a derived unit in terms of base-unit
equivalent.
• Example:

F = ma ; Newton = kg m s-2

P = F/A ; Pascal = kg m s-2/m2 = kg m-1 s-2

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 SOME DERIVED UNITS
Derived quantity Base equivalent units

area square meter m²

volume
cubic meter m³
speed, velocity meter per second m/s or m s-1
acceleration meter per second squared m/s/s or m
density s-2 kilogram per cubic meter kg m-3
amount concentration mole per cubic meter mol m-3
force kg m s-2 Newton
work/energy kg m2 s-2 Joule
power kg m2 s-3 Watt
pressure
kg m-1 s-2 Pascal
frequency
s-1 Hertz 13
 DERIVED QUANTITIES AND UNITS

• Physical quantities that are obtained from basic quantities by

multiplication or division or both.
Derived Quantity Symbol Formulae Unit
Velocity v s÷t
Volume V m3
Acceleration v÷t ms-2
Density ρ m÷V
Momentum p mxv kg ms-1
Force F
Work W
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Power W÷ t
Pressure P
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HOMOGENEITY OF AN EQUATION

• An equation is homogeneous if quantities

on BOTH sides of the equation has the
same unit.
• E.g. s = ut + ½ at2
• LHS : unit of s = m
• RHS : unit of ut = ms-1 s = m
• unit of at2 = ms-2 s2 = m
• Unit on LHS = unit on RHS
• Hence equation is homogeneous 16
 HOMOGENEOUS
• Use of equation to express relationship among physical
quantities represented by algebraic symbols
• Equation must always be dimensionally correct or
homogeneous with respect to units
• Example: Distance = velocity x time
[d] = [v] [t]
m = (ms-1 ) (s)
= (m)

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 UNIT CONSISTENCY

• Even though the equation may be homogeneous

with respect to units, the equation could still be
wrong.

• Reasons:
• Incorrect coefficient
• Missing terms
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• Extra terms
 NON-HOMOGENEOUS
• P = ρgh2
• LHS ; unit of P = Nm-2 = kgm-1s-2
• RHS : unit of ρgh2 = kgm-3(ms-2)(m2) = kgs-2
• Unit on LHS = unit on RHS
• Hence equation is not homogeneous

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HOMOGENEITY OF AN EQUATION

• Note: numbers has no unit

• some constants have no unit.
e.g. π
• A homogeneous eqn may not be physically correct
but a physically correct eqn is definitely
homogeneous

• E.g. s = 2ut + at2 (homogenous but not correct)

• F = ma (homogeneous and correct)

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 PREFIX
• Prefix : magnitudes of physical quantity range
from very large to very small.

• E.g. mass of sun is 1030 kg and mass of electron is 10-

31 kg.

• Hence, prefix is used to describe these

magnitudes.

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 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

• Digits in a number that are significant to any experimental

measurements, mathematical calculation or expressions of a
number.
- Number of significant figures:
1. 596 = 3 sig. fig.
2. 68.3 = 3 sig. fig.
3. 0.446 = 3 sig. fig.
4. 0.0000486 = 3 sig. fig.
5. 45 = 2 sig. fig.
6. 3.5 = 2 sig. fig.
7. 0.019 = 2 sig. fig.
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8. 0.00098 = 2 sig. fig.
 RULES FOR COUNTING
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES
1. For NON ZERO INTEGERS
- always count as significant figures
Example:
26.38 = 4 sig. fig.
7.94 = 3 sig. fig.

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2 . For ZEROES
- LEADING ZEROES
 zeroes that precede all of the non zero digits
 do not count as significant figures
 They serve only as placeholders and do not
represent measured data.
 Example: 0.0025 = 2 sig figs

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- CAPTIVE ZEROES
 zeroes between non zero digits
 always count as significant figures
 Example: 1.008 = 4 sig figs

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- TRAILING ZEROES
 zeroes at the end of the number
 only significant if the number contains decimal
point
 They are not needed as placeholders, but
represent actual measured data.
 Example:
100 = 1 sig figs 15.0000 = 6 sig figs
1.00 x 102 = 3 sig figs 3.1560 = 5 sig figs
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Example Number of Scientific Explanations
Significant Notation
Figures

