GENERAL PHYSICS 1

MODULE 1: Units and Measurements

Many investigations in physics will involve taking measurements of quantities and calculating
some results. For measurement and calculations to be meaningful, units must be introduced. A
quantity without units is of no use to anyone. Measurement involves two parts: the numerical value
representing the size and the units of that measurement.

Investigations in physics typically involve four important principles:

• Experimentation

To test whether a hypothesis will agree with actual experiences, experiments must be
performed. Scientists often perform many experiments to test the reliability of their hypothesis. They
may have to repeat and sometimes modify experiments until they are convinced that their proposed
hypothesis is correct.

• Observation

We observe things and events every day, and we base our actions on these observations. We
become skilled at associating different observations, and using our past observations to predict
future events. For example, when crossing the road we observe the position of cars, trucks, and so
on. We estimate their speed, and then judge whether it is safe to cross the road.

• Description

Shows the result of how the experiment and the data is processed.

• Measuring

The measurement of any observable event is made in terms of units of some agreed
standard. The unit of length maybe feet, inches, meters, centimeters or millimeters. For example, we
can talk of the length of a pencil as being 0.33 feet, 4.0 inches, or 10.0 centimeters long. To specify
length as 10.0 without giving the units is confusing and meaningless.

Quantity and Units

Quantity is a definite or indefinite amount of a specified magnitude or size. It is also related to how
much there are of something that we can quantify known as physical quantity. A physical quantity is
measured by defining its units of measurement or using a measuring instrument.

Fundamental and Derived Quantities

A physical quantity is anything that can be measured and are expressed in terms of a numerical value
or magnitude and a unit. Examples are area and the unit is square metre (m2), and speed which is
expressed in a unit metre per second (m/s). Non-physical quantities (qualitative) such as love, hate,
fear and hope cannot be measured. Each of the quantities used by scientists and non-scientists alike
is measured in a particular unit.

The table below lists the seven base units of the SI system.

Base quantity Name of unit Symbol for unit

Length Meter m
 Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second s
Electric current Ampere A
Temperature Kelvin K
Amount of substance Mole mol
Luminous intensity Candela cd
Table 1. Seven base (or fundamental) units of the SI system.

Some symbols given above are written in capital letter because it represents the

surname of the scientists who discovered the unit. Using the base units, it is possible to derive a
system of units which can be used

to measure other quantities. Derived quantities are formed from basic quantities. Derived units are
made by a combination of two or more of the fundamental units. A

simple example is the unit of area, the square meter (m2). Other examples are given in the table
below.

Base quantity Name of unit Symbol for unit

length meter m

mass kilogram kg

time second s

electric current ampere A

Temperature kelvin K

amount of substance mole mol

luminous intensity candela cd

Derive Quantity Unit Symbol

Area square meter m2

Volume cubic meter m3

Table 2. Some SI Derived Units

Some derived quantities have been given specific names, such as Newton, Watt

and Joule. This combination of basic unit can be replaced by the Newton (N), Joule

(J), and Watts (W). 1 Newton = 1 kilograms metre per second squared (1N =1kgm/s2);

1 Joule = 1 Newton metre (1J= 1Nm);

1 Watt = 1 Joule per second (1W=1J/s).

International System of Units

An internationally agreed system of units is necessary to standardize

measurement of these quantities, and such a system is now in general use. In 1960

the international authority on units agreed to adopt the Systeme Internationale

d’Unites, or the International System of Units. The abbreviation of which is SI in all

languages. The SI is a set of metric units. It is a decimal system in which units are

divided or multiplied by 10 to give smaller or larger units. Examples:

