GENERAL PHYSICS 1

Introduction
 What is Physics?
• Physics is the study of matter and energy
and their relationship.
• Physics is divided into main branches –
classical physics and modern physics.
 Physics: A Basic Science
• Technology and applied science are two
different terms.
• Scientific method is the application of a
logical process of reasoning to arrive at a
certain law or principle that is consistent
with experimental results.
 Mathematics: An essential tool
• Scientific Notation
In scientific notation, numbers are
represented by the product of a multiplying
factor and a power of ten.
𝑛 𝑥 10𝑎
Where:
n= base integer or the multiplying factor
a= integer exponent
 Scientific Notation
• Consider the following quantities:
Mass of the earth:
6 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 kilograms
Mass of an electron:
0.000000000000000000000000000000911 kilograms

The sign of the exponent depends on whether you count off

places to the right (-) or to the left (+).
 Self-Check
• Write the following into scientific notation.
1. 2018
2. 0.000000000000002 m
3. 10230000000 L
4. 1000000000 cm
5. 0.0000143 kg
Mathematical Operations using
Scientific Notation
• Addition and Subtraction
Quantities to be added or subtracted must
have the same exponents as well as units.
e.g.
1. 9.2 𝑥 108 𝑐𝑚 − 6.9 𝑥 107 𝑐𝑚
2. 2.8 𝑔 + 3.25 𝑘𝑔
Mathematical Operations using
Scientific Notation
• Multiplication
The product of two numbers written in
scientific notation is the product of the base
numbers times 10 raised to the sum of their
exponents.
e.g.
1. 2 𝑥 104 𝑚𝑚 1.5 𝑥 103 𝑚𝑚
3 −1 𝑚
2. 6.0 𝑥 10 𝑘𝑔 3.0 𝑥 10
𝑠
 Mathematical Operations using
Scientific Notation
• Division
The quotient of two numbers is the quotient
of the base numbers times 10 raised to the
difference of their exponents.
e.g.
9 𝑥 105 𝑚3 6 𝑥 107 𝑘𝑔
1. 2 𝑥 103 𝑚
2.
3 𝑥 109 𝑚3
 Self Check!
• Perform these operations using scientific
notation.
a. (68 200) + (1 500)
b. (0.000283)(22 330)
c. (48 200) / (0.000024)
 Significant Figures
• Significant figures refer to the number of
significant digits in a measure with a
degree of certainty.
 Rules in Evaluating Significant
Figures
Rule Examples

1. Nonzero digits – all a. 124 ml has three significant figures.

nonzero digits are b. 6453 g has four significant figures.
significant. c. 6.453 mm has four significant figures

2. Captive zeros – a. 8.09 g has three significant figures.

zeros between b. 80.9 ml has three significant figures.
nonzero c. 236.005 m has six significant figures.
digits are significant.
 Rules in Evaluating Significant
Figures
Rule Examples

3. Leading zeros – zeros to the a. 0.04 L has one significant figure.

left of the first nonzero digit are b. 0.000 071 km has two significant
not significant. They are figures.
placeholders and are used to c. 0. 00373 m has three significant
locate a decimal point. figures.

4. Trailing zeros – zeros at the a. 0.500 g has three significant figures.

end of a number and to the b. 125.00 ml has five significant
right of a decimal point are figures.
significant. c. 3.000 000 000 mm has ten
significant figures.
 Rules in Evaluating Significant
Figures
Rule Examples

5. Final zeros – zeros The zeros in numbers that do not have a

at the end of a decimal point such as 200 m, 5000 m, and
number that lies to 12,330 m may or may not be significant. The
the left of an number of significant figures in 5000 m can be
understood decimal one, two, three or four. However, if such zeros
point may or may not were known measured values, then they would
be significant. be significant. For example, if all zeros in 200
were significant, writing the number in scientific
notation as 2.00 x 102 m makes it clear that the
zeros are significant.
 Sample Problem

