UNITS AND MEASUREMENTS

SCIENCE AND PHYSICS

 The
word ‘science’ has its root in the Latin verb scientia,
meaning “ ‘knowing the truth’
 The word ‘physics’ is derived from the Greek word
“Fusis”, meaning nature.
 The study of nature and natural phenomena is dealt within
physics. Hence physics is considered as the most basic of
all sciences.
Branche
s of
Physics
 Need for measurement in physics

• To understand any phenomenon in physics we have to perform

experiments.

• Experiments require measurements, and we measure several

physical properties like length, mass, time, temperature,
pressure etc.

• Experimental verification of laws & theories also needs

measurement of physical properties.
 Measurement in everyday life

Measurement of Measurement of
mass volume
 Measurement in everyday life

Measurement of Measurement of
length temperature
 Physical Quantity
A physical property that can be measured and
described by a number is called physical quantity.
Examples:
• Mass of a person is 65 kg.
• Length of a table is 3 m.
• Area of a hall is 100 m2.
• Temperature of a room is 300 K
Types of Physical Quantities
 Physicalquantities are classified into two types. They are
base quantities and derived quantities.
 Fundamental or base quantities are quantities which cannot
be expressed in terms of any other physical quantities.
 Quantities that can be expressed in terms of fundamental
quantities are called derived quantities. For example, area,
volume, velocity, acceleration, force, etc.
 Estimating physical quantities
 There are important physical quantities to learn in physics
 It
is useful to know these physical quantities, they are particularly useful
when making estimates
A few examples of useful quantities to memorise are given in the table
below (this is by no means an exhaustive list)
 Units for measurement
The standard used for the measurement of a
physical quantity is called a unit.
Examples:
• metre, foot, inch for length
• kilogram, pound for mass
• second, minute, hour for time
• fahrenheit, kelvin for temperature
 CGS system of units
• This system was first introduced in France.

• It is also known as Gaussian system of units.

• It is based on centimeter, gram and second as the

fundamental units of length, mass and time.
 MKS system of units

• This system was also introduced in France.

• It is also known as French system of units.

• It is based on meter, kilogram and second as the

fundamental units of length, mass and time.
 FPS system of units

• This system was introduced in Britain.

• It is also known as British system of units.

• It is based on foot, pound and second as the

fundamental units of length, mass and time.
 International System of units (SI)

• In 1971, General Conference on Weight and Measures held its

meeting and decided a system of units for international usage.

• This system is called international system of units and

abbreviated as SI from its French name.

• The SI unit consists of seven fundamental units and two

supplementary units.
 SI Base units
BASE QUANTITY SI BASE UNIT SYMBOL

Length metre m
Mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Temperature kelvin K
Electric current ampere A
Luminous intensity candela cd
Amount of substance mole mol
 Derived Quantities
 The quantities that can be described in terms of the base quantities
are known as derived quantities.
Example: Volume = Length * Length * Length = m 3
 Derived SI units
 Derived units are non-SI units, such as joules or pascals
These derived units can all be written as combinations of the SI base units
 To deduce the combination of base units, it is necessary to use the definition of the quantity
 The newton (N), the unit of force, is defined by the equation:
Force = mass × acceleration
Writing this equation in terms of the units of each quantity gives:
N = kg × m s–2 = kg m s–2
Therefore, the newton (N), written in terms of SI base units, is kg m s–2
 The joule (J), the unit of energy, is defined by the equation:
energy = ½ × mass × velocity2
J = kg × (m s–1)2 = kg m2 s–2
Therefore, the joule (J) in SI base units is kg m2 s–2
Examples
SI prefixes

 Physical quantities can span a huge range of values

 For example, the diameter of an atom is about 10 –10 m
(0.0000000001 m), whereas the width of a galaxy may be about
1021 m (1000000000000000000000 m)
 This is a difference of 31 powers of ten
 Powers of ten are numbers that can be achieved by multiplying 10
times itself
 It is useful to know the prefixes for certain powers of ten
 SI prefixes
Factor Name Symbol Factor Name Symbol
1024
yotta Y 10−1
deci d

10
21 zetta Z 10−2
centi c

1018
exa E 10−3
milli m

10
15 peta P 10−6
micro μ

1012
tera T 10−9
nano n
giga G −12 pico p
109 10

mega M 10−15
femto f
106
kilo k 10−18
atto a
103
hecto h −21 zepto z
102 10

deka da −24 yocto y

101 10
 Use of SI prefixes
• 3 milliampere = 3 mA = 3 x 10−3 A

• 5 microvolt = 5 μV = 5 x 10−6 V

• 8 nanosecond = 8 ns = 8 x 10−9 s

• 6 picometre = 6 pm = 6 x 10−12 m

• 5 kilometre = 5 km = 5 x 103 m
Homogeneity of physical equations

 An important skill is to be able to check the homogeneity of

physical equations using the SI base units
 The combined units on either side of the equation should be
the same
 To check the homogeneity of physical equations:
 Check the units on both sides of an equation
 Determine if they are equal
 If they do not match, the equation will need to be adjusted
Example

