PHYSICS 1

Units and
Measurements
 Branch of science that describes matter, energy,
space and time at the most fundamental level

Spchsyi
A quantitative comparison of an
object's physical quantity that
involves a number and a unit.

Eatmserenmu
 Any number that is written as a
number between 1 and 10 times
an integer power of ten

Citifsicennatoiton
 Refers to the number of
important single digits in a value,
often a measurement

Tasginfinicsfiruge
Used in determining the degree
of conformity of a test result to a
true or accepted value

Ycacarcu
 Pertains to the consistency of
achieving the same results
repeatedly even if the value is
far from the true value

Spercoini
 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 atoms

nsodec
 Defined to be the mass of a cylinder of platinum-
iridium alloy at the International Bureau of Weights
and Measures

mkgolari
The distance traveled by
light in vacuum during a
time interval of
1/299,792,458 s

ertem
The constant current in two long, thin, straight, parallel
conductors placed 1 m apart in vacuum that would
produce a force
on the conductors of 2x10-7 Newtons per meter of
length

emarep
 The fraction 1/273.16 of the
thermodynamic temperature of
the triple point of water

velnik
The amount of substance that
contains as many elementary
entities as there are atoms in
0.012 kg of carbon-12

eolm
 The luminous intensity in a given
direction of a source that emits
radiation of frequency 540x1012 Hz
and that has a radiant intensity in
that direction of 1/683 watts per
steradian

acdalen
 Used to help us see a
pattern in the relationship
between two quantities(
dependent and
independent variable)

psgarh
Errors associated with a particular instrument or
experimental technique

csmeysitat srerro
Errors caused by unknown and unpredictable
changes in the experiment

marodn rsorer
• Measurement- is a quantitative
comparison of an object's physical
quantity that involves a number and
a unit.

• Uncertainties in measurement are

due to measuring instrument,
external forces such as temperature,
pressure and location and the skill of
the person who took the
measurement. This uncertainty can
be described in terms of accuracy
and precision
 Uncertainties in Measurement can
be described in terms of:
• Accuracy-used in • Precision- pertains to
determining the the consistency of
degree of conformity achieving the same
of a test result to a true results repeatedly even
or accepted value if the value is far from
the true value
 PHYSICAL QUANTITIES
- a property of a material that can be
quantified by measurement.

• FOUR FUNDAMENTAL QUANTITIES

o LENGTH (L)
o MASS (M)
o TIME (T)
o ELECTRIC CURRENT (I)
 2 MAJOR SYSTEM OF
UNITS
• SI UNITS

• ENGLISH UNITS (ALSO KNOWN AS THE

CUSTOMARY/IMPERIAL SYSTEM)
 SI UNITS: SYSTÈME
INTERNATIONAL
FUNDAMENTAL SI UNITS
ELECTRIC
LENGTH MASS TIME
CURRENT

Meter (m) Kilogram (kg) Seconds (s) Ampere (A)

 LENGTH
• 1799 – one ten millionth of the
distance from the equator to
the North Pole
• 1960 – distance between two
lines on a specific bar of
platinum-iridium alloy stored
under controlled conditions;
but was later abandoned
• 1960 – 1 650 763.73
wavelengths of orange-red
light emitted form krypton-86
lamp; but was also abandoned
in October 1983
 LENGTH – meter
• Meter – the distance traveled
by light in vacuum during a
time interval of 1/299 792 458
second

• This latest definition

establishes the speed of light
at 299 792 458 meters per
second
 MASS – kilogram
• The SI unit of mass, the
kilogram, is defined as the
mass of a specific platinum-
iridium alloy cylinder kept at
the International Bureau of
Weights and Measures at
Sèvres, France.
• Mass is a quantity used to
measure the resistance to a
change in the motion of an
object.
 TIME – second
• Before 1960, the time
standard was defined in
terms of the average length
of a solar day in the year
1900.

• A solar day is the time

between successive
appearances of the Sun at
the highest point it reaches in
the sky each day.
 TIME – second
• The basic unit of time, the
second, was defined to be
(1/60)(1/60)(1/24) = 1/86 400 of
the average solar day.
• In 1967 – the second was
redefined to take advantage
of the high precision attainable
with an atomic clock, which
uses the characteristic
frequency of the light emitted
from the cesium-133 atom as its
“reference clock”.
 TIME – second
• Recently, the second is now
defined as 9 192 631 700 times
the period of oscillation of
radiation from the cesium
atom.
Units of Measurement
SYSTEM
SI CGS BE
Length Meter (m) Centimeter Foot (ft)
(cm)
Mass Kilogram (kg) Gram (g) Slug (sl)
Time Second (s) Second (s) Second (s)
• Significant figures- are digits that carry
meaning contributing to its measurement
resolution

• Rules in determining significant figures

1. All nonzero digits are significant.
2. Zeros between nonzero digits are significant
3. Zeros to the right of a decimal are significant
4. Zeros to the left of nonzero digits are not
significant
5. When a number ends in zeros, the zeros could
be significant if the decimal point is indicated
or drawing a bar on the top of the zeros.
 Significant Figures
• Scientific Notation – used to
indicate the number of
significant figures and thus
removes the ambiguity
Examples: 2500; 0.00025
2.5 x 103 – 2 SF; 2.5 x 10-4 – 2 SF
2.50 x 103 – 3 SF; 2.50 x 10-4 – 3 SF
2.500 x 103 – 4 SF; 2.500 x 10-4 – 4
SF
System of Measurements
Derived
Unit
Quantities

