 Physical Quantity: (b) C.G.S.

System: In this system unit of

The quantities that are measurable are known Length centimeter (cm)
as physical quantities.
Mass gram (gm)
eg. length, mass, time etc.
A physical quantity is represented by number Time second (s)
followed by a unit. The number and its unit
(c) F.P.S. or British system: In this system
collectively represent the magnitude of the
physical quantity. unit of

Physical Quantity Length foot (ft)

Mass pound (lb)
Fundamental Derived Time second (s)
physical quantities physical quantities
According to SI system there are seven
1. Fundamental physical quantities:
fundamental units and two supplementary
These quantities are independent of each
units.
other. Length, mass, time, electric current,
temperature, luminous intensity and amount 
p s
Basic or Fundamental SI units
of substance are taken as fundamental or
basic quantities. Length
e
Physical quantities Name of unit Abbreviation

t Meter m

ys
2. Derived physical quantities: Mass Kilogram kg
The quantities, which are obtained from Time Second s or sec

u d
fundamental quantities are known as derived
Electric current
Temperature
Ampere
Kelvin
A
K

physical quantities. S t
quantities. The quantities like area, volume,
speed, accleration, force etc. are derived
Luminous intensity
Amount of substance
Candela
Mole
cd
mol

 Supplementary SI units
 Unit
Measurements Name of unit Abbreviation
A unit is the standard of comparison for Plane angle Radian rad
measurements. Units are essential for Solid angle Steradian Sr
presenting a measured quantity correctly.
All other quantities (for example speed,
 Modern System of Units: volume, pressure etc.) can be derived from
(a) MKS or Metric system: In this system
these fundamental quantities.
unit of
The metric system is a decimal system.
length metre (m)
Mass kilogram (kg) Different units for physical quantities are
Time second (s) expressed in powers of ten.

1
 P refix Abbreviation Multiple Example
24
Yo tta Y 10 1 y attameter (Ym) = 1 × 10 2 4 m
Z eta Z 10 2 1 1 zetameter (Z m) = 1 × 10 2 1 m
Exa E 10 1 8 1 exameter (Em) = 1 × 10 1 8 m
Peta P 10 1 5 1 p etameter (Pm) = 1 × 10 1 5 m
T era T 10 1 2 1 terameter (T m) = 1 × 10 1 2 m
Gig a G 10 9 1 g ig ameter (Gm) = 1 × 10 9 m
M eg a M 10 6 1 meg ameter (M m) = 1 × 10 6 m
Kilo k 10 3 1 kilo meter (km) = 1 × 10 3 m
Hecto h 10 2 1 h ecto meter (h m) = 1 × 10 2 m
Deka da 10 1 1 d ekameter (d am) = 1 × 10 1 m
Deci da 10 – 1 1 d ecimeter (d m) = 1 × 10 – 1 m
Cen ti c 10 – 2 1 cen timeter (cm) = 1 × 10 – 2 m
M illi m 10 – 3 1 millimeter (mm) = 1 × 10 – 3 m
M icro µ 10 – 6 1 micro meter (µ m) = 1 × 10 – 6 m
Nan o n 10 – 9
p s
1 n an o meter (n m) = 1 × 10 – 9 m
Pico
Femto
p
f
10 –12

10 – 1 5
t e
1 p ico meter (p m) = 1 × 10 – 1 2 m
1 femto meter (fm) = 1 × 10 – 1 5 m
A tto
Z ep to
a
z
y s
10 – 1 8
10 – 2 1
1 atto meter (am) = 1 × 10 – 1 8 m
1 zep to meter (lzm) = 1 × 10 – 2 1 m
Yo cto y

u d
10 – 2 4 1 y o cto meter (ly m) = 1 × 10 – 2 4 m

1.

S t
Mass and weight : Mass of a system
represents the amount of matter present in a
system, while weight represents the force
that gravity exert on that system (or object).
These terms are often used interchangeably,
although strictly speaking, they are different
quantities.
The SI base unit of mass is kilogram (kg)
but in chemistry unit gram (g) is more
convenient and frequently used.
1 kg = 1000 g = 1 × 103 g
2. Volume : Volume of a body = (length)3
Because in SI system, unit of length is metre,
so SI unit of volume is m3.
1 cm3 = (1 × 10–2 m)3 = 1 × 10–6 m3
1 dm3 = (1 × 10–1 m)3 = 1 × 10–3 m3
3. Density :
Mass (m)
Density (d) 
Volume (V)
i.e., density of a substance is the mass of its
unit volume. Density is an intensive property.
The SI unit of density is kg/m3 but g/cm3 or
g/mL are more commonly used, for
expressing the densities of solids and liquids.
1 g/cm3 = 1 g/mL = 1000 kg/m3
1 g/L = 0.001 g/mL
4. Temperature : Temperature of a body
represents the intensity of heat energy
associated with it. Three scales are most
common for measuring the temperature.