0.00682 3 6.82 x 10-3 Leading zeros are not

significant.
1.072 4 1.072 (x 100) Imbedded zeros are
always significant.
300 1 3 x 102 Trailing zeros are
significant only if the
decimal point is
specified.
300. 3 3.00 x 102
300.0 4 3.000 x 102 27
3. For EXACT NUMBERS

 not obtained using measuring device but by counting

 Example:
 number of oscillations of pendulum
 number of objects passing through a light gate
 assumed to have an infinite number of significant figure
 Example:
exact number in 2πr = 2
exact number in 4πr2 = 4

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 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES
IN SCIENTIFIC NOTATION
“When considering numbers which has
scientific notation with it,
the exponent is irrelevant in determining
the number of significant figures”

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• EXAMPLE:
• The digit term is raised to the indicated power and the exponent is
multiplied by the number that indicates the power.
• Example: (2.4 x 104)3 = (2.4)3 x 10(4x3)

= 13.824 x 1012
= 1.4 x 1013 (to 2 s.f)
• Example: (6.53 x 10-3)2 = (6.53)2 x 10(-3)x2
= 42.64 x 10-6
= 4.26 x 10-5 (to 3 s.f)
• 2.1 x 103 = 2 S.F
• 3.121 x 10-8 = 4 S.F
• 4.32 x 10-3 = 3 S.F
• 2.0 x 102 = 2 S.F
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• 5.4211 x 10-4 = 5 S.F
 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES RULES
IN MULTIPLICATION AND
DIVISION
“When multiplying or dividing several quantities the
number of significant figures in the final answer is the
same as the quantity which has the least number of
significant figures”

In multiplication and division, the number of S.F. in the

answer is the same as the number of S.F. in the input
number that has the fewest
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• EXAMPLE:

• Multiplication
The answer must be rounded off to 2 significant figures,
since 1.6 only has 2 significant figures.

• Division
The answer must be rounded off to 3 significant figures,
since 45.2 has only 3 significant figures.

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• EXAMPLE:
• Area = Length x Width
= (11.63 cm) x (5.74 cm)
= 66.7562
= 66.8 cm2  3 S.F since it is the smallest s.f. in
the input (width)
• Volume = Length x Width x Thickness
= (11.63 cm) x (5.74 cm) x (0.42 cm)
= 28.037604
= 28 cm3  2 S.F since it is the smallest s.f. in
the input (thickness) 33
 SIGNIFICANT FIGURE RULES
IN ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION
“When adding and subtracting numbers,
the number of decimal places in the result
should equal the smallest number of decimal places of
any quantity in the sum”

For addition and subtraction, the accuracy with which we

quote an answer is determined by the position of the least
significant digit in any of the input numbers
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• EXAMPLE:
• Addition
Even though calculator gives the answer as 8.0372, it
must be round off to 8.04.

• Subtraction
Even though both numbers involved in the subtraction
have 5 significant figures, the answer only has 3
significant figures when rounded correctly.

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 RULES OF RETAINING
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES
Quantity must be specified only to its limit of accuracy
• Based on the uncertainty obtained from measured values
Too less significant figure can cause to loss of accuracy
Rules to avoid meaningless and loss of accuracy:
• Retain only one significant digit in the uncertainty
• Specify the measured value to the same accuracy as the uncertainty,
no more or less.
• When adding or subtracting numbers, answer is only as accurate as
the least accurate digit as determined by decimal point
• When multiplying and dividing, the same number of s.f is kept as
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the factor that has the fewest s.f
 Estimates of physical quantities
• When making an estimate, it is only reasonable to give the
figure to 1 or at most 2 significant figures since an estimate is
not very precise.
Physical Quantity Reasonable Estimate
Mass of 3 cans (330 ml) of 1 kg
Pepsi
Mass of a medium-sized car 1000 kg
Length of a football field 100 m
Reaction time of a young man 0.2 s

• Occasionally, students are asked to estimate the area under a

graph. The usual method of counting squares within the
enclosed area is used.
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CONVENTION FOR LABELLING TABLES AND GRAPHS

t/s v/ms−1 • The symbol is indicated in

0 2.5 italics as indicated in the
1.0 4.0 data column left.
2.0 5.5
• Then fill in the data with
pure numbers.
• Then plot the graph after
labelling x axis and y axis

[Illustration with sample graph

on left]
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 PREFIXES
• For very large or very small numbers, we can
use standard prefixes with the base units.
• The main prefixes that you need to know are
shown in the table.

