CHAPTER 1

UNDERSTANDING PHYSICS
 Physics is a branch of science which
studies physical and natural phenomena
around us.

 The word ‘physics’ actually comes from

Greek word ‘physikos’ which means
nature.
System of units and Measurem

 Basics and derived quantities and

their units of SI, prefixes and
conversion of units.
 Measurements tools

 study of measuring instrument.

Mechanics
 Scalar and vector quantities, speed,
velocity and acceleration, speed-time
graph and velocity-time graph.
 Linear equations- derivations and
applications
Linear Momentum
 Principle of conservation of momentum,
elastic and inelastic collision.
 Newton’s Law of motion
Mass and Weight
 Differences, friction, applications on
inclined plane.
Work
 Work and its applications in our daily life.
Energy
 Kinetic and potential energy
Power
Pressure
 In constant fluid- Pascal’s principle and
pressure principle, atmospheric,
barometer etc
 In moving fluid- Bernoulli’s principle
Heat
 Heat and temperature
 Gas Law- Boyle’s principle, Charles’s
principle, Lussac’s principle
Electricity and Electromagnet

Electricity
 Conductor, insulator, semiconductor.

 Ohm’s Law and Kirchoff ‘s Law.

 Electrical power and work.

Electromagnetic induction
 Lenz’s Law, Faraday’s Law, Fleming’s

rules.
 Ac and dc current.

 Transformer and capacitor.

Physical Quantity
 A physical quantity is a quantity that can
be measured.
 Examples: speed, length, mass etc.
 A non-physical quantity is something
that can not be measured.
 Examples: beauty, feelings etc.
 Physical quantity consists of:
 a numerical value- magnitude
 a unit
 Unit: SI unit is based on the French

system of units, ‘Le Systéme

International d’Unites’
Base Quantity
 A base quantity- is a physical quantity
which cannot be defined in terms of other
physical quantities
 Unit- base unit: the measuring unit of a
base quantity (SI unit).
 The international system is commonly
referred to throughout the world as SI,
after the initials of Système International.
 five basic units and they are exactly the
same in all languages.
 Each of these base units is defined on
fundamental constants, and all other units
are based on these five units.
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS (SI units)
Base Quantity Name of Symbol Symbol
  Base SI Unit  of unit
SI
Length meter (or l m
metre)
Mass kilogram m kg
Time second t s
Electric current ampere I A
Thermodynamic Kelvin T K
temperature    
 DEFINITION OF THE BASE
UNITS
Abbreviation Standard
Name A meter isNotes
defined as
(Symbol) Unit
the distance light
travels in a vacuum in
of a second (in
physics it is customary
l, x (for
Length Meter (m) to use metric
distances)
measurements
although the basic
principles apply if you
to use feet instead of
m, M (when A kilogram is defined
meters)
used with Kilogram as the weight of a
Mass
measuremen (kg) specific platinum-
ts in meters) iridium cylinder
 Seconds are defined as
9,192,631,770 vibrations of
Time t Second (s)
radiation from a cesium
atom
A degree Kelvin is defined
Temperatur as of the distance
T Kelvin (K)
e between absolute 0 and the
triple point of
An ampere water
is the amount of
charge (C) passing through
a surface per second, and
is defined as the current
which produces a force of
Electric Newton per meter of length
I Ampere (A)
Current between two infinitely long,
perfectly straight and
parallel conductors with an
infinitely small cross
section separated by one
meter in a vacuum..
Derived Quantity
 Derived quantity is a physical quantity
derived from combination of base
quantities through multiplication or
division or both.
 Examples of derived quantities:
 Some derived units - have been
assigned special names

INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS-TABLE 4

Quantity Special Name of Symbo Derived SI
l Units
Frequency Derived SI Unit
Hertz Hz 1/s

Force Newton N kg•m/s2

Pressure, Pascal Pa N/m2
stress
Energy, work, joule J N•m
quantity of
heat
Power watt  W J/s 
Quantity of coulomb  C  A•s 
electricity
Prefixes