2
(a) Degree Farenheit (°F) : On this scale,  Accuracy and Precision :
freezing and boiling points of water are 32°F Accuracy refers to how close a measurement
and 212°F respectively. These two limits are is to the true value of the quantity that was
divided into 180 divisions. measured while precision tells us how closely
(b) Degree Celsius (°C) : On this scale, individual measurements agree with each
freezing and boiling points of water are 0°C other.
and 100°C respectively and this range Derived Units:
between freezing and boiling points of water The unit which are derived from the basic
is divided into 100 parts. units are called derived units. Some example
of derived units are listed below:
(c) Kelvin (K and not °K) : It is absolute
Quantity Definition Derived Unit Abbreviation
temperature scale and is SI unit of Area Lengh × Breadth m×m m2
Volume Length × Breadth m×m×m m3
temperature. 0 K is the lowest temperature × Height
that can be attained theoretically. Density Mass/Volume kg/m3 kg /m3
Speed or Distance / Time m/s m/s
Following relations can be used directly to velocity
Acceleration Velocity /time m/s2
interconvert temperature in different units. m/s
s
C F  32 Force Mass kg × m/s2 or kg m/s2 or N
 ×Acceleration newton
5 9
Here C and F are temperatures in °C and
Work of
Energy
Momentum
p s
Force ×
Displacement
Mass ×Velocity
kg 
m
s
2
 mor joule

m
Kg m2/s2 or J

kg m/s
°F respectively.
Also, K = C + 273.15
t e kg 
s

kg m2/s2 or

s
Power Work /Time 2

 Conventions for Writng Units: kg 

m 1
 or watt
s
Js–1 or W

y
2
s
 The symbol for a unit, named after a person

u
for newton, J for joule, W for watt, Hz ford
is written with the first letter in capital, e.g. N
Moment of
force or
torque
Force × Distance
kg 
Newton ×m2
m
s 2
 m or
kg m2/s2 or
Nm


hertz.

S t
The symbol for a unit, which is not named
Pressure

Impulse
Force /Area

Force ×Time
N/m2 or Pascal

N- S
N/m2 or
Pascal
Ns

after a person, is written in lower letters, e.g.  Non-metric Units:

symbol for metre is m, for second is s, for (a)
kilogram is kg and so on.
 While writing a complete unit, even when 
named after a person, it is written with lower
initial letter, e.g. unit of force is written as
newton and not as Newton.
 A unit in its short form is never written in
plural, e.g. 8 metres is written as 8 m (and
not as 8ms)
 Negative powers are used for compound units 
dividing one unit by the other, e.g. the unit of
velocity is ms–1 etc.
Non-metric Units of Length:
Units of length for large distances:
Light year (ly):
It is equal to the distance travelled by light
in vacuum in 1 year. i.e. 1 ly = 9.46 ×1015m.
 Astronomical Unit (A.U.):
One astronomical unit is equal to the mean
distance between the earth and the sun.
1 A.U. = 1.496 × 1011 metres
Parsec : 1 Parsec = 3.26 ly
= 3.08 ×1016 m
Units of length for small distances.

3
 Angstrom (Å) : 1Å = 10–10 m 3. The zero to the left of the first non zero
 Fermi (fm) : 1fm = 10–15 m digit in a number are not significant. The
(b) Non-metric Unit of Mass: merely represent the position of a decimal
point.
 Atomic mass unit (amu) :
For example :
1 0.02 g has 1 significant figure.
 It is defined as th of mass of one carbon-
12 0.002 g has 1 significant figure.
12 atom, thus 1 amu = 1.67 ×10–27 kg
4. The zeros between two non-zero digits
(c) Non-metric Units of Time : are also significant.
 Some examples of these are day, month, For example :
lunar month, year, decade, century and 6.01 has 3 significant figures; 2 certain and
millennium etc. last digit uncertain.
 1 decade = 10 years 6.001 has 4 significant figures; 3 certain and
 1 century = 100 years last digit uncertain.
 1 millenium = 1000 years. 5. Leading zero before the decimal point
Significant figures: are never significant.
For example :
Significant figures are meaningful digits which
0.618 has 3 significant figures; 2 certain and
are known with certainty. The uncertainty is
indicated by writing the certain digits and
the last uncertain digit. Thus, if we write a 6.
p s
last digit uncertain.
When a number ends in zeros that are
result as 11.2 mL, we say the 11 is certain
and 2 is uncertain and the uncertainty would
t e
not to the right of decimal point, the
zeros are not necessarily significant.