Density (d) mass/volume ( kg/m3)

no. of moles of solute/
molarity (M)
liters of solution (mol/L)
no. of moles of solute/ kg
molality (m)
of solvent ( mol/kg)
volume (V) m3
force (F) kg.m/s2 or N
area m2
pressure force/area (N/m2 or Pa)
 Conversion of Units
Length
1 in= 2.54 cm 1m = 39.37 in= 3.281 ft
1 ft = 30.48 cm =12 in 1 mi=5280 ft=1.609km

Time
1 yr=365.24 d = 3.156x 107 s
1 d = 24 h= 1440 min= 8.64 x 104 s
 Conversion of Units
Speed
1 mi/h= 1.467 ft/s= 1.609 km/h=.447 m/s

Volume
1L= 1000 cm3 = 1x10-3 m3 = 1 dm3
1 cm3= 0.06102 in3=1 mL= 1x 10-6 m3
1 gal (US) = 3.785 L
1m 3 = 1x 106 cm 3 = 35.31 ft 3
Conversion of Units
Mass
1 kg= 1000g = 2.2 lbm
Force
1N= 0.2248 lbf
Energy
1 J= 0.7376 ft.lb = 6.242 x1018 eV
1 cal= 4.186 J
1 BTU= 1055 J
1 kWh = 3.6 MJ
Conversion of Units
Power
1 W = 1 J/s
1 hp= 550 ft.lb/s= 745.7 W
1 BTU/h= 0.2931 W
Pressure
1 Pa= 1 N/m2= 1.45 x 10-4 lb/ in2
1 atm=0.1013 Mpa= 14.7 lb/in2
=760 mmHg= 760 torr= 1.013 bar
= 1.013 x105 Pa
 Conversion of Units
• To convert between Fahrenheit (°F) and
degrees Celsius (°C):

Tc = 95 × (Tf − 32 )

Tf = (59) × TC + 32

Where: Tc is temperature in Celsius

Tf is temperature in Fahrenheit
 Conversion of Units
• To convert between degrees Celsius (°C)
and Kelvin (K):
TC = Tk − 273.15
TK = TC + 273.15

• To convert between degrees Fahrenheit

(°F) and Rankine (R):
Tf = TR − 459.69
TR = Tf + 459.69
 Other conversion factors
• 1 foot (ft) = 0.305 meters (m)
• 1 yard (yd) = 0.914 meters (m)
• 1 rod = 16.5 feet (ft)
• 1 astronomical unit (AU) = 1.50 x 108
kilometers (km)
• 1 light year (LY) = 9.461 x 1012 kilometers ( km)
• 1 slug = 14.6 kilograms (kg)
• 1 atomic mass unit (u) = 1.66 x 10-27
kilogram (kg)
• 1 liter (L) = 1000 cubic centimeters (cm3)
• 1 quart (qt) = 2 pints (pt) = 946 milliliters (mL)
= 0.946 liters (L)
 Powers of Ten
Prefix Symbo Factor Prefix Symbo Factor
l l
yotta Y 1024 yocto y 10-24
zetta Z 1021 zepto z 10-21
exa E 1018 atto a 10-18
peta P 1015 femto f 10-15
tera T 1012 pico p 10-12
giga G 109 nano n 10-9
mega M 106 micro µ 10-6
kilo k 103 milli m 10-3
hecto h 102 centi c 10-2
deka da 101 deci d 10-1
 Conversion of Units
• Examples:
1. If a car is traveling at a
speed of 28.0m/s, is it
exceeding the speed limit of
55.0 mi/h?
2. Convert 152 mi/h to m/s.
3. Convert 22.0m/s2 to
km/min2.
4. Convert 4.50 x 103 kg/m3 to
g/cm3.
 Trigonometry
• Examples:
3. A person measures the height of a
building by walking out a distance of
46.0 m from its base and shining a
flashlight beam toward the top.
When the beam is elevated at an
angle of 39.0° with respect to the
horizontal, the beam just strikes the
top of the building. Find the height
(in ft) of the building and the
distance (in cm) the flashlight beam
has to travel before it strikes the top
of the building.
 Problem-Solving Strategy
1. Read Problem
2. Draw Diagram
3. Label Physical Quantities
4. Identify Principle(s); list data
5. Choose Equation(s)
6. Solve Equation(s)
7. Substitute Known Values
8. Check Answer
 Trigonometry
• Examples:
1. An airplane travels 4.50 x 102
km due east and then
travels an unknown distance
due north. Finally, it returns
to its starting point by
traveling a distance of 525
km. How far did the
airplane travel in the
northerly direction?
 Accuracy and Precision
• Accuracy refers to the closeness of
a measured value to a standard or
known value.
• For example, if in lab you obtain a
weight measurement of 3.2 kg for a
given substance, but the actual or
known weight is 10 kg, then your
measurement is not accurate. In this
case, your measurement is not close
to the known value.
 Errors
• Random errors in experimental
measurements are caused by
unknown and unpredictable
changes in the experiment. These
changes may occur in the
measuring instruments or in the
environmental conditions.
 Errors
Examples of causes of random errors
are:
• electronic noise in the circuit of an
electrical instrument,
• irregular changes in the heat loss
rate from a solar collector due to
changes in the wind.
 Errors
• Systematic errors in experimental
observations usually come from the
measuring instruments. They may
occur because:
• there is something wrong with the
instrument or its data handling
system, or
• because the instrument is wrongly
used by the experimenter.