MODULE 1 GENERAL PHYSICS 1
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What is Physics?
The science in which matter and energy are studied both separately and in combination with one
another.
The science of nature, or that which pertains to natural objects, which deals with the laws and
properties of matter and the forces which act upon them.
Physics is one of the most fundamental of the sciences. Scientists of all disciplines use the ideas of
physics, including chemists who study the structure of molecules, paleontologists who try to reconstruct
how dinosaurs walked, and climatologists who study how human activities affect the atmosphere and
oceans. Physics is also the foundation of all engineering and technology. No engineer could design a flat-
screen TV, an interplanetary spacecraft, or even a better mousetrap without first understanding the basic
laws of physics.
The study of physics is also an adventure. You will find it challenging, sometimes frustrating,
occasionally painful, and often richly rewarding. If you’ve ever wondered why the sky is blue, how radio
waves can travel through empty space, or how a satellite stays in orbit, you can find the answers by using
fundamental physics. You will come to see physics as a towering achievement of the human intellect in
its quest to understand our world and ourselves.
The following are the lessons contained in this module:
1. MEASUREMENTS AND UNITS
2. SCALAR AND VECTORS QUANTITIES
At the end of this module, you are expected to:
Solve measurement problems involving conversion of units, expression of measurements in scientific
notation
Differentiate accuracy from precision
Differentiate random errors from systematic errors
Differentiate vector and scalar quantities
Perform addition of vectors
Rewrite a vector in component form
Lesson 1
MEASUREMENTS AND UNITS
Accurate measurement is a vital tool for doing science, a consistent set of units for measurement is
necessary. Physicists throughout the world use the International System of Units (also called the SI
system). The SI system is basically the metric system, which is convenient because units of different size
are related by powers of 10. The system has physical standards for length, mass, and time. These are called
fundamental units because they have an actual physical standard.
meter - the standard SI unit for length; denoted by "m".
o defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum over 1/299792458 of a second.
second - the standard unit of time; denoted by "s" or, less commonly, "sec."
o defined as a fraction of the time it takes the earth to complete an orbit around the sun, but
has now been redefined in terms of the frequency of one type of radiation emitted by a
cesium-133 atom.
kilogram - the standard unit for mass; denoted by "kg"
o The kilogram's standard is a block of platinum-iridium metal kept near Paris, France.
Meters, seconds, and kilograms are not the only unit entities.
Speed is a derived unit, measured in meters per second (m/s). Derived units are units that are expressed
using combinations of the fundamental units.
The SI system is a decimal system. Prefixes are used to change SI units by powers of ten. The metric
units for all quantities use the same prefixes.
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CONVERSION OF UNITS
Practice Exercises:
1. Convert 500 millimeters to meters.
The equivalency statement for millimeters and meters is 1000 mm = 1 m.
To convert 500 mm to m, we multiply 500 mm by a conversion factor that will cancel the
millimeter units and generate the meter units. This requires that the conversion factor has
meters in the numerator and millimeters in the denominator.
2. Convert 11 µg to mg.
When converting from one prefix to another, such as in this problem, it is usually easiest to
convert through the base unit. In this case, the base unit is grams, so we use the two following
equivalency statements:
1.0 x 10 6 μg=1 g 1 g=1 000 mg
The first conversion factor converts from micrograms to grams and the second conversion
factor converts from grams to milligrams.
SCIENTIFIC NOTATION
Scientific Notation is a special way of writing numbers:
Like this: scientific notation 700 = 7x102
Or this: scientific notation 4,900,000,000 = 4.9x109
It makes it easy to use big and small values.
Why is 700 written as 7 × 102 in Scientific Notation ?
700 = 7 × 100
and 100 = 102 (powers of 10)
so 700 = 7 × 102
Both 700 and 7 × 102 have the same value, just shown in different ways.
The number is written in two parts:
Just the digits, with the decimal point placed after the
first digit, followed by
× 10 to a power that puts the decimal point where it
should be (i.e. it shows how many places to move the
decimal point).
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To figure out the power of 10, think "how many places do I move the decimal point?"
When the number is 10 or greater, the decimal point has to move to the left, and the power of 10 is
positive.
When the number is smaller than 1, the decimal point has to move to the right, so the power of 10 is
negative.
Examples:
0.0055 is written 5.5 × 10-3 3.2 is written 3.2 × 100
Because 0.0055 = 5.5 × 0.001 = 5.5 × 10-3 We didn't have to move the decimal point at all,
so the power is 100
But it is now in Scientific Notation.