be +1 in the last digit.
Rules for Determination of Significant
y s For example :
180 cm has two or three significant figures,

1.
Figures :

u
All non-zero digits are significant. d 18600 g has three or four or five significant
figures. This ambiguity has been removed
by using exponential notation.
For example :

S t
3.14 has 3 significant figures; 2 certain +
1 uncertain.
7. The use of exponential notation avoids the
potential ambiguity of whether the zeros at
the end of a number are significant (rule 6)
5.153 has 4 significant figures; 3 certain + or not. For example, a mass of 19400 g
1 uncertain. can be written in exponential notations
0.5153 has 4 significant figures; 3 certain + showing three, four or five significant figures
1 uncertain. as :
1.94 × 104 (3 significant figures)
2. The zeros to the right of the decimal 4
1.940 × 10 (4 significant figures)
point are significant. 1.9400 × 104 (5 significant figures)
For example :
Thus, all significant figure came before
3.0 has 2 significant figures; 1 certain + the exponent and the exponential term
1 uncertain digit. does not add to number of significant
3.10 has 3 significant figures; 2 certain + figures. Similarly significant numbers
1 uncertain digit. in numerical value of Avogadro number
3.140 has 4 significant figures; 3 certain + (6.023 × 1023) are four and in Planck’s
1 uncertain digit. constant (6.626 × 10–34 Js) are four.

4
8. Exact numbers can be treated as if they
have an infinite numbers of significant
figures. 1. Convert as given :
This rule applies to many definitions between (i) 1 m3 to cm3
units. Thus when we say 1 foot has 12 (ii) 1 m3 into litres
inches, the number 12 is exact we need not (iii) 1 L into cubic centimetres
worry about the number of significant figures
in it. (iv) 1.6 ×10–3 cm3 into litres
9. Rounding off the uncertain digit : 2. Calculate the volume of :
The rounding off of uncertain digit of (i) a tank having dimensions l × w × h
significant figure is made as follows : (ii) a bar which is 0.10 m long. 2.0 cm thick
and 4.0 cm wide.
(a) If the digit to be rounded off is more that 5,
the preceding number is increased by one. 3. How many significant figures are in :
 For example : (i) 19 (ii) 105 (iii) 4.023
2.16 is rounded off to 2.2 (iv) 0.0240 (v) 1.00 × 10 (vi) 
6

3.58 is rounded off to 3.6 4. Calculate the following in proper significant

figures:
(b) If the digit to be rounded off is less than 5,


the preceding number is retained.
For example :
p s
(i) 12.7 × 11.2 (ii)
108
7.2
2.14 is rounded off to 2.1
4.13 is rounded off to 4.1
t e
(iii) (4.50 × 102 m) + (3.00 × 106 m)
2.568  5.8
(c)
s
If the digit of be rounded off is equal to 5,

y
the preceding number is not changed if it is
(iv)
4.186

 For example : d
even and increased by one, if it is odd.

u 5.
(v) 4.18 – 58.16 ×(3.38 – 3.01)
35.1 mL of a liquid weights 30.5g. Calculate
3.25 is rounded off to 3.2

S
(Preceding digit 2 is even)
2.35 is rounded off to 2.4
t 6.
(Preceding digit 3 is odd)
 Calculations Involving Significant
Figures :
7.
(a) Rule 1 : In addition and subtraction, the
result should be reported to the same number
of decimal places as that of the term with
the least number of decimal places.
(b) Rule 2 : In multiplication and division, the 8.
results should be reported to the same
number of significant figures as the least
precise term used in calculation.
One should not calculate to a degree of
accuracy greater than required.
its density.
How many significant figures are in each of
the following numbers ? (Assume that each
number is a measured quantity).
(a) 2.003 (b) 6.023 × 1023 (c) 4000
How many significant figures are in each of
the following measurements ?
(a) 4.549 g (b) 1.4 × 104 m
(c) 0.00314 m3
Suppose 1 cm3 of a substance contains 9 ×
1024 atoms. Calculate the size and mass of
each atom, if the atoms are touching each
other and the density of the material is 5
gm/cm3.