1. It would be difficult to give the length of a rugby field in millimeters. The length of

the rugby field is 100 000mm which is equivalent to 100m. Giving it in a more

appropriate unit that is meters, would give people a far better idea of the actual length

of the field. 2. It would be equally inappropriate to give the thickness of a human hair in kilometers.
The thickness of a human hair is 0.000 000 1km which is equal to 1 millimetre giving it

in a more appropriate unit that is millimeters, would give people a far better idea of the

actual thickness of the hair. 3. Parts of words like kilo- and milli- that are used above are called
prefixes. In

science, we use prefixes like these to represent multiples or sub-multiples of a more

basic unit. The table below is presented for easy understanding. Power

of 10 Prefix Symbol Example

Name

Example

Symbol

Example

Value

Example Description

10

18 exa E Exameter Em 10

18 m

Distance light travels in

a century

10

15 peta P Petasecond Ps 10

15 s 30 million years

10

12
tera T Terawatt TW 10

12 W Powerful laser output

Frequency Hertz Hz

Density kilogram per cubic metre kg/m3

Force Newton N

Work, energy Joule J

Power Watt W

Velocity ( speed) metre per second m/s

10

9 giga G Gigahertz GHz 10

9 Hz

A microwave

frequency

10

6 mega M Megacurie MCi 10

6 Ci High radioactivity

10

3 kilo K Kilometer Km 10

3 m About 6/10 mile

10

2 hecto H Hectoliter hL 10

2 L 26 gallons

10

1 deka Da Dekagram Dag 10

1 g Teaspoon of butter

10

(=1) ____ ____

10

–1 deci d Deciliter dL 10
–1 L Less than half a soda

10

–2 centi c Centimeter cm 10

–2 m Fingertip thickness

10

–3 milli m Millimeter mm 10

–3 m Flea at its shoulder

10

–6 micro µ Micrometer µm 10

–6 m Detail in microscope

10

–9 nano n Nanogram Ng 10

–9 g Small speck of dust

10

–12 pico p Picofarad pF 10

–12 F Small capacitor in radio

10

–15

femto f Femtometer Fm 10

–15 m Size of a proton

10

–18 atto a Attosecond As 10

–18 s

Time light takes to

cross an atom

Table 3. Metric Prefixes and symbols used to denote the different various factors of 10 in the

metric system. The metric system is convenient because conversions between metric units can

be done simply by moving the decimal place of a number. This is because the metric

prefixes are sequential powers of 10. There are 100 centimeters in a meter, 1000

meters in a kilometer, and so on. In non-metric systems, such as U.S. customary

units, the relationships are less simple—there are 12 inches in a foot, 5,280 feet in a
mile, 4 quarts in a gallon, and so on. Another advantage of the metric system is that

the same unit can be used over extremely large ranges of values simply by switching

to the most-appropriate metric prefix. For example, distances in meters are suitable

for building construction, but kilometers are used to describe road construction. Therefore, with the
metric system, there is no need to invent new units when

measuring very small or very large objects—you just have to move the decimal point

(and use the appropriate prefix). Significant Figures and Scientific Notation

Significant figures are those digits in a number or measurement that are not

being used and considered as place-values. Zeroes are not significant if they are

used only to indicate the position of the decimal point. For example, if the length of a

computer desk, as measured by a ruler graduated in millimeters, was found to be

1564.3mm, the measurement has five significant figures. Here are the Rules for Significant Figures
which will help you to understand them

better. A. All non-zero figures are significant: 25.4 has three significant figures. B. All zeros between
non-zeros are significant: 30.08 has four significant figures.

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C. Zeros to the right of a non-zero figure but to the left of the decimal point are not

significant (unless specified with a bar): 109 000 has three significant figures. D. Zeros to the right of
a decimal point but to the left of a non-zero figure are not

significant: 0.050, only the last zero is significant; the first zero merely calls attention

to the decimal point. E. Zeros to the right of the decimal point and following a non-zero figure are

significant: 304.50 have five significant figures.

