Physics is the Foundation on which all-modern science and technology is built.

Today's medical imaging

technology/computers / telecommunication / is yesterday's physics research. It teaches a particular way of
addressing problems and observing the environment

UNITS AND MEASUREMENTS

• A unit is a way to assign a number or measurement to a dimension. There are three primary unit
systems in use:
 The Meter-Kilogram-Second System or M.K.S: also known as the International System (SI)

 The Foot-Pound or F.P.S System: also known as the English Engineering System of Units, It uses
the foot as the unit of measurement of length, and pound as the unit of mass and second as the
unit of time ( lb(pound), ft, s, R (Rankine)).

quantity dimension SI system CGS system US common

Length L Meter (m) cm Foot (ft)
Time T Second (s) s s
Mass M Kilogram (kg) gram slug
Velocity L/T m/s cm/s ft/s
Acceleration m/s2 cm/s2 ft/s2
Force slug ft/s2 = pound (lb)

work dyne cm = erg lb ft = ft lb

Energy erg ft lb

Power Erg/s ft lb/s

 The Centimeter-Gram-Second or C.G.S System: It uses centimeter, gram, and second as the
three basic units for length, mass, and time respectively

INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS (SI UNIT),

It has seven base units. These quantities are obtained by direct measurement as such they are
independent of other physical quantities, hence called basic units.
Base quantity Unit Symbol
Length Metre m
Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second s
Electric current Ampere A
Temperature Kelvin K
Luminous intensity Candela Cd
Amount of substance Mole mol
Plane angle Radian "rad" or "c" as in 6c
Solid angle Steradian sr
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There two supplementary units on the SI system:
 The Radian - It is the unit of a plane angle. One radian is the angle subtended by the centre of a
circle by an arc and is equal in length to the radius of a circle.
 The Steradian - It is the unit of solid angle. One steradian is the solid angle subtended at the
centre of a sphere, by the surface of a sphere which is equal in area to the square of its radius.

DERIVED UNITS
A derived unit is a unit that results from a mathematical combination of SI base units. For example,
speed, volume, density. When units are squared or cubed as with area or volume, the conversion factors
themselves must also be squared.

Some SI derived units have special names with SI base unit equivalents.

Quantity SI unit Special name Symbol

Force kg m/s2 Newton N
Pressure kg m/s2.m2 (N/m2) Pascal Pa
Work, Energy kg m2/s2 = N.m Joule J
Power kg m2/s3 = J/s Watt W
Electric Charge C Cuolomb As
Electric Potential difference kg m2 s-3 A -1 Volt V
Frequency /s Hertz Hz
Capacity dm2 litre L (or l)

An important feature of the metric system is the use of prefixes to express larger and smaller values of a
quantity. Commonly used prefixes are listed in the table below.

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 Base 10
Name Symbol Decimal
multiplier
peta P 1015 1000000000000000
tera T 1012 1000000000000
giga G 109 1000000000
mega M 106 1000000
kilo k 103 1000
hecto h 102 100 ⬆
deca da 101 10 bigger
— — 100 1 —
deci d 10−1 0.1 smaller
centi c 10−2 0.01 ⬇
milli m 10−3 0.001
micro μ 10−6 0.000001
nano n 10−9 0.000000001
pico p 10−12 0.000000000001
femto f 10−15 0.000000000000001

UNIT CONVERSION
English Engineering
Dimension SI unit Exact conversion
Unit
time second (s) second (s) 1s
length foot (ft) metre (m) 0.3048 m
mass pound mass (lb) kilogram (kg) 0.45359237 kg
4.4482216152605
force pound-force (lbf) newton (N)
N
temperature degree Fahrenheit (°F) degree Celsius (°C) 5⁄
9 °C[a]
absolute
degree Rankine (°R) kelvin (K) 5⁄
9 K
temperature

The rule of conversion is " multiplication is done for converting higher units to smaller units,
similarly when converting smaller units to higher units division is carried out "
When all the conversions are considered, they can be summarised in the table below

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Exercise Questions
1. John adds 250 ml of water to a jug that already contains 1.2 litres of water.
How much water is now in the jug?