5
9. If the uncertainty in the measurement of
second is 1 × 10–11, after how many years
the time clock will need to be corrected Multiple Choice Questions
from 1 second ? 1. Which of the following is 10–15th part of a
10. A star is at a distance of 5 light years metre ?
from the earth. Calculate the distance of (A) fermi
the star in kilometers.
(Velocity of light = 3.1 × 108 ms–1) (B) micron
(C) angstrom
11. Mass of a boy is 46 kg. Represent it in
order of magnitude. (D) nano
2. Which of the following is the SI base unit ?
12. A student measured the length of a rod and
reported 18.36 cm. What is the minimum (A) density (B) newton
uncertainty in the measurement ? (C) joule (D) moles
13. The mass measured of an object was 3. Out of the following the derived unit is -
reported as 44.8  0.2 gm. Calculate the (A) mass
percentage uncertainty in this measurement.
14. Add : (i) 93.4 + 4.03
(ii) 77.86, 14.12 and 5.7
p s
(B) amount of substance
(C) luminous intensity
15. Subtract : (i) 0.015 from 5.16 e
(D) density
t
(ii) 16.92 from 237.5

y
(iii) 0.0604 from 0.08638s 4. Which of the following represents one mole
of the substance ?
16. Multiply : (i) 730 × 240

u d
(ii) 5.02 × 1023 × 1.0064
(A) 1 gram hydrogen
(B) 14 gram of nitrogen
17.
S t
(iii) 0.06204 × 296.4
Express the following upto four significant
figures :
(C) 12 gram of C-12
(D) 0.024 kg of carbon
(i) 6.5089 (ii) 32.3928 5. Modern system of measurement is based
(iii) 8.721 ×104 (iv) 2000
3
on -
18. 9.84 cm of ethyl alcohol is withdrawn from
a flask containing 45.2 cm3 of the sample. (A) three base unit
What is the volume ethyl alcohol left in the (B) five base units
flask ? (C) seven base unit
19. What is the volume of a piece of silver which
(D) two base units
weighs 21.5639 g. The density of silver is
10.4 g/cm3 ? 6. Which of the following represents one
20. Report the area of a rectangle to appropriate millionth part of a substance ?
number of significant figures. Given that the (A) micro (B) kilo
edge lengths of the rectangle are 6.221 cm
(C) hecto (D) nano
and 5.2 cm.

6
7. A time measurement has been reported as 9. Which of the following is not a unit of
6.38 s. The minimum uncertainty in this result distance ?
will be -
(A) light year (B) parsec
(A) 0.1 s (B) 0.01 s
(C) leap year (D) angstrom
(C) 0.02 s (D) 0.04 s
10. Which of the following is not a fundamental
8. Which of the following is the SI unit of
unit ?
volume ?
(A) mm3 (B) cm3 (A) metre (B) litre
(C) m3 (D) litre (C) kilogram (D) second

1. (i) 106 cm3, (ii) 103 L (iii) 103 cm3 (iv) 1.6 × 10–6 L
2. (i) 3 L (ii) 0.080 L
3.
4.
(i) 2
(i) 142
(ii) 3
(ii) 15
(iii) 4
(iii) 3.45 × 103 m
(iv) 3

p s (v) 3
(iv) 3.6
(v) 
(v) –17
5. 0.869 g/mL
t e
6. (a) Four ; the zeros are significant figures.

y s
(b) Four ; the exponential term does not add to the number of significant figures.

u d
(c) One, two three or four ; the ambiguity can be solved by using standard exponential notation.

7.

8.
(a) Four,

5.5 × 10–25 gm
(b) Two,
S t (c) Three

9. 3.1 × 103 years 10. 4.73 × 1013 km

11. 102 kg 12. 0.01 cm. 13. 0.44 %

14. (i) 97.4 (ii) 97.7 15. (i) 5.14 (ii) 220.6 (iii) 0.0260
5 23
16. (i) 1.752 × 10 (ii) 5.05 × 10 (iii) 18.4
17. (i) 6.509 (ii) 32.39 (iii) 8.721 × 104 (iv) 2.000 × 103
18. 35.4 cm3 19. 2.07 cm3 20. 32.4 cm3

Q. N. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Ans. A D D C C A B C C D