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 STANDARD FORM AND PREFIXES
• Expression of any number between 1 and 9 times an integral
power of 10
• Prefixes – used to present larger or smaller values
Prefix Value Symbol
Tera x 1012 T
Giga x 109 G
Mega x 106 M
kilo x 103 k
desi x 10-1 d
centi x 10-2 c
mili x 10-3 m
micro x 10-6 μ
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nano x 10-9 n
pico x 10-12 p
 PREFIXES
• Alternative writing method
• Using standard form
• N × 10n where 1 < N < 10 and n is an integer

This galaxy is about 2.5 × 106 The diameter of this atom

light years from the Earth. is about 1 × 10−10 m. 41
THE AVOGADRO CONSTANT

• One mole of any substance – the quantity if the

substance whose mass in grams is numerically
equal to the substance’s molar mass, μ
• The mole – SI Unit for quantity
• Example:
• The molar mass of H2 = 2 g mol-1
• One mole of hydrogen has a mass of = 2 g
• The molar mass of O2 = 32 g mol-1 42

• One mole of oxygen has a mass of 32 g

THE AVOGADRO CONSTANT

• One mole of
any substance contains the same
number of molecules as in 12 grams of carbon-12.
• NA = 6.02 x 1023 molecules per mole
• So, number or moles of a substance – can be
found by dividing the total number of molecules
in the substance by the Avogadro constant.
• n = N ÷ NA 43
EXAMPLE:

• How many grams are there in a quantity of

oxygen gas containing 1.20 x 1025
molecules?

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ANSWER:

• Number of moles = 19.93 mol

• Molar mass = 32 g mol-1
• Mass, m = 638 g = 0.638 kg

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 SCALARS AND VECTORS

• Vector and scalar quantity

Scalar quantity
• Specified by a single value with an
appropriate unit
• Has no direction.
Vector quantity
• Specified by a number and appropriate
unit
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• Has direction.
 Scalars and Vectors

• Examples of scalars and vectors

Scalars Vectors
distance displacement
speed velocity
mass weight
time acceleration
pressure force
energy momentum
volume 47

density
DIRECTION OF VECTOR

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 ADDING VECTOR
• Commutative law of addition

• Associative law of addition

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Adding/Subtracting Vectors using Graphical Method
•Parallel vectors can be added arithmetically

4N 6N 4N
2N

2N 2N

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Adding Vectors using Graphical Method
•Non-parallel vectors are added by graphical
means using the parallelogram law
– Vectors can be represented graphically by arrows

– The length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the vector

– The direction of the arrow represents the direction of the
vector
– The magnitude and direction of the resultant vector can be found
using an accurate scale drawing

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VECTOR ADDITION

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 VECTOR OPERATION

• Vector problem must be solved vectorically

unlike scalar quantity.

• E.g. 3 N + 4 N = 5 N

5N
4N

3N 53
 ADDITION USING DRAWING METHOD
• if C = A + B

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SUBTRACTING VECTOR

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 Subtraction using drawing method

• if D = A – B

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 EXAMPLE:
• A hiker begins a trip by first
walking 25 km southeast from
her car. She stops and sets up
her tent for the night. On the
second day, she walks 40 km
in the direction 60° north of
east, at which point she
discovers a forest ranger’s
tower.
a)Determine the components of
the hiker’s displacement for
each day
b)Determine the hiker’s
resultant displacement
components R for the trip
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ANSWER:

Ax = 17.7m, Ay = -17.7 km,

Bx = 20 km, By = 34.6 km,
Rx = 37.7 km, Ry = 16.9 km

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 PARALLELOGRAM LAW OF VECTOR
ADDITION

• The parallelogram law of vector addition states that

if two vectors acting at a point are represented by the
sides of a parallelogram drawn from that point, their
resultant is represented by the diagonal which passes
through that point of the parallelogram

