at the International Bereau of

LESSON 2 Weights and

Measures.
Units Of
Measurement The second is 9192631770
Introduction periods of a specified radiation
Physics is an experimental science. from Cesium-133
Theories are useful only if their atoms
predictions agree with the results of
experiments. So measurement plays The kelvin is 1 of the
an important part in physics.Together 273.16
with other scientists , physicists have thermodynamic temperature of
agreed on a single system of units for the triple point of water
the measurement of physical
quantities .
A physical quantity is clearly defined
with a numerical value and a unit. A
physical quantity can be measured The ampere is the current carried
using a standard size called the unit. by two long parallel wires placed
Units identify the quantity that has one meter apart, when the
been measured. attractive force per unit length
The standard size used must between two wires is 2 x 10-7 Nm-
1
(i) be easily reproduced .
(ii) not have its magnitude changed
(iii) be internationally accepted Prefixes

Although various systems of units Prefix is a scientific notation word

have been used over the years, before the base units and have
scientists have generally agreed to certain value uses powers of 10.
use the International System of
Units (S.I. Unit). Prefix Symb Factor
Units for the base quantities are ol
known as base units, i.e. metre , Giga G
kilogram, second, kelvin and Mega M
ampere. Kilo k
Desi d
The definition of base units. Centi c
Mili m
The metre is the length of the Mikro µ
path Nano n
traveled by light in vacuum during
a time interval of 1
of a second
299792458 Standard Form

The kilogram is the mass of a The radius of earth 6400000000 mm

prototype and the diameter a metal wire is
cylinder of platinum-iridium alloy 0.00000045 km. What is the best way
that is kept to write these numbers ?

5
The best way is try to write the (a) kg (b) dg
numbers in shorthand form.
The shorthand form of writing Solution
numbers is called standard form.
In general, the standard form number
is

a x 10n Example 4
where 1 ≤ a<10
and n are positive Ekspress
integers or (a) 73 kg in terms of mg
negative integers. (b) 0.0045 ms in terms of Ms
Example 1
Solution
Write the following numbers in
standard form.

(a) 0.00008 m (b) 5300 g

(c) 0.0068 cm (d) 567.13 km Example 5
(e) 345.2 x 104 m (f)
0.000078 x 10-6 s Convert
(g) 7 x 10-5 x 8 x 106 (h) 3 x
108 + 8 x 106 (a) 11.5 cm3 into the units of m3
(i) 6.2 x 109 (j) 3.8 x 10-2 (b) 72 km j-1 into the units of ms-1
- 7.2 x 10 -3 (c) 5 g cm-3 into the units of kgm- 3
3.1 x 103
Solution
Solution
TUTORIAL
1 Every number can be written in
‘standard form’, particularly in the
cases of

Example 2 A very small numbers

B very large numbers
Convert the following lengths into the C very small and very large
units of metre. numbers
(a) 2.3 km (b) 0.62 mm
(c) 3 x 106 cm 2 The standard form for 15200 is

A 15.2 x 10 2 B 1.52 x 10 3
C 1.52 x 10 4 D 0.152 x 10 -4
Solution E 1.52 x 10-5

3 The product of 2.4 x 10 -2and 5.0 x

Example 3 10 - 4 is

Ekspress 22.5 g in the units of A 1.2 x 10 6

B 1.2 x 10 5

6
 C 1.2 x 10- 5 D 1.2 x 10 - 7 9 Which one of the following
E 1.2 x 10 -8 measurements is different?

4 If A = 2 x 10 - 4
and B = 3 x 10 A 2.3 x 10 2 m
B 2.3 x 10 4 cm
- 5
C 2.3 x 10 6 mm
then the value of A + 5B is
10 Which one of the following
A 1.7 x 10 - 5 B 3.5 x 10 - 5 measurements is smallest ?
C 1.7 x 10 - 4 D 3.5 x 10 - 4
E 1.7 x 10 –3 A 1.5 x 10 2 kg
B 1.5 x 10 7 g
C 1.5 x 10 12 µ g

5 What is 0.0455 kg expressed in

standard form? 11 The measurents of length
according to their value in
A 0.455 x 10 - 1 kg ascending order are
B 4.55 x 10 - 2 kg
C 45.5 x 10 - 3 kg A 7 x 10 -4 km , 7 x 10 2 cm , 7
D 455 x 10 - 4 kg x 10 4 mm
B 7 x 10 2 cm , 7 x 10 4 mm , 7
6 The prefixes according to their x 10 - 4 km
value in ascending order are C 7 x 10 4 mm , 7 x 10 -4 km , 7
x 10 2 cm
A Giga,mega,kilo,centi
B Mikro,mili,centi,kilo
C Mega,giga,kilo,centi 12 The acceleration of a trolley is
D Centi,giga,mikro,mili 2000 cms- 2
This acceleration ini S.I. unit is
7 Radio 5 RTM station operates at
105 .6 M Hz. A 0.002 B 0.02
The expression of the frequency C 0.2 D 2
in units of E 20
Hz is
13 Which one of the following
A 1.056 x 10 Hz
8 prefixes is less then 1?
B 1.056 x 10 6 Hz
C 1.056 x 10 4 Hz A Mega
D 1.056 x 10 - 4 Hz B Desi
C Kilo
E 1.056 x 10 - 8 Hz
14 Which of the following is true?
8 5 x 10 -4 seconds is equivalent to

A 0.05 microseconds A 0.00023 = 2.3 x 10 - 3

B 0.5 microseconds B 0.05 = 5 x 10 - 1
C 50 microseconds C 3450 = 3.450 x 10 4
D 500 microseconds D 46.531 =4.6531 x 10 4
E 5000 microseconds E 5678.9 = 5.6789 x 10 3

7
15
Readings
7.2 x 10 5 µm , 7.2 x
10-2 cm
7.2 x 103 mm and 7.2
x 10- 6 km

The table above shows the

measurement of length for four
different objects.

(a) Which reading is the longest ?

.................................................
...................

(b) Which reading is the

shortest?

.................................................
...................
(c) Arrange the readings
according descending order.

.................................................
...................

.................................................
...................

(d) Which reading is more than 1

metre?

.................................................
...................
(e) A cube of sides 7.2 x 103
mm . State the volume of the
cube in unit of m3