Topic 1:

1.1 Physical Quantities and SI Units

Physical quantities consist of:
1. Numerical magnitude
a. Denotes the size of the physical quantity
2. Unit
a. Denotes the physical quantity it is expressing.

Physical quantities can be classified into basic quantities and derived quantities

Basic quantity S.I. Unit S.I. unit symbol Other

Length Metre m Kilometre (km)

Centimetre (cm)
Milimetre (mm)

Mass Kilogram kg Gram (g)

Miligram (mg)
Tonne (ton)

Time Seconds s Minutes (min)

Hours (h)
Milliseconds (ms)

Temperature Kelvin K Degree celsius (℃)

Fahrenheit (F)

Amount of substance Mole mol -------

Derived quantities are defined in terms of the basic quantities through equations. The SI
units for these quantities are obtained from the basic SI units through the equations.

Derived quantities Equation S.I. unit Symbol

Area Length x width Metres squared 𝑚

2

Volume Length x width x breadth Metres cubed 𝑚

3

Density 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 Kilogram per metres cubed 𝑘𝑔/𝑚

3
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒

Speed 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 Metres per second 𝑚/𝑠

𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

Force 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 * 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 Kilogram meters per 𝑘𝑔𝑚/𝑠

2
second squared N
Newtons
1.2 Prefixes, Symbols and Orders of Magnitude
Physical quantities can be very large or very small, like 0.000 000 756 m. Writing down such
numbers can be time consuming and error-prone. We use prefixes to indicate decimal
submultiples and multiples of the SI units to make writing such numbers easier.

Some prefixes of the SI units are as follows:

Prefix Multiple Symbol Factor Order of magnitude

Tera 1 000 000 000 000 T 10

12 12

Giga 1 000 000 000 G 10

9 9

Mega 1 000 000 M 10

6 6

Kilo 1 000 K 10
3 3

Deci 0.1 d 10
−1 -1

Centi 0.01 c 10
−2 -2

Milli 0.001 m 10
−3 -3

Micro 0.000 001 μ 10

−6 -6

Nano 0.000 000 001 n 10

−9 -9

Pico 0.000 000 000 001 p 10

−12 -12

Example:
1. 0.000 0031 m = 3.1 μm = 3.1 × 10-6 m
2. 0.000 000 0012 s = 1.2 ns = 1.2 × 10–9 s

When measurements are too large or too small, it is convenient to express them in standard
𝑁
form as follows: 𝑀 * 10
M lies in the range of: 1 ⩽ M < 10
N denotes the order of magnitude and is an integer.

Orders of magnitude are often being used to estimate numbers which are extremely large to
the nearest power of ten.
Example:
1. Estimate the number of strands of hair on a person’s head.
2. Estimate the number of breaths of an average person in his lifetime
Here are some comparisons of mass and lengths using the orders of magnitudes.

Mass/kg Factor Length/m Factor

Electron 10
−30 Radius of a proton 10
−15

Proton 10
−27 Radius of an atom 10
−10

Ant 10
−3 Height of an ant 10
−3

Human 10 Height of a human 0

10 = 1

Earth 10
24 Radius of the Earth 10
7

Sun 10
30 Radius of the Sun 10
9

Example:
1. Find the ratio of the height of a human to that of an ant.

2. Find the ratio of the mass of an electron to that of a proton.

3. Find the radius of the Sun to that of the Earth.

1.3. Scalars and Vectors

A scalar quantity has only magnitude but does not have direction. E.g. mass, distance, time,
speed, work, power.
A vector quantity has both magnitude and direction. E.g. weight, displacement, velocity,
acceleration, force.

Example: The velocity of a particle can be stated as: “speed of particle = 2.0 m/s and it is
moving at an angle of 30° above the horizontal”.
1.4 Addition of Vectors
We need to take note of the magnitude and direction.

Example: Find the resultant force 𝑅 at the point P due to 𝐹1 and 𝐹2.

1.4.1 Trigonometric method

Using Pythagoras’ Theorem:

2 2
𝑅= (𝐹1) + (𝐹2)
2 2
𝑅 = 4 + 20 = 416
𝑅 = 20. 4𝑁
R is at an angle θ above the horizontal.
𝐹1 4 1
𝑡𝑎𝑛θ = 𝐹2
= 20
= 5
◦
θ = 11. 3

1.4.2 Graphical method

Step 1: Select an appropriate scale (E.g: 1cm to 2N)
Step 2: Draw a parallelogram of vectors to scale.
Step 3: Measure the diagonal to find 𝑅.
Step 4: Use the protractor to measure angle θ.
1.5 Measurement of Length

1.5.1 How to choose the correct instrument

The choice of instrument depends on the degree of accuracy required.

Range of length, 𝑙 Instrument Accuracy Example

𝑙 > 100𝑐𝑚 Measuring tape ± 0. 1𝑐𝑚 Waistline of a person

5𝑐𝑚 < 𝑙 < 100𝑐𝑚 Metre rule ± 0. 1𝑐𝑚 Height of an object

1𝑐𝑚 < 𝑙 < 10𝑐𝑚 Vernier callipers ± 0. 01𝑐𝑚 Diameter of a beaker

𝑙 < 2𝑐𝑚 Micrometer screw ± 0. 001𝑐𝑚 Thickness of a length of

gauge a wire

1.5.2 Parallax error

How parallax error occurs during measurement
1. Incorrect positioning of the eye

2. The object is not touching the marking of the scale.

 3. A measuring instrument can give precise but not accurate measurements, accurate
but not precise measurement or neither precise nor accurate measurements.
a. Precision is how close the measured values are to each other but they may
not necessarily be close to the true value. Zero errors and parallax errors
affect the precision of the instrument.
b. Accuracy is how close a reading is to the true value of the measurement. The
accuracy of a reading can be improved by repeating the measurements.

1.6 Vernier caliper

It can be used to measure:
1. The thickness of solids
2. External diameter of an object
3. Internal diameter of an object
4. Depth of an object or a hole
Vernier calipers can measure up to a precision of ± 0. 01𝑐𝑚.

We must always check for zero errors and make the appropriate corrections.
1. Positive zero error
 2. Negative zero error

1.7 Micrometre screw gauge

Precautions:
1. Ensure that the jaws of the micrometre screw gauge are completely closed by turning
the ratchet until you hear a click sound
2. Check that the ‘0’ mark of the thimble scale is completely in line with the horizontal
line of the reference scale. If not there is zero error.
1.8 Period of Oscillations of a Simple Pendulum
Key terms
1. One oscillation is one complete to-and-fro movement of the bob from point A to B
to C and back to A.
2. Period, T, is the time taken for one complete oscillation.
3. Amplitude is the distance between the rest position of the bob (Point B) to the
extreme end of the oscillation (either Point A or Point C).

Note: the period of the pendulum, T, is affected only by its length, 𝑙, and the
acceleration due to gravity, 𝑔.
𝑇
𝑇 = 2π 𝑔
T is not affected by the mass of the pendulum bob.

Steps to find the period of oscillation:

Step 1: Take the total time for 20 oscillations
Step 2: Repeat Step 1
Step 3: Take the average of the two timings
Step 4: Divide the average in Step 3 by 20 to obtain the period
Example:
A pendulum swings backwards from B to A and forwards rto C passing through B, the middle
point of the oscillation The first time the pendulum passes through B, a stopwatch is started.
The thirtieth time the pendulum passees though B, the stopwatch is stopped and the reading
taken is 25.4 seconds. What is the period of the pendulum?