How many significant figures are in each

measurement?
a. 3.005 g
b. 820 m
c. 0.000 670 km
d. 0.405 021 kg
e. 22.4 L
 Solution
a. By rule 2, the two zeros are in between nonzero
digits and are, therefore, significant. There are
four significant figures.
b. By rule 5, the zero may or may not be
significant. There may be two or three significant
figures. To make the number of significant
figures clearer, write 820 m in scientific notation.
Hence, it has two significant figures when written
as 8.2 × 10² m. It has three significant figures
when written as 8.20 × 10² m.
 Solution
c. By rule 3, the four zeros to the left of the first
nonzero digit are not significant. By rule 4, the
last zero is at the end of the number, to the right
of a decimal point, and is significant. There are
three significant figures.
d. By rule 3, the first zero is used to locate a
decimal point and is not significant. By rule 2, all
the other zeros are significant because they
appear in between nonzero digits. There are six
significant figures.
e. By rule 1, all nonzero digits are significant. There
are three significant figures.
 Practice Problems
Determine the number of significant figures in each
of the following measurements.
a. 0.001 002 km
b. 20 003 m
c. 40.005 760 L
d. 8 000 ml
e. 95 764 mg
f. 0.1300 g
 Rounding
• It is important to note that when combining
measurements with different degrees of accuracy
and precision, the accuracy of the final answer
cannot be greater than that of the least accurate
measurement.
• Therefore, the calculated value must be rounded
so that it is consistent with the measurements
from which it was calculated. Its degree of
certainty must match the original measurements.
Rules in Rounding Off Numbers
• In rounding a number, it is first necessary to know how
many significant figures the answer should have. This
depends on the given measurements and the
mathematical operations used to arrive at the answer.
• Rules:
1. If the digit following the last significant digit is less than 5,
drop this digit and leave the remaining digits unchanged.
Thus, 4.584 becomes 4.58.
2. If the digit is 5 or greater, drop this digit and add 1 to the
value of the preceding digit. Thus, 5.357 becomes 5.36
 Applying the Rules for
Significant Figures
• It is important to note that when combining
measurements with different degrees of
accuracy and precision, the accuracy of
the final answer cannot be greater than
that of the least accurate measurement.
 Addition and Subtraction
• When measurements are added or subtracted,
the answer cannot have more decimal places
than those in the least accurate measurement.

• This means that the answer should be rounded to

the same number of decimal places as the
measurement with the least number of decimal
places.
 Addition and Subtraction
Sample Problem:
• Calculate the sum of three masses: 120.0 g +
34.506 g + 13.15 g. Give the answer to the
correct number of significant figures.
120.0 g
+ 13.15 g
34.506 g
167.656 g

Final Answer : 167.7 g

 Multiplication and Division

• When measurements are multiplied or divided, it

is the significant figures, not the number of
decimal places, in each measurement that are
counted. The answer cannot contain more
significant figures than those in the least accurate
measurement.
 Multiplication and Division
Sample Problem:
• What is the density of an object with a mass of 3.250 g
and a volume of 9.37 ml?
Solution:
3.250 g
Density = 9.37 ml = 0.346851654 g/ml

• Final Answer : 0.347 g/ml.

 Practice Problems

Solve the following problems. Apply the rules for significant

figures.
1. What is the sum of 5.660 km and 0.03974 km?
2. Calculate the difference between 42.8 mL and 4.535 ml.
3. What is the area of a square crystal surface that
measures 2.89 μm by 0.3460 μm?
4. Polycarbonate plastic has a density of 1.2 g/cm3. A tray is
constructed from a sheet of polycarbonate with a
thickness of 0.75 cm and that measures 36.0 cm by
26.0 cm. What is the mass of the tray?
Seatwork!!
 Section Assessment
1. Perform these operations using scientific notation.
a) 3900 + 78 200
b) (0.0000846) (15 450)
c) 32100 / 0.00014
2. How many significant figures are there in each of the
following measured values?
a. 7.500 m
b. 0.0040 km
c. 10.0340 g
d. 50 000.00 L
e. 7000 kg
 Section Assessment
3. Round off 5.6744 to two significant figures.
4. Carry out the following calculations. Express your answer
to the correct number of significant figures.
a. 3.57 g + 55.6821 g
b. 44.65 ml – 3.886 ml
c. 10.0 m × 310 m
d. 13.88 g
4.2793 ml
What is the mass of a gold sample that occupies 3.5
× 10-3 cm3? The density of gold is 19.3 g/cm3.
Easy Motion
(part 1)
 Learning Objectives
• To describe physical quantities and enumerate
the different units of measurements
• To compare and contrast a vector from a
scalar and enumerate which quantities are
vector and scalar as used in kinematics
 Measurement

Measurement is a quantitative description of a

fundamental property or physical phenomenon.
 Physical Quantities

PHYSICAL QUANTITIES have a numerical

value and a unit of measurement, which is a
specific magnitude of a physical quantity that has
been adopted by convention.
Standards Unit of Measurement

SI is the abbreviation of International System

of Units, which is the most widely used set of
units by scientist that defines a measurement.

SI is an acronym of Le Système
Internationale d’Unités in French
SI Units of Physical Quantity
 Some derived units have special SI names and
symbols. For example, force is assigned the SI
unit Newton (N), where 1 N is equal to one
kilogram-meter per second squared.

 The symbols used for the SI units are written in

uppercase if they are named after a person (like
N which stands for Newton named after Isaac
Newton). Otherwise, they are always written in
lowercase (such as m which stands for meter).
 What Are Unit Prefixes?
UNIT PREFIXES are
symbols placed before
the symbol of a unit to
specify the order of
magnitude of a quantity.

UNIT PREFIXES make it

easier to express very
large or very small
quantities.
 Conversion of Units

Units in different systems or even different units in

the same system can express the same quantity.