Table 4 Significant figures position

When performing calculations we must consider the significant figures. When

adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing numbers, the answer should contain only

as many significant figures as the number involved in the operation that has the least

number of significant figures. For example:

1) 264.68 – 2.4711 = 262.2089 = 262.21. In this operation,

the least number of significant figures in the operation is

five so the final answer must have five significant figures. 2) 2.345 x 3.56 = 8.3482= 8.35. The final
answer has three

significant figures because the least number of significant

figures in the operation is three that is 3.56. 3) The following values are part of a set of experimental
data: 618.5 cm and 1450.6mm. Write the sum of these

values correct to the right number of significant figures. Scientific notation or standard index
notation is a way of writing any number

between 1 and 10 multiplied by an appropriate power of 10 notations. It is a shorthand

method of writing numbers that are very large or very small. Let us take for example 1 and 2:

1. The distance from the earth to the nearest star is about 39 900 000 000 000 000 m.

In scientific notation it is written as 3.99 x 10

16m. The exponent tells you how

many times to multiply by 10. 2. The mass of hydrogen atom is 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
001 7

kilograms.

In scientific notation it is written as 1.7 x 10

-27kg. In this case, the exponent tells

you how many times to divide by 10.

Two significant figures Three significant figures Four significant figures

21000 3250000 42210000

0.0012 469 1786

1.0 0.00843 508.6

0.18 0.234 0.6780

67 65.0 5.060

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Scientific notation involves writing the number in the form M x 10

, where M

is a number between 1 and 10 but not 10, and n is an integer. NOTE: Integer is a positive and
negative whole number. Given below are examples on how to change numbers into scientific
notation:

1.) 24 700

To change this number into scientific notation, first put the decimal point to the

right of the last digit. Now count how many numbers to move the decimal point to a position where
the

number is now between 1 and 10. You had to move the decimal point 4 places to the

left. The result is 2, 4700. Now write the number in scientific notation as: 2.47 x 10
4

, where m = 2.47 N = 4

shows that the decimal point was moved 4 places to the left. 2.) 0.0032

To change this number into scientific notation, from where the decimal point is, count how many
numbers you are to move the decimal point to a position where the

number is now between 1 and 10. You have to move the decimal point three places

to the right, as 3 and 2 are in between 1 to 10. Now write the number in scientific notation as 3.2 x
10

-3

. The -3 shows that the

decimal points have to move three places to the right. Write the following numbers in scientific
notation. (a) 3270 = 3.27 x 10

(b) 0.128 = 1.28 x 10

-1

(c) 654 000 = 6.54 x 10

Converting from one unit to another

In science, it is important that the standard unit is used. You must be able to

convert from one form of a unit to another. Example: Change 5m into centimeters. You know that
there are 100cm in a meter and, therefore, to change meters into

centimeters you must multiply by 100 that is:

5m = 5 x 100 cm = 500cm

Steps:

First decide if you are converting from a bigger to a smaller unit or if you are

converting from a smaller to a larger unit. Case I – Bigger to Smaller

If you are converting from a bigger to a smaller unit (example mega to kilo), then

you multiply.

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Case II – Smaller to Bigger

If you are converting from a smaller to a bigger unit (example micro to milli), then

you divide. Then find the factor that you are going to multiply or divide by to make the
conversion. If you are moving one step up or down the chart, then the factor is 1000

(or 10

). If you are moving two steps up or down the chart, then the factor is 1 000

000 (or 10

) etc. Then multiply or divide your number by the appropriate factor. Study the chart

below to help you convert units.

nano

divide by 1000 multiply by 1000

micro

divide by 1000 multiply by 1000

milli

divide by 1000 multiply by 1000

base unit

divide by 1000 multiply by 1000

kilo

divide by 1000 multiply by 1000

Mega

Example 1

Convert 6.8km to mm

Step 1

Decide if you are changing from a bigger unit to a smaller one. As kilo is above

milli in the chart, you are going to change from a bigger unit to a smaller unit and

therefore you multiply.

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Step 2

You are going two (2) steps down the chart, therefore the factor is 1000 x 1000 =

1 000 000 or 10

Step 3
Multiply by 1 000 000

6.8 km = 6.8 x 1 000 000 mm

6.8 km = 6 800 000 or 6.8 x 10

6mm

Example 2

Convert 5.8μA to A (μ is read as micro)

Step 1

You are changing from a smaller unit to a bigger unit and therefore you will divide. Step 2

You are moving two steps in the table and therefore the factor is 1000 x 1000 = 1

000 000. Step 3

Divide by 1 000 000

5.8 μA = 5.8 / 1 000 000