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 COPLANAR VECTORS

• When 3 or more vectors need to be added, the same

principles apply, provided the vectors are all on the
same plane i.e. coplanar
• To subtract 2 vectors, reverse the direction
i.e. change the sign of the vector to be subtracted,
and add

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 CHANGE IN A VECTOR

Case 1
•If an object changes its direction but not speed,
then velocity vector will only change its direction
but not magnitude.
Case 2
•If an object changes its direction and also speed,
vector will change its direction as well as magnitude.
So the change in the vector would be final minus
initial. 61
 COMPONENTS OF A VECTOR
• Any vector directed in two dimensions can be thought of as
having an influence in two different directions. That is, it can be
thought of as having two parts. Each part of a vector is known
as a component.

• 2N + 4N = 6N (2N and 4N are the components of 6N)

• The components of a vector depict the influence of that vector

in a given direction. The combined influence of the two
components is equivalent to the influence of the single vector.
The single vector could be replaced by the two components.
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 COMPONENTS OF A VECTOR

• Any vector can be thought of as having two

different components. The component of a
single vector describes the influence of that
vector in a given direction.

• 3N +4N = 7N (3N and 4N are the components of 7N)

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 RESOLUTION OF VECTORS
Resolving vectors into two perpendicular
components
•A vector can be broken down into components, which
are perpendicular to each other, so that the vector sum of
these two components, is equal to the original vector.
•Splitting a vector into two components is
called resolving the vector. It is the reverse of using
Pythagoras' theorem to add two perpendicular vectors,
and so adding the two components will give you the
original vector.
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 RESOLUTION OF VECTORS
• Resolving vectors into two perpendicular components

• Resolving a vector requires some simple trigonometry. In the

diagram, the vector to be resolved is the force, F for angle A;

 the horizontal component of F :

 the vertical component of F :

Note that the two components do not have to be horizontal and

vertical. The angle can be changed to any required direction, and
both components will still be perpendicular to each other 65
 RESOLUTION OF VECTORS
• Resolving vectors into two perpendicular components

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 IN SHORT…

VECTORS ADDITION AND

SUBTRACTION CAN BE
PERFORMED USING DIAGRAM
METHOD OR THE RESOLVE AND
RECOMBINE METHOD
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VECTORS IN EQUILIBRIUM

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VECTORS IN EQUILIBRIUM

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EXAMPLE

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EXERCISE

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QUESTION
Find the forward force on the boat?

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ANSWER

• First you need to find the amount of the 5 N force

that acts in the forward direction, using
trigonometry:
• Part of 5 N force in forward direction = 5 cos 30° =
4.3 N
• Then this can be added to the 7 N force:
• 4.3 + 7 = 11.3 N force in the forward direction.
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QUESTION
• Sometimes the direction we are interested in is
not vertical or horizontal. It doesn't matter as long
as we still only add parallel forces. What is the
resultant force parallel to the slope

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 ANSWER
• The 2000 N force is already parallel to the slope so we can
ignore it for a moment.
• The 10 000 N is at an angle of 60 degrees to the slope so we
need to use trigonometry to find its component parallel to
the slope (look at the small triangle carefully):
• Component parallel to the slope = 10 000 cos 60° = 5 000 N
down the slope.
• Now we can simply subtract the 2 000 N from the 5 000 N force
as they are in opposite directions.
• So the resultant force parallel to the slope = 5 000 - 2 000 = 3
000 N down the slope. 76
 QUESTION
What is the resultant
force on the
parachutist?(to 1 dp)

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357.6 N
 SUMMARY
1. A scalar quantity has magnitude only
2. A vector quantity has magnitude and direction only
3. A vector quantity may be represented by an arrow, with the length of
the arrow drawn to scale to give the magnitude.
4. The combine effect of two (or more) vectors is called resultant
5. Coplanar vectors may be added or subtracted using a vector diagram
6. The resultant may be found using a scale drawing of the vector
diagram, or by calculation
7. A single vector may be divided into separate components
8. The dividing of a vector into components is known as the resolution of
the vector
9. In general, a vector is resolved into components at right-angles to
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each other.
 End of’

PHYSICAL QUANTITIES
AND UNITS

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