2. Emma estimates that the mass of one sweet is 20 grams. A packet contains 0.36 kg of these sweets.
How many sweets would you expect to find in the packet?

3. The density of iron is 7.86g/cm37.86g/cm3 under standard conditions. Convert this to kg/m3.

4. A cargo container is long, wide, and tall. Find its volume

in cubic cubic metres.

5. A chemistry teacher requires 250 milligrams of a chemical for an experiment. He has 30 grams of
the chemical. How many times can he carry out the experiment?

6. Convert 0.0065 km3 to cubic metres

7. Determine the surface area of a solid cylinder of radius 2.0 cm and height 0.01 m in mm2.

DIMENSIONS
Dimension refers to the physical nature of a quantity. Each basic unit is associated with a dimension as
shown

Quantity Dimension
Length L
Time T
Mass M
Temperature 
Electric Current I
Amount of substance N
Luminous intensity J

Square brackets are used to denote dimensions of a physical quantity. dimension of length is hence
written as [length] = L [mass] = M
Trigonometric functions such as sine is a ratio, hence they are dimensionless.

Every physical quantity can be expressed in terms of these base dimensions. For example, velocity has
dimensions of [L][T]⁻¹ (length per unit time) because it's fundamentally a length divided by time.

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APPLICATIONS OF DIMENSIONS:
1. Dimensional analysis
This is the process of working out the dimensions of a quantity in terms of the base dimensions and a
model prediction for that quantity. Dimensions are operated on just like algebra, they can be added,
multiplied or divided.
By examining the dimensions of various terms in an equation, one can identify errors and derive
relationships between different physical quantities. Any physically meaningful equation must have the
same dimensions on the left and right sides.

2. Unit Consistency:
Dimensions help ensure that equations and calculations are unit-consistent. Dimensions provide a way to
check whether the units on both sides of an equation match.

3. Error Analysis:
By comparing the dimensions of measured quantities with the expected dimensions, one can detect and
quantify errors in experiments and measurements.

Limitations of dimensional method:

i) The value of dimensionless constants cannot be calculated using dimensional methods, hence the
method cannot determine the value of the proportionality constant. Dimension-ally correct equation
is sometimes incorrect because it doesn’t take into account dimensionless constants like numbers or ratios
(such as trigonometric functions). For e.g : v2+2as, v2+5as and v2+2as+sin have the same dimensions
but they are physically incorrect.
ii) If a physical quantity is sum or difference of two or more physical quantities, such physical
quantities cannot be derived with dimensional methods,

Basic steps to follow in dimensional analysis;

1. Rewrite the values/variables in your equation in terms of their dimensions, leaving all other
operations (multiplication, exponents, etc.) as is: eg given F=m⋅a
write [F]=[m]⋅[a]
2. Rearrange for your unknown dimension (say we wish to get the dimension of a:

3. Substitute in your known dimensions:

4. Solve using the rules of algebra (cancel out the M’s)

5. Replace the dimensions with their corresponding SI unit

Exercise Questions
1. Dimensional analysis is a helpful reminder of what specialized units contain. In the case of the
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 magnetic force on a moving charge, the magnetic field unit is a Tesla. But what is a Tesla?

2. Determine the dimension of electric potential difference (or what is contained in a volt).

3. In Chloe’s theory of falling objects, the time, t, for an object to fall a distance, x was given
by . What must the SI units of Chloe’s constant, K, be?

4. A machine learning model predicts that the speed, v, of an object of mass m, after having fallen a
distance h on the surface of a planet with mass M and radius R is given by: Is this a
reasonable prediction?

5. What is the dimension of ω in sin(ωt) (where t is time)?

6. The equation of state of some gas is where P is the pressure, V the volume,
T the absolute temperature and a, b, R are constants. Determine the dimensions of 'a'

VECTORS
A vector is a physical quantity with direction as well as magnitude, for example, velocity or force. In
contrast, a quantity that has only magnitude and no direction, such as temperature or time, is called a
scalar. A vector is commonly denoted by an arrow drawn with a length proportional to the given magnitude
of the physical quantity and with direction shown by the orientation of the head of the arrow.

