INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS

Physical Quantities, Units and

Measurement
1. What is your weight?
2. What is your height?
3. How long did you travel from your house
going to school?

How are you able to provide me with

your measurement?
• To take measurements, we have to
compare the quantity being measured
to a chosen standard.
• It must have a number and unit.
 Physical Quantities
A physical quantity is a physical property that can
be expressed in numbers.
Example: Length being quantified: 13 cm

Electric
Length Time
Charge
Physical quantities can be;

a. Fundamental quantity- does not depend

upon other physical quantities.

Examples: length, mass, time, electric current

b. Derived quantity- depend upon other

physical quantities.

Examples: speed, velocity, acceleration, area

etc.
 Units of Measure
A quantity is something that has magnitude, size
or amount.

A unit is a particular physical quantity with which

other quantities of the same kind are compared
in order to express their value.

Example:
A meter is an established unit for measuring
length.
SI Units (Systeme Internationale
d’Unites)
and
BRITISH SYSTEM
 British/English System
• standard units are based on body parts
• It has fps (foot, pound, second) system.
 inch – end joint of the thumb (uncia)
 foot – length of the foot (30.48 cm)
 yard – distance from the tip of the nose to the end of the middle finger
(3ft or 0.9144 m)
 cubit – distance from the end of the elbow to the fingertip (18 in or 46
cm)
 fathom – distance between the fingertips of two arms held straight out (6
ft or 1.8 m)
 Philippines System of
Measurements

a. dama (palm) – width of the palm

b. dali (digit) – breadth of a finger
c. talampakan (foot)
d. timuro – length of a forefinger
e. hakbang – a single stride
f. dakot – a handful
g. gusi – a jar used to measure volume of liquids like tuba and
vinegar
h. kaing – a container used to measure the amount of harvested
mangoes, tomatoes and salt
 METRIC to ENGLISH ENGLISH to METRIC

1cm = 0.3937 in = 0.03281 ft 1 in = 2.54 cm = 0.0254 m

1m = 39.37 in= 3.281 ft = 1.094 yd 1ft = 30.5 cm = 0.305 m

1 km = 3281 ft = 0.6214 mi 1 yd = 91.4 cm = 0.914 m

1𝒄𝒎𝟑 = 0.0610 𝒊𝒏𝟑 =0.0000 353 𝒇𝒕𝟑 1 mi = 1609 m =1.609 km

1L = 1.06 qt = 0.265 gal = 0.0353 𝒇𝒕𝟑 1 qt = 946 ml = 0.946 L

1g = 0.0353 oz = 0.00220 lb 1 oz = 28350 mg = 28.35 g

1kg = 2.20 lb = 0.00110 tn 1lb = 453.6 g = 0.4536 kg

1 metric tn (103kg)= 2200 lb = 1.10 tn 1 tn =907 kg = 0.907 metric tn

 Systems of Units
SI: The international system of units
established by the International Committee
on Weights and Measures. Such units are
based on strict definitions and are the only
official units for physical quantities.

US Customary Units (USCU): Older units still

in common use by the United States, but
definitions must be based on SI units.
• Prefixes plus base units make up the metric
system.
Example:
• Centi + meter = Centimeter
• Kilo + liter = Kiloliter
• It has two variations mks (meter, kilogram,
second) system and cgs (centimeter, gram, second)
system.
PREFIXES FOR METRIC UNITS
 Seven Fundamental Units

Quantity Unit Symbol

Length Meter m
Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second S
Electric Current Ampere A
Temperature Kelvin K
Luminous Intensity Candela cd
Amount of Substance Mole mol
SI Unit of Measure for Length
One meter is the length of path traveled by
a light wave in a vacuum in a time interval
of 1/299,792,458 seconds.

1m
1
t second
299, 792, 458
 SI Unit of Measure for Mass
The kilogram is the unit of mass - it is equal
to the mass of the international prototype of
the kilogram (standard platinum-iridium
cylinder)
This standard is the only one
that requires comparison to
an artifact for its validity. A
copy of the standard is kept
by the International Bureau
of Weights and Measures.
SI Unit of Measure for Time
The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770
periods of the radiation corresponding to the
transition between the two hyperfine levels of
the ground state of the cesium 133 atom.