0.0005 5000
kg kg
 Prefixes are used to simplify the
description of physical quantities
that are either very big or very
small.
Units Multiplication Prefix Symbo
Factor l
trillions 1 000 000 000= 1012
tera T
000 
billions 1 000 000 000 = 109 giga G

millions 1 000 000 = 106 mega M

thousands 1 000 = 103 kilo k
hundreds 100 = 102 hecto h
one tenth 0.1 = 10–1 deci d
one 0.01 = 10–2 centi c
hundredth
one 0.001 = 10–3 milli m
thousandth
one millionth 0.000 001 = 10–6 micro µ
one billionth 0.000 000 001 = 10–9 nano n
one trillionth 0.000 000 000= 10–12 pico p
001 
Examples
Please help Naruto to express:
2. 0.0015 kg to g

3. 5200 g to kg

Solution:
0.0015 x 103=1.5 g
5200 ÷ 103 = 5.2 kg
Examples
Convert:
2. 0.000006 Mm its equivalent in cm.

3. 570000 cm its equivalent in km.

Solution:
5. 0.000006 Mm =

0.000006 x 106 = 6 m
6 ÷ 10-2 = 600 cm
1. 570000 cm =
570000 x 10-2 = 5700 m
5700 ÷ 103 = 5.7 km
Exercises
Convert:
2. 0.03 m = _____ cm

3. 0.0000000094 ns = _______ s
Scientific Notation
 Numerical values which are very big
or very small can be written in
standard form or scientific form.
 Scientific notation:

A x 10 n

where:
i)1 ≤ A < 10 , A=integer/decimal
value
ii) n= positive or negative integer
Examples
1. The mass of the earth:
=6 020 000 000 000 000 000 000
000 kg
=6.02 x 10²⁴ kg

1. The diameter of one of the oil

molecule:
=0.000 000 000 74m
=7.4 x 10-¹⁰ m
Conversion of Units
 The unit of a derived quantity can be
conversed into another unit by
multiplying its current value by a
suitable factor- SI unit.
Examples
1. 5.23 mm = ____ km
= 5.23 x 10-3 ÷ 10 3
= 5.23 x 10-3 x 10 -3
= 5.23 x 10-6 km
2.5 m3 = _____ cm3
= 2.5 ÷ (10-2)3
= 2.5 x 106 cm3
Examples
7200 kmh-1 = ______ ms-1
= 7200 x 103/1x60x60
= 2 x 103 ms-1
2.16 kmh-2 = _______ ms-2
= 2.16 x 103/(1x60x60)2
= 1.67 x 10-4 ms-2
Exercises
The density of a solution is 720 kgm-3.
what is its density in gcm-3?
A 2 cm cube has a volume of……(Give
your answer in SI unit)
Convert 110.2 kmh-1 its equivalent in
ms-1.
Convert 2.5 gcm-3 its equivalent in kgm-
3
Units
 SI units
 C.G.S System
 M.K.S Systems
 F.P.S System
C.G.S Systems
 C.G.S.. the form cm-gm-sec
 The mechanical units are the same in all
c.g.s systems: Length, mass, and time,
 The units of the cgs system are
generally much smaller than the
comparable units of the M.K.S system.
 Definitions and conversion factors of CGS units in
mechanics Equival
CGS unit
Symb ent
Quantity CGS unit abbreviati Definition
ol in SI
on
length, centime 1/100 of units
=
L, x cm
position ter meter 10−2 m
1/1000 of =
mass m gram g
kilogram 10−3 kg
time t second s 1 second = 1 s
centime =
velocity v tre per cm/s cm/s 10−2 m/
second s
=
force F dyne dyn g cm / s2
10−5 N
energy E erg erg g cm2 / s2 = 10−7 J
erg per =
power P erg/s g cm / s
2 3
second 10−7 W
=
pressure p barye Ba g / (cm s )
2
10−1 Pa
M.K.S Systems
 The result was two clustering of metric
units in science and engineering. One
cluster, based on the centimeter, the
gram, and the second, is called the CGS
system. The other, based on the meter,
kilogram, and second, is called the MKS
system.
 When we say, for example, that the dyne
is the CGS unit of force, this determines
its definition: it is the force which
accelerates a mass of one gram at the
 The MKS unit of force, the Newton, is the
force which accelerates a mass of one
kilogram at the rate of one meter per
second per second.
 The ratio between a CGS unit and the
corresponding MKS unit is usually a
power of 10.
 A Newton accelerates a mass 1000
times greater than a dyne does, and it
does so at a rate 100 times greater, so
there are 100 000 = 105 dynes in a
 Although some of the CGS units remain
in use for a variety of purposes, they are
being replaced gradually by the SI units
selected from the MKS system.
F.P.S System
 That is the English system, also known
as FPS (Foot-Pound-Second).
 This system, which has two slightly
different flavors (US & UK), is still in use
in countries such as the United States,
United Kingdom, Australia, and few other
former colonies of the United Kingdom.
MEASUREMENT TOOLS
 RULER
 VERNIER CALIPER
 MICROMETER SCREW GAUGE
 ZERO ERROR
RULER