Components of a Vector
In a two-dimensional coordinate system, any vector can be broken into y-component and x-
component.
For example, in the figure shown below, the vector v is broken into two components, and . Let
the angle between the vector and its x -component be .

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The trigonometric ratios give the relation between magnitude of the vector and the components of the
vector.

Using the Pythagorean Theorem , the right triangle with lengths and .

To find direction of the vector, solve,

UNIT VECTOR
These are the vectors which have magnitude of unit length.

The point X(1, 1, 1) can be represented using the three mutually perpendicular axes as points A(1, 0,
0), B(0, 1, 0) and C(0, 0, 1) on the and axes respectively.
The magnitude of the vector OA, OB, OC along the x, y and z axes respectively, are the unit vectors
along x, y and z axis and are represented by , and respectively.

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Components of vector in 3D
To represent a vector in space, we resolve the vector along the three mutually perpendicular axes as

Using its coordinates, a vector in xyz-plane can be represented as a linear combination of vectors
, and as follows.

This is known as the component form of a vector. Thus, the vector r can be resolved in the directions
i, j and k respectively. This represents the position of given vectors in terms of the three co-ordinate
axes.
If a vector is given in a form as shown above, then the magnitude of such a vector can be found out
by using the Pythagoras theorem as:

A number of mathematical operations can be performed on vectors using this system of

representation.

VECTOR OPERATIONS
Consider two vectors
and

then the sum of two vectors is

Similarly, the difference can be given as:

EXAMPLE:

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Two vectors are given by; and . Find the unit vectors describing each
vector,(ii) a + b (ii) a - b

SOLUTION:
(i) The unit vector is given by:

(ii) The sum can be given by:

(iii) Now, the unit vectors can be given as:

Exercise Questions
1. Find the x and y components of a vector having a magnitude of 12 and making an angle of 45 degrees
with the positive x-axis.

2. Find the vector from the components of a vector, having the x-component of 5 units, y-component of
12 units, and z-component of 4 units respectively.
3. Determine the magnitude of the vector:

4. A girl walks 4 kilometers west, then 3 kilometers in a direction 30 degrees east of north,
before coming to a halt. (i) Sketch a diagram to illustrate this motion (ii) Determine the girl’s
distance from her starting position.

5. What is the sum of the following 3 vectors

6. Determine the unit vector in the direction of vector: .

7. Determine the vector joining the points A(2,3,0) and B(-1, -2, -4) directed from A to B.
Ans:

VECTOR MULTIPLICATION
Multiplying a vector by a scalar:
Involves multiplying a scalar and a vector, it results in a new vector. If m is a scalar and a a vector,
their product m a is defined as follows:

 If m >0, then ma is the vector pointing in the same direction as a that's m times as long as a
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  If m =0, then ma is 0.
 If m <0, then ma is the vector pointing in the opposite direction from a that's m times as long
as a
We can multiply a vector with another vector in two ways as follows:

DOT PRODUCT OR SCALAR PRODUCT:

This is an operation that takes two vectors, "multiplies" them together, and produces a scalar product
The dot product of two vectors is a scalar and it is denoted by a dot in between two vectors.
The dot product or scalar product of two vectors a and b is defined as: a.b = |a| |b| cos θ, Where  is the
angle between a and b.
If vector a and b are denoted in component form

then their dot product can be calculated as :

expanding one obtains

Each of these terms has a dot product of 2 terms that are either in parallel or perpendicular to each other

For example , and are parallel and hence the angle between them is zero and
hence cos θ is unity (1) in this case { } and the scalar product will be
for these values.