Cesium Fountain
Atomic Clock: The
primary time and
frequency standard
for the USA (NIST)
 Units for Mechanics
In mechanics we use only three fundamental
quantities: mass, length, and time. An
additional quantity, force, is derived from these
three.
Quantity SI unit USCS unit

Mass kilogram (kg) slug (slug)

Length meter (m) foot (ft)

Time second (s) second (s)

Force newton (N) pound (lb)

 Metric System
• These prefixes are based on powers of 10. What
does this mean?
– From each prefix every “step” is either:
• 10 times larger
or
• 10 times smaller
– For example
• Centimeters are 10 times larger than millimeters
• 1 centimeter = 10 millimeters
Why are we using the Metric system
of measurement rather than the
English system?
 SHORT-CUT FOR
CONVERTING SI UNIT
 Place Values of Move the
Metric Prefixes decimal point to
the left to divide.

Thousandth
Hundredth
Thousand

Hundred

Tenth
One
Ten

km hm dkm m dm cm mm
kL hL dkL L dL cL mL
kg Hg dkg g dg cg mg
 Procedure for Converting Units

1. Write down quantity to be converted.

2. Define each unit in terms of desired
unit.
3. For each definition, form two conversion
factors, one being the reciprocal of the
other.
4. Multiply the quantity to be converted by
those factors that will cancel all but the
desired units.
Example 1: Convert 12 in. to centimeters
given that 1 in. = 2.54 cm.
Step 1: Write down
quantity to be converted. 12 in.

Step 2. Define each unit

1 in. = 2.54 cm
in terms of desired unit.
Step 3. For each definition, 1 in.
form two conversion 2.54 cm
factors, one being the 2.54 cm
reciprocal of the other. 1 in
Example 1 (Cont.): Convert 12 in. to
centimeters given that 1 in. = 2.54 cm.

1 𝑖𝑛 2.54 𝑐𝑚
From Step 3 or
2.54 𝑐𝑚 1 𝑖𝑛
Step 4. Multiply by those factors that will
cancel all but the desired units. Treat unit
symbols algebraically.
 
2
1 in. in.
12 in.    4.72 Wrong
 2.54 cm  cm
Choice!
 2.54 cm 
12 in.    30.5 cm Correct
 1 in.  Answer!
Example 2: Convert 60 mi/h to units of ft/s
given 1 mi. = 5280 ft and 1 h = 3600 s.
Step 1: Write down mi
quantity to be converted.
60
h
Note: Write units so that numerators and
denominators of fractions are clear.
Step 2. Define each unit in terms of desired units.

1 mi. = 5280 ft

1 h = 3600 s
Ex. 2 (Cont): Convert 60 mi/h to units of ft/s
given that 1 mi. = 5280 ft and 1 h = 3600 s.

Step 3. For each definition, form 2 conversion

factors, one being the reciprocal of the other.

1 mi 5280 ft
1 mi = 5280 ft or
5280 ft 1 mi

1h 3600 s
1 h = 3600 s or
3600 s 1h

Step 3, shown here for clarity, can really be

done mentally and need not be written down.
Ex. 2 (Cont): Convert 60 mi/h to units of ft/s given
that 1 mi. = 5280 ft and 1 h = 3600 s.

Step 4. Choose Factors to cancel non-desired

units.

𝑚𝑖 5280 𝑓𝑡 1 ℎ𝑟 𝑓𝑡
60 ( )( )=88.0
ℎ𝑟 1 𝑚𝑖 3600 𝑠 𝑠

Treating unit conversions algebraically helps to

see if a definition is to be used as a multiplier or
as a divider.
 TRY IT ON YOUR OWN!
1. How many grams are there in 3.25 kg?
2. How many inches are in an angstrom, given
that 1angstrom=10−8 cm?
3. Lito is 172.22 cm tall and weighs 50 000 g.
Express his height and weight in meters and
kilograms, respectively.
4. Convert 120 km/hr to m/s.
 A REVIEW ON

SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

and

SCIENTIFIC NOTATION
 Significant Digits and Numbers
When writing numbers, zeros used ONLY to help in locating the
decimal point are NOT significant—others are. See examples.

Case 1. 123456 cm Case 1: 6 significant figures

Case 2. 4.5004 cm Case 2: 5 significant figures

Case 3. 0.00001061 cm Case 3: 4 significant figures

Case 4. 50.000 cm Case 4: 5 significant figures

Case 5. 50,600 cm Case 5: 3 significant figures

Case 6. 50,600 cm Case 6: 5 significant figures

Case 7. 5.060 x 105 cm Case 7: 4 significant figures

 COUNTING THE SIGNIFICANT
Group No. ___
Direction: Determine the number of significant digits for each item. Write your answer
inside the box. Provide a brief explanation explaining your answer.

Case 1. 135689

Case 2. 4.5004 cm

Case 3. 0.00001061 cm
TRY IT ON YOUR OWN!
Determine the number of significant digits.