It is necessary to convert the units of a quantity

from one unit to another.
 Conversion
• Conversion of units can be done by multiplying
the original unit by an appropriate conversion
factor.
• Conversion factors are simply equivalence
statements expressed in the form of ratios
equal to 1.

e.g.
1 inch = 2. 54 cm and vice versa
 Conversion

• When using conversion factors, set the problem

as follows:

Quantity sought = (given qty.)( conversion factor)

 Practice Problems
1. How many meters are there in 2.1 miles?
2. A bus moves at 120 km/h along the highway.
What is its speed in m/s?
3. Convert: 25 microsecond into nanoseconds
4. Convert: 36 ft/s into km/hr
5. How heavy in kilogram is a 180-lb football
player?
Seatwork!!
 Assessment
1. Convert the following:

a. 35 microsecond into picosecond

b. 9.81 𝑘𝑚/ℎ𝑟 2 into 𝑓𝑡/𝑠𝑒𝑐 2
c. 695 𝑔/𝑐𝑚3 into 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
d. 101.7 MHz into KHz
e. 40 days into seconds
Estimation of Common Physical
Quantities
ESTIMATION
• Involves looking for a value that is
approximately close to the true value of a
physical quantity without measurement
• Used to verify any measurement or
reported value
Some values of common physical
quantities are as follows:
 Instead of giving a precise numerical value,
it is often sufficient to estimate the order of
magnitude of a quantity, which involves
stating the value of ten raise to the
appropriate power.
Examples:
• The diameter of an atomic nucleus is
around 10-12 m.
• The sun has a mass of roughly 1030 kg.
The Measurements of Uncertainty
 UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS or ERROR
ANALYSIS is used to calculate uncertainty.

Making an experimental
A value that is measured result with degree of
should have an estimate uncertainty allows
together with the scientists to create
uncertainty value. judgments regarding the
quality of the experiment.
 To illustrate the range of the true value, this
formula is used:
 Accuracy and Precision
ACCURACY
• is defined as how close a measured value is to
a true or accepted value. The measured error is
the amount of inaccuracy.
• is expressed using relative error:
PRECISION
• Is defined as how good a measurement can be
determined. When measurements are done,
precision is the amount of consistency of
independent measurements and the reliability
or reproducibility of the measurements.
• Is expressed as a relative or fractional
uncertainty:
PRECISION VS. ACCURACY
Precision determines the quality of the
measurement while accuracy shows the
closeness of your answer to the “exact”
answer.
 Forms of Errors
RANDOM ERRORS
• Are defined as variations in the measured data
brought by the limitations of the measuring
device
• Use statistical analysis
SYSTEMATIC ERRORS
Are defined as reproducible inaccurate data that
are constantly in the same direction
Causes of Error in Doing Physics
Laboratory Experiments
1. Inadequate definition (either systematic or
random)
• For example, if two students
measure the length of a rope one
after the other, they will possibly
get different results because either
one may stretch the rope with a
different force.
• The better way to reduce the error
is to determine specific conditions
that may affect the measurements.
2. Unable to include a factor (systematic)
• For example, when measuring
free fall, air resistance was not
considered.
• A good way to analyze this
source of error is to discuss all
aspects that could probably
affect the result before doing
the experiment so that
considerations can be made
before doing the
measurements.
3. Factors due to the environment (either
systematic or random)
These are errors brought by the environment such
as vibrations, temperature, noise, or other conditions
that may affect the measuring instrument.

4. Limited scale of the instrument (random)

For example, a meter stick cannot measure exactly
in the smallest scale division.
5. Unable to calibrate or check zero scale of
the instrument (systematic)
If possible, always check the calibration of the
instrument before taking measurements.

6. Variations in the physical measurement

(random)
Take several measurements over a whole range that
is being explored. This will reveal variations in the
experiment that might not be noticed.
7. Parallax (either systematic or random)

Whenever an experimenter’s
eye is not aligned with a pointer
in a scale, the reading may
differ, either too high or low.

8. Personal errors
These are errors that occur from carelessness, poor
method, or bias measurement from the
experimenter.
 Average or Mean

AVERAGE or MEAN is expressed mathematically

as:
 Average Deviation

AVERAGE DEVIATION is defined as how the

single measurement differs from the mean.

 It is expressed mathematically as:

 Standard Deviation

STANDARD DEVIATION is mathematical way to

characterize the spread of a set of data. It is
slightly greater than average deviation and is
used because of its link with normal distribution
that is often encountered in statistics.
 To determine standard deviation of five
measurements, one should:
1. add all the measurements and divide by five
to obtain the average or mean;
2. subtract the average for each of the five
measurements to obtain five deviations;
3. square the five deviations and add them
all; and
4. divide the result of the sum by (N-1) and get
the square root.
 The mathematical expression for standard
deviation is:

Standard Deviation = s =