For all other products, the vectors are perpendicular and their cosine (cos 90 =0) is zero, hence giving a
scalar product of zero { }

Thus ,
Two vectors are called orthogonal if their angle is a right angle. Two angles are orthogonal if and only if

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APPLICATIONS OF DOT PRODUCT
 Work done when a constant force (F) is applied to a body that undergoes a displacement d is

 Electric flux is the scalar product or dot product of electric intensity and normal area (Φ=E.A),
electric intensity and normal area are vector quantities

Exercise Questions
1. Determine the angle between v= 2i + 3j + k and w = 4i + j + 2k

2. Suppose a = -2i + 3j + 5k and b = i + 2j + 3k are two vectors, then find the value of the dot
product of these two vectors. Ans: 19

3. Find |x| if for a unit vector a, (x – a) . (x + a) = 12. Ans: |x| = √13

4. Find the value of λ for which the two vectors 2i – j + 2k and 3i + λj + k are perpendicular.
Ans: λ = 8

5. If a = 5i – j – 3k and b = i + 3j – 5k, then show that the vectors a + b and a – b are

perpendicular. Hint: if two vectors are perpendicular to each other, then their dot or scalar
product is equal to 0.

6. If a and b are two vectors, such that |a| = 3, |b| = 2 and a . b = 4, then find the value of |a – b|.
7. Find the cosine angle between the vectors i – j and j – k.
Ans: θ = cos-1(-½)

VECTOR PRODUCT:
The cross product or vector product is denoted by a cross (x) between two vectors. The cross product
results in a vector that has a direction that is perpendicular to both vectors and a magnitude that is
equal to the area of the parallelogram spanned by the two vectors and a skew equal to the angle
between the vectors. That is
= absin

The direction of C can be predicted using the right-hand rule

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 vector product

If A and B are two independent vectors, then the result of the cross product of these two vectors (Ax B)
is perpendicular to both the vectors and normal to the plane that contains both the vectors.
The magnitude of the cross product between two vectors u and v that are separated by an angle θ is
given by: | u×v| = | u|| v| sinθ.

In particular, this means that for two parallel vectors the cross product equals 0, since sin 0 = 0.
The resultant vector is perpendicular to each of the original two vectors.

Note that the order of vector multiplication is important because:

If the vectors a and b are given in component form then their cross product can be calculated using:

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 In the case of orthogonal unit vectors in accordance with the right hand screw:

or

Also since the cross product is not commutative:

EXAMPLE
Use the cross product properties to calculate .

SOLUTION

DEFINITION
® æ Ù Ù Ùö ® æ Ù Ù Ùö
A = ç Ax i+ Ay j + Az k ÷ and B = ç Bx i+ By j + Bz k ÷ then
è ø è ø
Ù Ù Ù
i j k
® ®
A´ B = Ax Ay Az OR
Bx By Bz

® ® Ù Ù Ù
A´ B = ( Ay Bz - Az By ) i + ( Az Bx - Ax Bz ) j + ( Ax By - Ay Bx ) k
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Example
® ®
Obtain a unit vector perpendicular to both A = 4i + 3j + 5k and B = 2i + 6 j -12k

® æ Ù Ù Ùö ® æ Ù Ù Ùö
A = ç Ax i+ Ay j + Az k ÷ and B = ç Bx i+ By j + Bz k ÷ then
è ø è ø
Ù Ù Ù
i j k
® ®
A´ B = Ax Ay Az OR
Bx By Bz

® ® Ù Ù Ù
A´ B = ( Ay Bz - Az By ) i + ( Az Bx - Ax Bz ) j + ( Ax By - Ay Bx ) k
® æ Ù Ù Ùö æ Ù Ù Ùö
Þ A = ç 4 i + 3 j + 5k ÷ ´ ç 2 i + 6 j -12 k ÷
è ø è ø
Ù Ù Ù Ù Ù Ù
= (-36 - 30) i + (10 - -48) j + ( 24 - 6) k = - 66 i + 58 j + 18k
® Ù Ù Ù
®
C Ù
-66 i + 58 j + 30 k 1 æ Ù Ù Ùö
A unit vector of C = C = = = ç -66 i + 58 j + 18k ÷
C (-66) + 582 +182
2 89.69 è ø

3. Find r so that and are perpendicular.

(Ans r = -4/3)

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