After putting the number in Scientific Notation, just check that:
The "digits" part is between 1 and 10 (it can be 1, but never 10)
The "power" part shows exactly how many places to move the decimal point
ACCURACY AND PRECISION
Accuracy is how close a measured value is to the Precision is how close the measured values are to
actual (true) value. each other.
RANDOM AND SYSTEMATIC ERRORS
All experimental uncertainty is due to either random errors or systematic errors.
Random errors are statistical fluctuations (in either direction) in the measured data due to the
precision limitations of the measurement device. Random errors usually result from the
experimenter’s inability to take the same measurement in exactly the same way to get exact the
same number.
Systematic errors, by contrast, are reproducible inaccuracies that are consistently in the same
direction. Systematic errors are often due to a problem which persists throughout the entire
experiment.
Note that systematic and random errors refer to problems associated with making measurements. Mistakes
made in the calculations or in reading the instrument are not considered in error analysis. It is assumed
that the experimenters are careful and competent!
How to minimize experimental error: some examples
Type of Error Example How to minimize it
Random You measure the mass of a ring
Take more data. Random errors can be
three times using the same balance
evaluated through statistical analysis and
and get slightly different values:
can be reduced by averaging over a large
17.46 g, 17.42 g, 17.44 g
number of observations.
Systematic The cloth tape measure that you
Systematic errors are difficult to detect
use to measure the length of an
and cannot be analyzed statistically,
object had been stretched out from
because all of the data is off in the same
years of use. (As a result, all of
direction (either to high or too low).
your length measurements were
Spotting and correcting for systematic
too long.) The electronic scale you
error takes a lot of care. Add or subtract
use reads 0.05 g too high for all
known error.
your mass measurements.
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Lesson 2
SCALAR AND VECTOR QUANTITIES
A scalar quantity is any quantity in physics that has magnitude, but not a direction associated with it.
Magnitude – A numerical value with units.
Examples: speed – 20 m/s
distance – 10 m
age – 15 years
heat – 1 000 calories
A vector is any quantity in physics that has both magnitude and direction.
Vectors are typically illustrated by drawing an ARROW above the symbol. The arrow is used to convey
direction and magnitude, ⃗v , ⃗x , a⃗ , ⃗
F.
Examples: velocity – 20 m/s, North
acceleration – 10 m/s2, East
force – 5 Newtons, West
APPLICATIONS OF VECTORS
VECTOR ADDITION – If 2 similar vectors point in the same direction, add them.
Example: A man walks 54.5 meters east, then another 30 meters east. Calculate his displacement relative to
where he started?
Notice that the SIZE of the arrow conveys MAGNITUDE and the
way it was drawn conveys DIRECTION.
VECTOR SUBTRACTION - If 2 vectors are going in opposite directions, you SUBTRACT.
Example: A man walks 54.5 meters east, then 30 meters west. Calculate his displacement relative to where
he started?
NON-COLLINEAR VECTORS - When 2 vectors are perpendicular, you must use the Pythagorean theorem.
Example: A man walks 95 km, East then 55 km, north. Calculate his resultant displacement.
c2 a2 b2 c a2 b2
c Resultant 952 552
c 12050 109.8 km
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What about the direction of the resultant displacement?
In the previous example, displacement was asked for and since it is a vector, we should include a
direction on out final answer.
What about the value of the angle?
Just putting North of East on the answer is NOT specific enough for the direction. We must find the
value of the angle.
To find the value of the angle we use a trigonometric function called TANGENT.
So, the complete final answer is: 109.8 km, 30 degrees North of East (30° N of E)
What if you are missing a component?
Example:
Suppose a person walked 65 m, 25 degrees East of North. What were his horizontal and vertical
components? (Hint: Always make a right triangle)
To solve for components, we often use the trig functions sine and cosine.
adjacent side opposite side
cosine sine
hypotenuse hypotenuse
adj hyp cos opp hyp sin
adj V .C. 65 cos 25 58.91m, N
opp H .C. 65 sin 25 27.47 m, E
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Example:
A dog, searching for food wanders 35.0 meters, East then 20.0 meters, North. Frustrated, he wanders
another 12.0 meters, West then 6.0 meters, South. Calculate the dog's displacement.
Learning Tip: In solving problems with multiple vectors, you need to distinguish first the different components with
their corresponding axis in which the vectors are located. Always follow the Cartesian plane.
