PHYSICS:

AN
INTRODUCTIO
N
DR. JULIUS JAY N. RODRIGUEZ, LPT, MAT-Sc
NEUST CAS-MSD
Introduction to Physics
■ Physics is a physical science that
discusses the basic nature of matter
and energy and how these two
quantities interact with each other.
■ Physics is the study of the physical
world including motion, energy, light,
electricity, magnetism, sound etc.
Introduction to Physics
■ Physics, the most fundamental
physical science, is concerned with
the basic principles of the Universe.
■ It is the foundation upon which the
other sciences—astronomy, biology,
chemistry, and geology—are based.
Introduction to Physics
The study of physics can be divided into
six main areas:
■Classical Mechanics
■Thermodynamics
■Electromagnetism
■Optics
■Quantum Mechanics
 UNIT I:
UNITS AND
MEASUREMENT

JULIUS JAY N. RODRIGUEZ, LPT, MAT

Instructor I, NEUST-CAS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the unit, the students should be able to:
state the basic units in the SI system used to measure
length, mass, time, and capacity.
convert units within the SI system, within the British
system, and between the two systems of measurement.
Why do we need to be able to
measure things?

Any Ideas?
What is measurement?

 "Measurement“ is the
determination of the size or
magnitude of something. By
comparing that unknown quantity
with some standard quantity of
equal nature, known
as measurement unit.
Measurement consists of two parts:

A Number and a Unit!

Number Unit
50 Meters (m)
125 grams (g)
30 Seconds (s)
37 Celsius (˚C)
In mechanics: Three Fundamental
Quantities
Length: measures distance between objects
Mass: measures the amount of matter
in an object
Time: The interval over which change occurs.
Length
Mass
Time
Introduction to Physics
• All other quantities in mechanics can be
expressed in terms of the three fundamental
quantities.
• 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
Why do we use standard units of
measurement?
 Using standard units makes it
possible for a person in one place to
work with the same quantity as
someone kilometers away.
 The use of standard units makes
measurements easy to understand
because standards of units are the
same everywhere.
 Standard units allow scientists to
repeat one another’s experiments.
 Experiments must be repeatable to
determine if the results are valid.
What is the International System of
Units?
 It is the modern metric system.
 The metric system was originally
established in France in 1795.
 The International System of Units
(abbreviated SI after the French
name, Le Système International
d’Unités) is a revised version of the
metric system.
 The SI was adopted by international
agreement in 1960.
 The SI units are the language for all
scientific measurements.
What is the International System of
Units?
 There are seven (7) SI SI Base Units
base units. Quantity SI base Symbol
 From these base unit

units, all other SI Length meter m

units of measurement Mass kilogram kg
can be derived. Temperature kelvin K
 Derived units are Time second s
used for
Amount of
measurements substance
mole mol
such as volume,
Luminous
density, and intensity
candela cd
pressure.
Electric
ampere A
current
Why use the SI System?
Scientists use the SI
System worldwide
because:
Measurements are easily
understood by all scientists.
Measurements are easier to
convert than the English system.
Measurement System Comparisons

MEASUREMENT ENGLISH SI SYSTEM

LENGTH Yard / Inch Meter / Centimeter

Ounce /
MASS Gram / Kilogram
Pound

VOLUME Quart Liter

TEMPERATURE Fahrenheit Celsius / Kelvin

TIME Second Second

How can we make very large or small
measurements easy to work with?
 A prefix is one or more letters or
syllables added to the beginning
of a word to change its meaning.
 SI uses prefixes to express an SI
unit that is larger or smaller than
the base unit.
Prefix (symbol) Value Multiplication Factor
giga (G) 109 1,000,000,000
mega (M) 106 1,000,000
kilo (k) 103 1,000
hecto (h) 102 100
deca (da) 10 10
Unit 1 1
deci (d) 10-1 0.1
centi (c) 10-2 0.01
milli (m) 10-3 0.001
micro (µ) 10-6 0.000001
nano (n) 10-9 0.000000001
The SI System uses the following prefixes:

Kilo 1000

Hecto 100

Deca 10

UNIT 1

Deci 1/10

Centi 1/100

Milli 1/1000
How can we make very large or small
measurements easy to work with?
 Scientific notation is a short way
of representing very large
numbers or very small numbers.
 Numbers in scientific notation are
written in the form:

a × 10 b
 Estimation
Estimation is using your knowledge of something
similar in size or amount to determine the size of the
new object.

