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Chapter 1 Notes

This document provides an overview of fundamental concepts in physics, including measurement standards, matter and models, dimensional analysis, unit conversions, estimates, and significant figures. It discusses how physics is based on quantitative measurements and experimental observations. Key topics covered include the international standards for units of length, mass and time, atomic structure and models, and dimensional analysis for relating physical quantities.

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Anu Rao
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362 views

Chapter 1 Notes

This document provides an overview of fundamental concepts in physics, including measurement standards, matter and models, dimensional analysis, unit conversions, estimates, and significant figures. It discusses how physics is based on quantitative measurements and experimental observations. Key topics covered include the international standards for units of length, mass and time, atomic structure and models, and dimensional analysis for relating physical quantities.

Uploaded by

Anu Rao
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 1: Physics and Measurement

- Physics is based on experimental observations and quantitative measurements


- Classical physics includes the principles of classical mechanics, thermodynamics, optics, and
electromagnetism developed before 1900
- Important contributions provided by Newton (made calculus)
- Mechanics improved in 18th century, and thermodynamics and electromagnetism were not developed
until the latter part of the 19th century
- Modern physics began near the end of the 19th century especially theories of releativity and quantum
mechanics
- Einstein’s special theory of relativity describes the concepts of space, time and energy, and shows
that the speed of light is the upper limit of the speed of an object and that mass and energy are
related
- Quantum mechanics was formulated by a number of distinguished scientists to provide descriptions
of physical phenomena at the atomic level

1.1 STANDARDS OF LENGTH, MASS, AND TIME

- Each measurement is associated with a physical quantity


- 1960: an international committee established a set of standards for the fundamental quantities of
sciences, called SI (international systems)
o Fundamental units of length: meter
o Fundamental units of mass: kilogram
o Fundamental units of time: second
o Fundamental units of temperature: Kelvin
o Fundamental units of electric current: ampere
o Fundamental units of luminous intensity: candela
o Fundamental unit of amount of substance: mole
- Three most importants unites in mechanics: length, mass, and time

Length

- The distance between two points in space is length


- The latest definition of the meter, is: the distance traveled by light in vaccum during a time of
1/299, 792, 458 second.
- This means that the speed of light is 299, 792, 458 meters/second
o Valid everywhere because we assume that light is the same everywhere in the universe

Mass

- The fundamental unit of mass, the kilogram, is the mass of a specific platinum iridium alloy
cylinder kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Sevres, France

Time

- The standard unit of time, the second, is defined as 9, 192, 631, 770X the period of vibration of
radiation from the cesium 133 atom

A derived quantity is density: m/V=p


1.2 MATTER AND MODEL BUILDING

- there is often a model for a physical system that is related to the phenomenon
- mental model of an atom based on a system of a nucleus and one or more electrons outside the
nucleus
- based on the model, we make predictions about its behavior based on the interactions among the
components of the system or the interaction between the system and the environment outside the
system
- an atom is a particle that can no longer be cut
- the atomic number of the element is the number of protons= numbers of electrons
- the mass number is the number of protons + neutrons in a nucleus
- each proton is composed of 6 diff quarks: up, down, strange, charmed, bottom, and top.
o Up, charmed, and top = +2/3
o Down, strange, and bottom= -1/3
o A proton contains 2 up quarks and 1 down quark.
o A neutron contains 2 down quarks and 1 up quark.

1.3 DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS

- Dimension is length: L, M, T (length, mass, time)


- Use dimensional analysis because dimensions can be treated as algebraic quantities

1.4 CONVERSION OF UNITS

- Some qualities btw SI and US customary units of length:


o 1 mile= 1,609 m= 1.609 km
o 1 ft= .3048 m = 30.48 cm
o 1 m= 39.27 in= 3.281 ft
o 1 in= .0254 m= 2.54 cm

1.5 ESTIMATES AND ORDER OF MAGNITUDE CALCULATIONS

- To find the order of magnitude:


o Express the number in scientific notation with the multiplier of the power of ten between 1
and 10 and a unit
o If the multiplier is less than square root of 10, the order of magnitude of the number is the
power of ten in the scientific notation. If the multiplier is greater than 3.162, the order of
magnitude is one larger than the power of ten in the scientific notation

1.6 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

You know this 

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