1. 5 678 125 cm 7 significant figures

2. 0.0101 mm 3 significant figures

3. 0.000010 dm 2 significant figures

4. 10.00 L 4 significant figures

5. 10,000 g 4 significant figures

6. 1.00100 cL 6 significant figures
7. 5.601 x 1010 dam 4 significant figures
 Scientific Notation
Scientific notation provides a short-hand method for
expressing very small and very large numbers.
-9

0.000000001 10 Examples:
-6

0.000001 10 93,000,000 mi = 9.30 x 107 mi
-3
0.001  10 0.00457 m = 4.57 x 10-3 m
1  100
1000  103
v
876 m

8.76 x 102 m
1,000,000  106 0.00370 s 3.70 x 10-3s

1,000,000,000  109 v  3.24 x 105 m/s

 TEST YOURSELF!

Express the following in scientific notation with two

decimal places. Observe rounding off of digits.
1. 12345600000 cm 1. 1.23 x 10 10 cm
2. 14200000000000000 km 2. 1.42 x 10 16 km
3. .00000000000563 mm 3. 5.63 x 10 -12 mm
4. 155700000000 kg 4. 1.56 x 10 11 kg
5. 0.000235 mg 5. 2.35 x 10 -4 mg
 PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!
Convert the following units. Show your solution. Express your answer in
scientific notation with three S.F.

1) 3.67 x 10-1 km to m 1. 367 m

2) 9.752 x 105 m to cm 2. 9.75 x 107 cm
3) 6.924 x 104 km to mm 3. 6.92 x 1010 mm
4) 2.673 x 102 mm to cm 4. 26.7 cm
5) 3.904 x 104 mL to L 5. 39.0 L
6) 6.2 m to ft 6. 20.3 ft
7) 85 lb to kg 7. 38.6 kg
8) 5’3” to cm 8. 160 cm
9) 9.8 m/s2 to ft/min2 9. 1.16 x 105 ft/min2

10) 145 km/s to mi/hr 10. 3.24 x 105 mi/hr

OPERATIONS
OBSERVING
SIGNIFICANT
FIGURES
ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION
The answer must contain the same number of
decimal places as the term with the least
number of decimal places.

Ex: 9.65 cm + 8.4 cm – 2.89 cm = 15.16 cm

Note that the least precise measure is 8.4 cm.
Thus, answer must be to nearest tenth of cm
even though it requires 3 significant digits.

The appropriate way 15.2 cm

to write the answer is:
 Example 1. Find the perimeter of the plate
that is 95.7 cm long and 32 cm wide.

P= 2L + 2W= 2(95.7 cm) + 2(32 cm)=255.4

Ans. : P = 255 cm
 TRY IT ON YOUR OWN!

a. 20.63 + 6.6 cm + 3. 786 cm

= 31.016 cm ans. 31.0 cm

b. 387.876 L – 197.23L
= 190.646 L ans. 190.65 L
MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION
The answer must contain the same
number of significant figures as the
term with the least number of
significant figures.

Example. Find the area of a metal plate that is

8.71 cm by 3.2 cm.
A = LW = (8.71 cm)(3.2 cm) = 27.872 cm2
Only 2 digits justified: A = 28 cm2
 TRY IT ON YOUR OWN!

a. 9.25 m x 0.52 m x 11. 35m

=54.5935 m3 ans. 55 m3

b. 69.48 m by 3.62 s
= 19.19337017 m/s ans. 19.2 m/s
 Uncertainty of Measurement
All measurements are assumed to be
approximate with the last digit estimated.
The length in
“cm” here is
0 1 2
written as:
1.43 cm

The last digit “3” is estimated as 0.3

of the interval between 3 and 4.
 Estimated Measurements (Cont.)

Length = 1.43 cm 0 1 2

The last digit is estimated, but is significant. It

tells us the actual length is between 1.40 cm
and 1.50. It would not be possible to estimate
yet another digit, such as 1.436.

This measurement of length can be given in

three significant digits—the last is estimated.
Answer the following in ½ sheet of
paper.
1. Differentiate Metric system of measurement and
English system of measurement.
2. Convert the following units with two decimal places.
a. The highest waterfall in the world is Angel Falls in
Venezuela, with a total drop of 979.0 m Express this
drop in feet.
b. Express the speed limit of 65 miles/hour in terms of
meters/second.
c. Convert 15.00 meters to feet
3. Express the following in scientific
notation with three significant figures.
4. Perform the following operations and
observe the rules in counting significant
figures.