 Helps to make a rough

measurement of an
object.
 Usefully when you are
in a hurry and exact
numbers are not
required.
Why do scientists sometimes estimate
measurements?
 People make estimations when
doing everyday tasks such as
rearranging furniture.
 Scientists may estimate to see if
the data they collected is
reasonable.
 Scientists may also estimate to
determine which tool is best
suited for making the
measurements they need.
Why are accuracy and precision
important?
 Accuracy is a description of how
close a measurement is to the
true value of the quantity being
measured.
 The smaller the difference
between the measurement and
the true value, the more accurate
the measurement is.
Why are accuracy and precision
important?
 Accuracy is a description of how
close a measurement is to the
true value of the quantity being
measured.
 The smaller the difference
between the measurement and
the true value, the more accurate
the measurement is.
Why are accuracy and precision
important?
 Precision is the exactness of a
measurement.
A precise measurement is
repeatable and reliable.
 If a high precision measurement
is repeated, the number obtained
will be the same or very nearly
the same.
 CONVERTING
UNITS

ULIUS JAY N. RODRIGUEZ, LPT, MAT

tructor I, NEUST-CAS
Converting Units
 It is important to convert units
from one system to another in
order to communicate your
measurements effectively.
 Converting measurements from
one unit to another is just a
matter of expressing those
measurements into their
equivalence.
Conversion of Units
When units are not consistent, you may need to convert to appropriate ones.
Units can be treated like algebraic quantities that can cancel each other out.
Always include units for every quantity, you can carry the units through the entire
calculation.
Multiply original value by a ratio equal to one.
Example:
15.0 in  ? cm

 2.54 cm 
15.0
 in  38.1cm
 1in 
 Note the value inside the parentheses is equal to 1, since 1 inch is defined
as 2.54 cm.
Prefix (symbol) Value base unit of length: meter (m)
1 kilometer (km) = 1000 meter (m)
1 centimeter (cm) = 0.01 meter (m)
giga (G) 109
1 nanometer (nm) = 1×10-9 meter (m)

mega (M) 106 base unit of mass: gram (g)

1 kilogram (kg) = 1000 gram (g)
kilo (k) 103 1 milligram (mg) = 0.001 gram (g)

deci (d) 10-1

base unit of time: second (s)
60 seconds (s)= 1 minute (min)
60 minutes (min) = 1 hour (h)
centi (c) 10-2
base unit of volume: liter (L)
milli (m) 10-3 1 milliliter (mL) = 0.001 liter (L)
1000 milliliter (mL) = 1 liter (L)
micro (µ) 10-6
1 mL = 1 cc = 1cm3
nano (n) 10-9
Converting Units
 In both SI and BES, the following
equivalences in units of time
exist:
1 min = 60 s
1h = 60 min
1 day = 24 h
1 week = 7d
1 yr = 12 mo
1 decade = 10 yr
1 century = 10 decade
Converting Units
 The following equivalences in
units of length exist in BES:
1 ft = 12 in
1 yd = 3 ft
1 mi = 5280 ft
Converting Units
 The following conversion factors are
useful:

1 m = 3.281 ft 1 ha = 10,000 m2
1 in = 2.54 cm 1 acre = 4,047 m2
1 mi = 1.609 km 1 acre = 43,560 ft2
1 L = 1,000 cm3 1 kg = 0.0685 slug
1 m3 = 35.31 ft3 1 lb = 4.45 N
1 cal = 4.184 J 1 hp = 746 W
How does converting units work?
Unlike the English system converting in the SI System
is very easy.

For Example in the English system if you wanted to

know how many inches in 2 miles what would you
do?
1. Take the number of miles (2).
2. Multiply it by the number of feet in a mile (5,280).
3. Multiply that by the number of inches in a foot (12).

ANSWER: 126,720 inches in 2 miles

The SI system is much easier.
For example in the metric system if you wanted to know
how many centimeters were in 3 meters, what would you
do?
1. Find the unit you have (meters).
2. Find the unit you are changing to (centimeters).
3. Count the number of units in-between (2).
4. Move the decimal point that many spaces, in the
same direction you counted (right).

3 meters = 300 centimeters

Kilo Hecto Deca UNIT Deci Centi Milli

 More Conversions . . .
2,321.0 millimeters to meters = 2.321 meters
521.0 grams to hectograms = 5.21 hectograms
8.5 kiloliters to centiliters = 8,500,000 centiliters

NOTE: The digits aren’t changing, the

position of the decimal is. In the English system
the whole number changes.

Kilo Hecto Deca UNIT Deci Centi Milli

Example No. 1
The world’s smallest stamp was
issued by Bolivar, a province of
Columbia, in 1863. It is called the
“Bolivar 10c green” and is 0.315
inch by 0.376 inch. What is the
area of this stamp expressed in
square millimeter (mm2)?
Example No. 1
Example No. 2
Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija is
considered as the Tricycle Capital of
the Philippines. This is because as
of September 2009, there are
38,202 tricycles registered in the
city. If the average length of a
tricycle is 195 cm, how long would
a single file line made up of
tricycles be? Express your answer
in km and mi.
Example No. 2
Example No. 3
The density of carbon monoxide, a
pollutant mainly caused by
motorized vehicles and factories
in urban places like Cabanatuan
City at Standard Temperature and
Pressure (STP) is 0.001977
gram/cm3. Express this quantity in
terms of kg/m3.
Example No. 3
Assessment No. 1
Change the following measurements using the dimensional analysis method to
the units shown in brackets

1. 3.55m (cm)
2. 6510g (kg)
3. 55cm (m)
4. 1.36 kg (mg)
5. 5.2 L (mL)
6. 11.4 mg (g)
7. 305 000cm3 (m3)
8. 8 550 g (t)
9. 240 000m2 (ha)
10.21.8ha (m2)