 The relationship between final velocity v,initial velocity u, the

acceleration a and the distance S is given by

 Step 1: Determine the units on the left

 Step 2: Determine the units on the right for each term
THEORY OF ERRORS

 The foundation of all experimental science and

technology is measurement. The result obtained
from any measurement will contain some
uncertainty. Such an uncertainty is termed error.
 Errors in Measurement
 The uncertainty in a measurement is called an error.
 systematic error
 Random error and gross error are the three possible errors.
 Systematic errors are reproducible inaccuracies that are consistently in the same direction.
These occur often due to a problem that persists throughout the experiment.
 Instrumental errors
 Imperfections in experimental technique or procedure
 Personal errors
 Errors due to external causes
 Zero error
 Zero error is a type of systematic error which occurs when an instrument gives a non-zero reading when the true
reading is zero
 An example may be a set of mass scales showing a reading of 0.200 g when nothing is on the scales
 This introduces a fixed error into readings which must be accounted for when the results are recorded
Random errors & Gross error
 Random errors may arise due to random and unpredictable variations in
experimental conditions like pressure, temperature, voltage supply etc.
 The error caused due to the shear carelessness of an observer is called gross error.
 For example
(i) Reading an instrument without setting it properly.
(ii) Taking observations in a wrong manner without bothering about the sources of
errors and the precautions.
(iii) Recording wrong observations.
(iv) Using wrong values of the observations in calculations.
 Precision & accuracy
Precision
 The precision of a measurement is how close the measured values are to each other; if a
measurement is repeated several times, then it can be described as precise when the values are
very similar to, or the same as, each other
 Smallest reading that an instrument can measure.
Accuracy
 The accuracy of a measurement is how close a measured value is to the true value; the
accuracy can be increased by repeating measurements and finding a mean average
A graph showing the precision and accuracy of different sets of
measurements

Random errors can affect precision - the quantity is being measured accurately but each
measurement is affected differently, spreading the results out. Systematic errors can lead to
precise inaccurate results, by adding 0.5 to each value, for example, the precise results are
moved away from the true value.
 UNCERTAINITY
● There is always a degree of uncertainty when measurements are taken;
the uncertainty can be thought of as the difference between the actual
reading taken (caused by the equipment or techniques used) and the true
value
● Uncertainties are not the same as errors
○ Errors can be thought of as issues with equipment or methodology
that cause a reading to be different from the true value
○ The uncertainty is a range of values around a measurement within
which the true value is expected to lie, and is an estimate
● Uncertainties can be represented in a number of ways:
○ Absolute Uncertainty: where uncertainty is given as a fixed quantity (as above)
○ Fractional Uncertainty: where uncertainty is given as a fraction of the
measurement
○ Percentage Uncertainty: where uncertainty is given as a percentage of the
measurement
● To find uncertainties in different situations:
○ The uncertainty in a reading (e.g. from a voltmeter): ± half the
smallest division
○ The uncertainty in a measurement (e.g. from a ruler): at least ±1
smallest division
○ The uncertainty in repeated data: half the range i.e. ± ½ (largest -
smallest value)
○ The uncertainty in digital readings: ± the last significant digit unless
otherwise quoted
 Rules for writing SI units

1
Full name of unit always starts with small
letter even if named after a person.
• newton • Newton
• ampere not • Ampere
• coulomb • Coulomb
 Rules for writing SI units

2
Symbol for unit named after a scientist
should be in capital letter.

• N for newton • A for ampere

• K for kelvin • C for coulomb
 Rules for writing SI units

3
Symbols for all other units are written in small
letters.

• m for meter • kg for kilogram

• s for second • cd for candela
 Rules for writing SI units

4
One space is left between the last digit of
numeral and the symbol of a unit.
• 10 kg • 10kg
• 5N not • 5N
• 15 m • 15m
 Rules for writing SI units

5
The units do not have plural
• 6 metre forms. • 6 metres
• 14 kg • 14 kgs
no
• 20 t • 20
second seconds
• 18 kelvin • 18 kelvins
 Rules for writing SI units

6
Full stop should not be used after the
units.
• 7 metre • 7 metre.
• 12 N not • 12 N.
• 25 kg • 25 kg.
 Rules for writing SI units

7
No space is used between the symbols for
units.
• 4 Js • 4Js
• 19 Nm not • 19 N m.
• 25 VA • 25 V A.