North (+ y-axis)
Diagram:
x-axis components y-axis components
35.0 m, E → + 35.0 m 20.0 m, N → + 20.0 m
+
12.0 m, W → – 12.0 m 6.0 m, S → - 6.0 m
TOTA
L West (- x-axis)+ 23.0 m East (++x-axis)
14.0 m
We call this process of solving vectors as the COMPONENT METHOD.
South
Based on the calculation on the table of components using the (- y-axis)
component method:
“Resultant” vector along x-axis (Rx) is + 23.0 m or 23.0 m, E
o Horizontal component
“Resultant” vector along y-axis (Ry) is + 14.0 m or 14.0 m, N
o Vertical component Learning Tip:
STEPS IN PROBLEM SOLVING
So, using the Pythagorean theorem in the resultant displacement: 1. Read and analyze the word problem.
2. List down all the given quantities.
3. Identify the unknown value or the asked
R2 = R
⃗ x
2
+ Ry 2 quantity in the problem.
4. Choose and use the correct formula for
R 2 = (23.0 m)
⃗ 2
+ (14.0 m)2 the unknown or asked quantity.
R =
⃗ √(23.0 m)2+(14.0 m)2 5. Calculate.
= 26.93 m Do not forget to box your final answer. 😊
Then, use the trigonometric function tangent (tan) to get the direction of the resultant displacement:
Given: Rx = + 23.0 m Ry = + 14.0 m
opposite side
tan θ = =
adjacent side
= opposite side of the angle θ
tan θ = 0.6087
Using calculator, do the tangent inverse (tan-1) to
get the value of θ: adjacent side of the angle θ
θ = tan-1 (0.6087)
= 31.30° express your answer for θ in degrees to denote direction
R = 26.93 m at 31.30° N of E
so, the complete answer is: ⃗
PRACTICE EXERCISES:
1. A boat moves with a velocity of 15.0 m/s, N in a river which flows with a velocity of 8.0 m/s, W.
Calculate the boat's resultant velocity respect to due north. (Answer: 17.0 m at 28.1° West of North)
2. A plane moves with a velocity of 63.5 m/s at 32 degrees South of East. Calculate the plane's
horizontal and vertical velocity components. (Answer: Rx = 53.85 m/s, E; Ry = 33.64 m/s, S)
3. A storm system moves 5000 km due east, then shifts course at 40 degrees North of East for 1500 km.
Calculate the storm's resultant displacement. (Answer: 6224.14 km @ 8.91 degrees, North of East)
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Assessment #1
MEASUREMENTS AND VECTORS
Name Date
Section Score
PART I. TRUE OR FALSE: Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if otherwise.
1. The International System of Units is called the metric system because units of
different size are related by powers of 10.
2. The SI base unit for mass is the gram (g).
3. Derived units are units that are expressed using combinations of the fundamental
units.
4. Speed is a derived unit, measured in meters per second.
5. A nanometer means 1.0 x 109 meters.
6. Accuracy is how close a measured value is to the actual value while precision is how
close the measured values are to each other.
7. Random errors usually result from the experimenter’s inability to take the same
measurement in exactly the same way to get exact the same number
8. Mistakes made in the calculations or in reading the instrument are considered in error
analysis.
9. A vector is any quantity in physics that has both magnitude and direction.
10. A scalar quantity is any quantity in physics that has magnitude, but not a direction
associated with it.
PART II. CONVERSION OF UNITS: Convert the following units onto the units given. Express your answers in
scientific notation (limit to 2 decimal places only) and show your solution on the space provided for.
1. 2.54 cm to µm 6. 1 meter to inches
1 inch = 2.54 cm
2. 190 milligram to kilogram 7. 13,000 dekameter to ft
5280 ft = 1.609 km
3. 500 gigabytes to kilobyte 8. 1 year to seconds
4. 24 hs to ns 9. 60 km/h to m/s
5. 76.90 Mhertz to Ghertz 10. 16 kJoules to calories
1 J = 0.239 calories
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PART III. PROBLEM SOLVING. Solve for what is asked in the word problems. Show your complete solution on
the space provided for.
1. Mr. Right walks 130 meters West, then another 50 meters east. What is his displacement relative to
where he started?
2. A car moves with a velocity of 60 km/h at 45 degrees North of East. Calculate the car's horizontal and
vertical velocity components.
3. A man, searching for the love of his life, wanders 85.0 meters, East then 13.0 meters, South. Frustrated,
he wanders another 90.0 meters, West then 50.0 meters, South. Calculate the man's displacement.
4. A storm system moves 7 000 km due west, then shifts course at 75 degrees East of North for 1 200 km.
Calculate the storm's resultant displacement.
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