Physics for Scientists and

Engineers

Introduction and Chapter 1 – Physics and Measurements

Physics
Fundamental Science
 Concerned with the fundamental principles of the Universe
 Foundation of other physical sciences
 Has simplicity of fundamental concepts

Introduction 2
Physics, cont.
Divided into six major areas:
 Classical Mechanics
 Relativity
 Thermodynamics
 Electromagnetism
 Optics
 Quantum Mechanics

Introduction 3
Classical Physics
Mechanics and electromagnetism are basic to all other branches of
classical and modern physics.
Classical physics
 Developed before 1900
 First part of text deals with Classical Mechanics
 Also called Newtonian Mechanics or Mechanics

Modern physics
 From about 1900 to the present

Introduction 4
Objectives of Physics
To find the limited number of fundamental laws that govern
natural phenomena
To use these laws to develop theories that can predict the results of
future experiments
Express the laws in the language of mathematics
 Mathematics provides the bridge between theory and experiment.

Introduction 5
Theory and Experiments
Should complement each other
When a discrepancy occurs, theory may be modified or new
theories formulated.
 A theory may apply to limited conditions.
 Example: Newtonian Mechanics is confined to objects traveling
slowly with respect to the speed of light.
 Try to develop a more general theory

Introduction 6
Classical Physics Overview
Classical physics includes principles in many branches developed
before 1900.
Mechanics
 Major developments by Newton, and continuing through the 18th
century

Thermodynamics, optics and electromagnetism

 Developed in the latter part of the 19th century
 Apparatus for controlled experiments became available

Introduction 7
Modern Physics
Began near the end of the 19th century
Phenomena that could not be explained by classical physics
Includes theories of relativity and quantum mechanics

Introduction 8
Special Relativity
Correctly describes motion of objects moving near the speed of
light
Modifies the traditional concepts of space, time, and energy
Shows the speed of light is the upper limit for the speed of an
object
Shows mass and energy are related

Introduction 9
Quantum Mechanics
Formulated to describe physical phenomena at the atomic level
Led to the development of many practical devices

Introduction 10
Measurements
Used to describe natural phenomena
Each measurement is associated with a physical quantity
Need defined standards
Characteristics of standards for measurements
 Readily accessible
 Possess some property that can be measured reliably
 Must yield the same results when used by anyone anywhere
 Cannot change with time

Section 1.1 11
Standards of Fundamental Quantities
Standardized systems
 Agreed upon by some authority, usually a governmental body

SI – Systéme International
 Agreed to in 1960 by an international committee
 Main system used in this text

Section 1.1 12
Fundamental Quantities and Their Units

Quantity SI Unit
Length meter
Mass kilogram
Time second
Temperature Kelvin
Electric Current Ampere
Luminous Intensity Candela
Amount of Substance mole
Section 1.1 13
Quantities Used in Mechanics
In mechanics, three fundamental quantities are used:
 Length
 Mass
 Time

All other quantities in mechanics can be expressed in terms of the

three fundamental quantities.

Section 1.1 14
Length
Length is the distance between two points in space.
Units
 SI – meter, m

Defined in terms of a meter – the distance traveled by light in a

vacuum during a given time
See Table 1.1 for some examples of lengths.

Section 1.1 15
16
Mass
Units
 SI – kilogram, kg

Defined in terms of a kilogram, based

on a specific cylinder kept at the
International Bureau of Standards
See Table 1.2 for masses of various
objects.

Section 1.1 17
Standard Kilogram

Section 1.1 18
Time
Units
 seconds, s

Defined in terms of the oscillation of radiation from a cesium atom

See Table 1.3 for some approximate time intervals.

Section 1.1 19
20
Reasonableness of Results
When solving a problem, you need to check your answer to see if it
seems reasonable.
Reviewing the tables of approximate values for length, mass, and
time will help you test for reasonableness.

Section 1.1 21
Number Notation
When writing out numbers with many digits, spacing in groups of
three will be used.
 No commas
 Standard international notation

Examples:
 25 100
 5.123 456 789 12

Section 1.1 22
US Customary System
Still used in the US, but text will use SI

Quantity Unit

Length foot

Mass slug

Time second

Section 1.1 23
Prefixes
Prefixes correspond to powers of 10.
Each prefix has a specific name.
Each prefix has a specific abbreviation.
The prefixes can be used with any basic units.
They are multipliers of the basic unit.
Examples:
 1 mm = 10–3 m
 1 mg = 10–3 g
Section 1.1 24
Prefixes, cont.

