accuracy the degree to which a measured value agrees with an accepted reference

value for that measurement

base quantity physical quantity chosen by convention and practical considerations

such that all other physical quantities can be expressed as algebraic combinations of
them

base unit standard for expressing the measurement of a base quantity within a
particular system of units; defined by a particular procedure used to measure the
corresponding base quantity

conversion factor a ratio that expresses how many of one unit are equal to another
unit

derived quantity physical quantity defined using algebraic combinations of base

quantities

derived units units that can be calculated using algebraic combinations of the
fundamental units

dimension expression of the dependence of a physical quantity on the base quantities

as a product of powers of symbols representing the base quantities; in general, the
dimension of a quantity has the form LaMbTcIdΘeNfJg for some powers a, b, c, d, e, f,
and g.

dimensionally consistent equation in which every term has the same dimensions and
the arguments of any mathematical functions appearing in the equation are
dimensionless

dimensionless quantity with a dimension of L0M0T0I0Θ0N0J0 =1; also called quantity of

dimension 1 or a pure number

discrepancy the difference between the measured value and a given standard or
expected value

English units system of measurement used in the United States; includes units of
measure such as feet, gallons, and

metric system system in which values can be calculated in factors of 10

order of magnitude the size of a quantity as it relates to a power of 10

percent uncertainty the ratio of the uncertainty of a measurement to the measured

value, expressed as a percentage
physical quantity characteristic or property of an object that can be measured or
calculated from other measurements

physics science concerned with describing the interactions of energy, matter, space,
and time; especially interested in what fundamental mechanisms underlie every
phenomenon

precision the degree to which repeated measurements agree with each other

SI units the international system of units that scientists in most countries have agreed to
use; includes units such as meters, liters, and grams

significant figures used to express the precision of a measuring tool used to measure
a value

uncertainty a quantitative measure of how much measured values deviate from one
another

units standards used for expressing and comparing measurements

The Scope and Scale of Physics

Physics is about trying to find the simple laws that describe all natural phenomena.

Physics operates on a vast range of scales of length, mass, and time. Scientists use the
concept of the order of magnitude of a number to track which phenomena occur on
which scales. They also use orders of magnitude to compare the various scales.

Units and Standards

Systems of units are built up from a small number of base units, which are defined by
accurate and precise measurements of conventionally chosen base quantities. Other
units are then derived as algebraic combinations of the base units.

Two commonly used systems of units are English units and SI units. All scientists and
most of the other people in the world use SI, whereas nonscientists in the United States
still tend to use English units.

The SI base units of length, mass, and time are the meter (m), kilogram (kg), and
second (s), respectively.

SI units are a metric system of units, meaning values can be calculated by factors of 10.
Metric prefixes may be used with metric units to scale the base units to sizes
appropriate for almost any application.
Unit Conversion

To convert a quantity from one unit to another, multiply by conversions factors in such a
way that you cancel the units you want to get rid of and introduce the units you want to
end up with.

Be careful with areas and volumes. Units obey the rules of algebra so, for example, if a
unit is squared we need two factors to cancel it.

Dimensional Analysis

The dimension of a physical quantity is just an expression of the base quantities from
which it is derived.

All equations expressing physical laws or principles must be dimensionally consistent.

This fact can be used as an aid in remembering physical laws, as a way to check
whether claimed relationships between physical quantities are possible, and even to
derive new physical laws.

Significant Figures

Accuracy of a measured valuerefers to how close a measurement is to an accepted

reference value. The discrepancy in a measurement is the amount by which the
measurement result differs from this value.

Precision of measured values refers to how close the agreement is between repeated
measurements. The uncertainty of a measurement is a quantification of this.

The precision of a measuring tool is related to the size of its measurement increments.
The smaller the measurement increment, the more precise the tool.

Significant figures express the precision of a measuring tool.

When multiplying or dividing measured values, the final answer can contain only as
many significant figures as the value with the least number of significant figures.

When adding or subtracting measured values, the final answer cannot contain more
decimal places than the least precise value
direction angle in a plane, an angle between the positive direction of the x-axis and the
vector, measured counterclockwise from the axis to the vector

displacement change in position

equal vectors two vectors are equal if and only if all their corresponding components
are equal; alternately, two parallel vectors of equal magnitudes

magnitude length of a vector

orthogonal vectors two vectors with directions that differ by exactly 90°, synonymous
with perpendicular vectors

parallel vectors two vectors with exactly the same direction angles

resultant vector vector sum of two (or more) vectors

unit vector vector of a unit magnitude that specifies direction; has no physical unit

Scalar and Vectors

A vector quantity is any quantity that has magnitude and direction, such as
displacement or velocity. Vector quantities are represented by mathematical objects
called vectors.