 The metre ruler- to measure lengths of

a few centimeters to a meter.
 Measurement is accurate up to 0.1 cm.
 Can measure: the length of a pencil, the
width of a book etc
 The length of a
pencil= 7.9 cm

The diameter of a
cactus = 2 cm
VERNIER CALIPER

 The vernier callipers- to measure lengths

of less than 10 cm.
 Suitable for measuring internal or
external of round objects like pipes and
cylindrical container.
 Can measure also- thickness of a book
etc.

 Odd leg
Two inside Three outside calipers
calipers calipers

dial caliper
A pair of dividers
Digital
caliper
Parts of a vernier caliper:
•Outside jaws: used to measure external diameter or width of
an object
•Inside jaws: used to measure internal diameter of an object
•Depth probe: used to measure depths pf an object or a hole
•Main scale: gives measurements of up to one decimal
place(in cm).
•Main scale: gives measurements in fraction(in inch)
•Vernier gives measurements up to two decimal places(in cm)
•Vernier gives measurements in fraction(in inch)
HOW TO USE
How to Use
Reading the main scale = 3.2 cm
Reading the vernier scale = 3 x 0.001 cm
So:
= 3.2 + (3 x 0.01)   = 3.2 + 0.03  
= 3.23 cm
Example
Exercise

What is the diameter of metal rod?

MICROMETER SCREW
GAUGE
 Is used for measuring very small length.
 Its accurate up to 0.01 mm.
 Can be used to measure the thickness of
cardboard, a coin or a key and the
diameter of a wire etc
Part of Micrometer Screw
Gauge
How to Use
Examples

Reading = reading on the main scale+

reading on the thimble scale  
= 2.5 mm + (46 x 0.01)  
= (2.5 + 0.46) mm  
= 2.96 mm
Examples
Examples

Reading = reading on the main scale+

reading on the thimble scale  
= 7.5 mm + 0.22 
= 0.72 mm
Exercises

5.8 mm

3.09 mm
Exercises

What is the thickness of the ruler?

ZERO ERROR
 Important aspects in measurement:
 Consistency

 Accuracy

 Sensitivity

 The consistency of an instrument is the

ability of the instrument to give
consistent readings when the same
physical quantity is measured more than
once.
ZERO ERROR
 The accuracy of a measuring instrument
is the ability of the instrument to give
measurements of a physical quantity
which are close to the actual value.
 The sensitivity of a measuring
instrument means the ability of the
instrument to detect small changes in a
quantity measured.
Experimental Error
 An error- the difference between the
measure value and the actual value.
 2 types of error:

1. Systematic error
2. Random error
Systematic error
 is an error in reading the scale when a
physical quantity is being measured.
 Caused by- the instrument, observer,
surrounding.

0.9 cm 1.0 cm
Zero error
 Occurs when the reading shown on the
instrument is not zero while the true
reading is zero.
 Caused
 when there is a flaw in the instrument.
 The pointer of the instrument dos not
return to zero when it is not being used.
Vernier caliper
Micrometer screw gauge
Random error
 Occurs when the observer is reading
the scale on the measurement
instrument.
 Example:

Parallax error
Error in reading of the scale
Error due to miscount etc.
Parallax error
 Happens when making measurement
using incorrect positions of the eyes.
Example
Exercises
Exercises

What is the thickness

of the ruler?
THE END