Section 1.1 25
Fundamental and Derived Units
Derived quantities can be expressed as a mathematical
combination of fundamental quantities.
Examples:
 Area
 A product of two lengths
 Speed
 A ratio of a length to a time interval
 Density
 A ratio of mass to volume
Section 1.1 26
Model Building
A model is a system of physical components.
 Useful when you cannot interact directly with the phenomenon
 Identifies the physical components
 Makes predictions about the behavior of the system
 The predictions will be based on interactions among the
components and/or
 Based on the interactions between the components and the
environment

Section 1.2 27
Quick Quiz 1.1
In a machine shop, two cams are produced, one of aluminum
and one of iron. Both cams have the same mass. Which cam
is larger? (a) The aluminum cam is larger. (b) The iron cam is
larger. (c) Both cams have the same size.

Answer: (a)

28
Models of Matter
Some Greeks thought matter is
made of atoms.
 No additional structure

JJ Thomson (1897) found

electrons and showed atoms had
structure.
Rutherford (1911) determined a
central nucleus surrounded by
electrons.

Section 1.2 29
Models of Matter, cont.
Nucleus has structure, containing protons and neutrons
 Number of protons gives atomic number
 Number of protons and neutrons gives mass number

Protons and neutrons are made up of quarks.

Section 1.2 30
Models of Matter, final
Quarks
 Six varieties
 Up, down, strange, charmed, bottom, top
 Fractional electric charges
 +⅔ of a proton
 Up, charmed, top
 ⅓ of a proton
 Down, strange, bottom

Section 1.2 31
Modeling Technique
An important problem-solving technique is to build a model for a
problem.
 Identify a system of physical components for the problem
 Make predictions of the behavior of the system based on the
interactions among the components and/or the components and the
environment

Section 1.2 32
Basic Quantities and Their Dimension
Dimension has a specific meaning – it denotes the physical nature
of a quantity.
Dimensions are often denoted with square brackets.
 Length [L]
 Mass [M]
 Time [T]

Section 1.3 33
Dimensions and Units
Each dimension can have many actual units.
Table 1.5 for the dimensions and units of some derived quantities

Section 1.3 34
Dimensional Analysis
Technique to check the correctness of an equation or to assist in
deriving an equation
Dimensions (length, mass, time, combinations) can be treated as
algebraic quantities.
 Add, subtract, multiply, divide

Both sides of equation must have the same dimensions.

Any relationship can be correct only if the dimensions on both
sides of the equation are the same.
Cannot give numerical factors: this is its limitation
Section 1.3 35
Dimensional Analysis, example
Given the equation: x = ½ at 2
Check dimensions on each side:

L 2
L= 2  T =L
T

The T2’s cancel, leaving L for the dimensions of each side.

 The equation is dimensionally correct.
 There are no dimensions for the constant.

Section 1.3 36
Dimensional Analysis to Determine a Power Law
Determine powers in a proportionality
 Example: find the exponents in the expression

x  a nt m
 You must have lengths on both sides.
 Acceleration has dimensions of L/T2
 Time has dimensions of T.
 Analysis gives x  at 2

Section 1.3 37
Symbols
The symbol used in an equation is not necessarily the symbol used
for its dimension.
Some quantities have one symbol used consistently.
 For example, time is t virtually all the time.

Some quantities have many symbols used, depending upon the

specific situation.
 For example, lengths may be x, y, z, r, d, h, etc.

The dimensions will be given with a capitalized, non-italic letter.

The algebraic symbol will be italicized.
Section 1.3 38
Quick Quiz 1.2
True or False: Dimensional analysis can give you the
numerical value of constants of proportionality that may
appear in an algebraic expression.

Answer: False

39
Example 1.1
Show that the expression v = at, where v represents speed, a
acceleration, and t an instant of time, is dimensionally correct.
Solution:
L
v 
T
L L
 at   2 T=
T T

40
Example 1.2
Suppose we are told that the acceleration a of a particle
moving with uniform speed v in a circle of radius r is
proportional to some power of r, say rn, and some power of v,
say vm. Determine the values of n and m and write the
simplest form of an equation for the acceleration.
Solution: a  kr n v m
m n m
L n L   L
 L  
T2 T Tm
n  m  1 and m  2
n  1
2
v
a  kr 1v 2  k
r
41
Conversion of Units
When units are not consistent, you may need to convert to
appropriate ones.
See Appendix A for an extensive list of conversion factors.
Units can be treated like algebraic quantities that can cancel each
other out.

Section 1.4 42
Conversion
Always include units for every quantity, you can carry the units
through the entire calculation.
 Will help detect possible errors

Multiply original value by a ratio equal to one.

