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Lecture1 Pub

Uploaded by

Soad Daawoh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 1

Physics, 4th Edition


James S. Walker

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


Units of Chapter 1

• Physics and the Laws of Nature


• Units of Length, Mass, and Time
• Dimensional Analysis
• Significant Figures
• Converting Units
• Order-of-Magnitude Calculations
• Problem Solving in Physics

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-1 Physics and the Laws of Nature

Physics: the study of the fundamental laws of nature


• Physicists strive to find the most simple, general laws
• these laws are expressed as mathematical equations

• much complexity can arise


from relatively simple laws

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-2 Units of Length, Mass, and Time
SI units of length [L], mass [M], time [T]:

Length: the meter (m)


Was: one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole
to the equator
Now: the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in
1/299,792,458 of a second

Mass: the kilogram (kg)


One kilogram is the mass of a particular platinum-iridium
cylinder kept at the International Bureau of Weights and
Standards, Sèvres, France.

Time: the second (s)


One second is the time for radiation from a cesium-133
atom to complete 9,192,631,770 oscillation cycles.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
1-2 Units of Length, Mass, and Time

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-2 Units of Length, Mass, and Time

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-2 Units of Length, Mass, and Time

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-2 Units of Length, Mass, and Time

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-3 Dimensional Analysis
Other physical quantities have composite units.
We use [ ] to designate unit type (called dimensionality)
of the physical quantity, i.e in what units it is measured

From the table:


Distance = velocity × time
Velocity = acceleration × time
Energy = mass × (velocity)2

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-3 Dimensional Analysis
• Any valid physical formula must be dimensionally
consistent – each term must have the same dimensions

Let us try iClicker


Frequency is D A
From the table, which relation
is incorrect
A. Distance = velocity x time
B. Velocity = acceleration / time
C. Energy = mass × (velocity)2
D. mass x acceleration x distance
= Energy

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-4 Significant Figures

Is my height 2m, 1.8 m, 1.82 m or 1.8165 m ?

• accuracy of measurements is limited


• significant figures: the number of digits in a quantity that
are known with certainty – for example human height is
usually measured to three significant figures
• number of significant figures after multiplication or
division is the number of significant figures in the least-
known quantity

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-4 Significant Figures
number of significant figures after multiplication or division is
the number of significant figures in the least-known quantity

Example:

A tortoise travels at 2.51 cm/s for 12.23 s. How far does


the tortoise go?

Answer: 2.51 cm/s × 12.23 s = 30.7 cm (three significant


figures)

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-4 Significant Figures

Round-off error:
The last digit in a calculated number may vary depending
on how it is calculated, due to rounding off of insignificant
digits
Example:
$2.21 + 8% tax = $2.3868, rounds to $2.39
$1.35 + 8% tax = $1.458, rounds to $1.49
Sum: $2.39 + $1.49 = $3.88
$2.21 + $1.35 = $3.56
$3.56 + 8% tax = $3.84

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-4 Significant Figures

Scientific Notation
• Leading or trailing zeroes can make it hard to
determine number of significant figures: 2500, 0.000036
• Each of these has two significant figures
• Scientific notation writes these as a number from 1-10
multiplied by a power of 10, making the number of
significant figures much clearer:
2500 = 2.5 × 103
If we write 2.50x103, it has three significant figures
0.000036 = 3.6 x 10-5

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-5 Converting Units

Converting feet to meters:


1 m = 3.281 ft (this is a conversion factor)
Or: 1 = 1 m / 3.281 ft
316 ft × (1 m / 3.281 ft) = 96.3 m
Note that the units cancel properly – this is the key to
using the conversion factor correctly!

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


Let us try iClicker

What is the most accurate conversion


factor from km to miles that you can
deduce from this picture ?

A. 1.6
B. 1.8
C. 1.56
D. 1.615
E. 0.81

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-6 Order-of-Magnitude Calculations

Why are estimates useful?


1. as a check for a detailed calculation – if your answer
is very different from your estimate, you’ve probably
made an error
2. to estimate numbers where a precise calculation
cannot be done

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-6 Order-of-Magnitude Calculations
Example:

Approximately how many times does an


average human heart beat in a lifetime?

A) 3 × 1011
B) 3 × 1010
C) 3 × 109
D) 3 × 108
E) 4 × 107

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.


1-8 Problem Solving in Physics

No recipe or plug-and-chug works all the time, but here


are some guidelines:
1. Read the problem carefully
2. Sketch the system
3. Visualize the physical process
4. Strategize
5. Identify appropriate equations
6. Solve the equations
7. Check your answer
8. Explore limits and special cases

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.

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