Geometrically, vectors are represented by arrows, with the end marked by an

arrowhead. The length of the vector is its magnitude, which is a positive scalar. On a
plane, the direction of a vector is given by the angle the vector makes with a reference
direction, often an angle with the horizontal. The direction angle of a vector is a scalar.

Two vectors are equal if and only if they have the same magnitudes and directions.
Parallel vectors have the same direction angles but may have different magnitudes.
Antiparallel vectors have direction angles that differ by 180°. Orthogonal vectors have
direction angles that differ by 90°.

Two or more vectors can be added to form another vector. The vector sum is called the
resultant vector. We can add vectors to vectors or scalars to scalars, but we cannot add
scalars to vectors. Vector addition is commutative and associative.

To construct a resultant vector of two vectors in a plane geometrically, we use the

parallelogram rule. To construct a resultant vector of many vectors in a plane
geometrically, we use the tail-to-head method.
Vectors are described in terms of their components in a coordinate system. In two
dimensions (in a plane), vectors have two components. In three dimensions (in space),
vectors have three components.

A vector component of a vector is its part in an axis direction. The vector component is
the product of the unit vector of an axis with its scalar component along this axis. A
vector is the resultant of its vector components.

Scalar components of a vector are differences of coordinates, where coordinates of the

origin are subtracted from end point coordinates of a vector. In a rectangularsystem,the
magnitude of a vector is the square root of the sum of the squares of its components.

In a plane, the direction of a vector is given by an angle the vector has with the positive
x-axis. This direction angle is measured counterclockwise. The scalar x-component of a
vector can be expressed as the product of its magnitude with the cosine of its direction
angle, and the scalar y-component can be expressed as the product of its magnitude
with the sine of its direction angle.

In a plane, there are two equivalent coordinate systems. The Cartesian coordinate
system is defined by unit vectors 𝑖̂ and 𝑗̂ along the x-axis and y-axis respectively.

average acceleration the rate of change in velocity; the change in velocity over time

average speed the total distance traveled divided by elapsed time

average velocity the displacement divided by the time over which displacement occurs
under constant acceleration

displacement the change in position of an object

distance traveled the total length of the path traveled between two positions

elapsed time the difference between the ending time and the beginning time

instantaneous acceleration acceleration at a specific point in time

instantaneous speed the absolute value of the instantaneous velocity

instantaneous velocity the velocity at a specific instant or time point

kinematics the description of motion through properties such as position, time, velocity,
and acceleration

position the location of an object at a particular time

Position, Displacement, and Average Velocity

Kinematics is the description of motion without considering its causes.

Displacement is the change in position of an object. The SI unit for displacement is the
meter. Displacement has direction as well as magnitude.

Distance traveled is the total length of the path traveled between two positions.

Time is measured in terms of change. The time between two position points x 1 and x2 is
Δt =t2−t1. Elapsed time for an event is Δt =tf−t0,where tf is the final time and t0 is the
initial time. The initial time is often taken to be zero. •

Average velocity v – is defined as displacement divided by elapsed time. If x1, t1 and x2,
t2 are two position time points, the average velocity between these points is

Instantaneous velocity and speed

Instantaneous velocity is a continuous function of time and gives the velocity at any
point in time during a particle’s motion. We can calculate the instantaneous velocity at a
specific time by taking the derivative of the position function, which gives us the
functional form of instantaneous velocity v(t).

Instantaneous velocity is a vector and can be negative.

Instantaneous speed is found by taking the absolute value of instantaneous velocity,

and it is always positive.

Average speed is total distance traveled divided by elapsed time.

The slope of a position-versus-time graph at a specific time gives instantaneous velocity

at that time.

Average and Instantaneous Acceleration

Acceleration is the rate at which velocity changes. Acceleration is a vector; it has both a
magnitude and direction. The SI unit for acceleration is meters per second squared.

Acceleration can be caused by a change in the magnitude or the direction of the

velocity, or both.

Instantaneous acceleration a(t) is a continuous function of time and gives the

acceleration at any specific time during the motion. It is calculated from the derivative of
the velocity function. Instantaneous acceleration is the slope of the velocity-versus-time
graph.

Negative acceleration (sometimes called deceleration) is acceleration in the negative

direction in the chosen coordinate system.