Example: 15.0in  ?cm
 2.54cm 
15.0in    38.1cm
 1in 
 Note the value inside the parentheses is equal to 1, since 1 inch is
defined as 2.54 cm.
Section 1.4 43
Quick Quiz 1.3
The distance between two cities is 100 mi. What is the
number of kilometers between the two cities? (a) smaller than
100 (b) larger than 100 (c) equal to 100

Answer: (b)

44
Example 1.3
On an interstate highway in a rural region of Wyoming, a car
is traveling at a speed of 38.0 m/s. Is the driver exceeding the
speed limit of 75.0 mi/h?
Solution:

(38.0 m/s) 
1 mi 
  -2
 2.36 10 mi/s
 1609 m 
(2.36 10 mi/s) 
-2  60 s  60 min 
 
 1 min  1 h 
 85.0 mi/h

45
Order of Magnitude
Approximation based on a number of assumptions
 May need to modify assumptions if more precise results are needed

The order of magnitude is the power of 10 that applies.

Section 1.5 46
Order of Magnitude – Process
Estimate a number and express it in scientific notation.
 The multiplier of the power of 10 needs to be between 1 and 10.

Compare the multiplier to 3.162 ( 10 )

 If the remainder is less than 3.162, the order of magnitude is the
power of 10 in the scientific notation.
 If the remainder is greater than 3.162, the order of magnitude is one
more than the power of 10 in the scientific notation.

Section 1.5 47
Using Order of Magnitude
Estimating too high for one number is often canceled by estimating
too low for another number.
 The resulting order of magnitude is generally reliable within about a
factor of 10.

Working the problem allows you to drop digits, make reasonable

approximations and simplify approximations.
With practice, your results will become better and better.

Section 1.5 48
Example 1.4
Estimate the number of breaths taken during an average
human liftime
Solution:
 400 days  25 h   60 min 
1yr       6  10 5
min
 1 yr  1 day   1 h 
number of minutes=  70 yr   6  105 min/yr 
=4  107 min
number of breaths= 10 breaths/min  (4 107 min)
=4 108 breaths

49
Uncertainty in Measurements
There is uncertainty in every measurement – this uncertainty
carries over through the calculations.
 May be due to the apparatus, the experimenter, and/or the number of
measurements made
 Need a technique to account for this uncertainty

We will use rules for significant figures to approximate the

uncertainty in results of calculations.

Section 1.6 50
Significant Figures
A significant figure is one that is reliably known.
Zeros may or may not be significant.
 Those used to position the decimal point are not significant.
 To remove ambiguity, use scientific notation.

In a measurement, the significant figures include the first estimated

digit.

Section 1.6 51
Significant Figures, examples
0.0075 m has 2 significant figures
 The leading zeros are placeholders only.
 Write the value in scientific notation to show more clearly:
7.5 × 10–3 m for 2 significant figures

10.0 m has 3 significant figures

 The decimal point gives information about the reliability of the
measurement.

Section 1.6 52
Significant Figures, examples
1500 m is ambiguous
 Use 1.5 × 103 m for 2 significant figures
 Use 1.50 × 103 m for 3 significant figures
 Use 1.500 × 103 m for 4 significant figures

Section 1.6 53
Operations with Significant Figures – Multiplying or
Dividing
When multiplying or dividing several quantities, the number of
significant figures in the final answer is the same as the number of
significant figures in the quantity having the smallest number of
significant figures.
Example: 25.57 m × 2.45 m = 62.6 m2
 The 2.45 m limits your result to 3 significant figures.

Section 1.6 54
Operations with Significant Figures – Adding or
Subtracting
When adding or subtracting, the number of decimal places in the
result should equal the smallest number of decimal places in any
term in the sum or difference.
Example: 135 cm + 3.25 cm = 138 cm
 The 135 cm limits your answer to the units decimal value.

Section 1.6 55
Operations With Significant Figures – Summary
The rule for addition and subtraction are different than the rule for
multiplication and division.
For adding and subtracting, the number of decimal places is the
important consideration.
For multiplying and dividing, the number of significant figures is
the important consideration.

Section 1.6 56
Significant Figures in the Text
Most of the numerical examples and end-of-chapter problems will
yield answers having three significant figures.
When estimating a calculation, typically work with one significant
figure.

Section 1.6 57
Rounding
Last retained digit is increased by 1 if the last digit dropped is
greater than 5.
Last retained digit remains as it is if the last digit dropped is less
than 5.
If the last digit dropped is equal to 5, the retained digit should be
rounded to the nearest even number.
Saving rounding until the final result will help eliminate
accumulation of errors.
It is useful to perform the solution in algebraic form and wait until
the end to enter numerical values.
 This saves keystrokes as well as minimizes rounding.
Section 1.6 58
Example 1.5
A carpet is to be installed in a rectangular room whose length
is measured to be 12.71 m and whose width is measured to be
3.46 m. Find the area of the room.
Solution:
If you multiply 12.71 m by 3.46 m on your calculator, you
will see an answer of 43.9766 m2. How many of these
numbers should you claim? Our rule of thumb for
multiplication tells us that you can claim only the number of
significant figures in your answer as are present in the
measured quantity having the lowest number of significant
figures. In this example, the lowest number of significant
figures is three in 3.46 m, so we should express our final
answer as 44.0 m2.
59