Read Before Attempting the Assignments

Types of Units
Generally we can use any convenient unit to measure a physical
quantity depending on how much magnitude we are measuring
or in which system of units we want to measure it.
What kind of unit we should use?
The unit i) must be accepted internationally.
ii) Should be reproducible.
iii) Should be invariable.
iv) Should be easily available.
v) Should be consistent.
vi) Should be large if the physical quantity to be measured is a
big quantity.
!"# To measure larger lengths we use units like $m mt etc to
measure large magnitude of time we use units like hour day
week month year etc.
vii) Should be small if the physical quantity to be measured is
small.
!"# To measure small time we use units like millisecond
microsecond etc
To measure small lengths we use units like millimeter
centimeter etc.
Types of physical Quantities.#
We can broadly divide the physical quantities in to two types i)
%undamental &hysical quantities ii) 'erived physical quantities.
Fundamental physical quantities# ( physical quantity
which can e"ist independently is called %undamental physical
quantity.
!"# )ength mass and time etc.
Derived physical quantities# ( physical quantity which can
not e"ist independently is called derived physical quantity. *+r)
( physical quantity which is dependent or derived from any
other physical quantity is called derived physical quantity.
!" # (rea volume density speed acceleration force energy
etc.
)ike the physical quantities we can divide the units in to two
types. ,) %undamental units ii) derived units.
Fundamental units # The units of fundamental physical
quantities are called fundamental units *or) The units which
are independent or can not derived from any other unit is called
fundamental unit.
!"# !very unit of length is fundamental unit *irrespective of the
system to which it belongs)-millimeter centimeter meter
kilometer etc.
!very unit of time is a fundamental unit. microsecond
millisecond second minute hour day etc are units of time.(ll
these units are fundamental units.
Derived units# The units of derived physical quantities are
called derived units. .nits of area volume speed density
energy etc are derived units.
!"# !very unit of speed is a derived unit - m/sec cm/sec km/hr
etc.
!very unit of density is a derived unit- kg/m0 gr/cm0 etc.
!very unit of acceleration is a derived unit- m/sec1 cm/sec1
km/hr1 etc.
System of Units# To measure the fundamental physical
quantities )ength 2ass and Time we have three systems of
units they are i) 3.G.S system*metric system) ii) %.&.S system
*4ritish system) and iii) 2.$.S system. ,n all these three
systems only three physical quantities mass length and time are
considered to be fundamental quantities.
4ut in system ,nternational *S.,) system there are seven
fundamental physical quantities. Which are i) 2ass ii) )ength
iii) Time iv) !lectric current v) Thermo dynamic temperature
vi) )uminous intensity vii) 5uantity of substance.
,n addition to the above seven fundamental quantities two more
supplementary physical quantities were add. They are i) &lane
angle ii) Solid angle.
Special Units.
. !ength#
2icron* )6 m 6 cm
(ngstrom *() 6 m 6 cm
%ermi 6 m 6 cm
(stronomical .nit *(..) 6 *7.8) m 6 *7.8) cm-
What is 7 (..?
7 (... *(stronomical .nit) is the distance between !arth
and Sun. 7(..6 *7.9:;) km.
< ray unit *<..) 6 m *wave length of <=>ays)
)ight year 6 'istance traveled by light in one year6
m 6 km
parsec 6 ?.@; light years 6 m
7 mile 6 7.;A: km 6 B furlongs 6 7C;A yards 6 8@BA
feet
7 agate*typography) 6 A.AC inch 6 7.B centimeter
7 angstrom 6 A.AAAAAA7 mm 6 A.AAAAAAAA9 inch
7 cableDs length 6 C@A feet 6 @7:.9; meters
7 chain *engineerDs) 6 7AA feet 6 ?A.9B meters
7 chain *GunterDs or surveyorDs) 6 ;; feet 6 @A.7@
meters
7 cubit 6 7B inches 6 98.C@ centimeter
7 degree *geographical) 6 ;:.A8 miles 6 777.7@
kilometers
7 decametre 6 7A meters 6 ?@.B7 feet
7 fathom 6 ; feet 6 7.B? meters
7 hand 6 9 inches 6 7A.7; centimeters
7 league 6 ? miles 6 9.B? kilometers
7 link *engineerDs) 6 7 foot 6 A.?7 meter
7 link *GunterDs or surveyorDs ) 6 C.:@ inches 6 7A.7;
centimeters
7 perch or pole 6 7;.8 feet 6 8 meters
7 point *typography ) 6 A.7 inch 6 A.?8 millimeter
". Time#
Solar day def# The time taken by earth to complete
one rotation about its own a"is with respect to sun is called
solar day. *(verage value for all the days of one year is
$ean solar day%.
Siderial day# ,t is 9.7 min shorter than 2ean solar day.
Siderial year #?;8.@; 2ean solar day and Solar year 6
?;8.@9 2ean solar day
)ear year 6 The year in which %ebruary month has @:
days is called leap year. ,t is divisible by 9.
)unar month# Time taken by moon to complete one
rotation around earth is lunar month 6 @C.? days.
&. $ass#
(tomic mass .nit * a.m.u) # 6 of mass of atom 6
6 gr 6 gr 6 kg.
7 assay ton 6 @:.7;C grams 6 7.A? ounces
7 carat 6 @AA milligrams 6 ?.A: grains
7 decigram 6 7AA milligrams 6 7.89 grains
7 decagram 6 7A grams 6 A.?8 ounce
7 pound 6 A.98 kilograms
'. (ressure#
(tmosphere 6C;A mm of Eg 6 dyne/ 6
dyne/ 6 or pa.
4ar 6 C8A mmEg 6 dyne/ 6 dyne/ 6
or pa.
Torr 67 mm Eg 6 dyne/ 67??? dyne/
67??F/ or pa.
). Area#
4arn# this is unit of area- it is used to measure cross
section of nuclei.
4arn 6
7 acre 6 9A9C sq meters 6 9B9A sq yards 6 9?8;A sq ft
7 are 6 7AA square meters 6 7AC;.?: sq feet
7 square*building) 6 7AA sq feet 6 :.@: sq meters
7 sq link 6 ;@.C? sq inches 6 9A9.;: sq cm
7 township 6 ?; sq miles 6 :?.@9 sq kms
*. +ind Speeds#
light wind 6 C miles/hr
light breeGe 6 77 miles/hr
gentle breeGe 6 7; miles/hr
moderate breeGe 6 @A miles/hr
fresh breeGe 6 @8 miles/hr
strong breeGe 6 ?A miles/hr
moderate gale 6 ?8 miles/hr
fresh gale 698 miles/hr
strong gale 6 8A miles/hr
whole gale 6 ;A miles/hr
storm 6 CA miles/hr
hurricane 6 BA miles/hr
,. -orse (o.er# ,t is the 4ritish .nit of power 6C9; w.
/. Special units of derived (hysical Quantities#
S.01 (hysical Quantity 2.3.S Unit S.4 Unit
7 %orce 'yne Fewton
@ Work !nergy !rg Houle
? &ower Watt
9 &ressure &ascal
Fundamental (hysical Quantities#
S.0o
Fundamental
(hysical
Quantity
Formula
Dimensional
Formula
S.4 Unit of
physical
quantity
. 2ass
(mount
of matter
in the
obIect
2 kg
". )ength ) meter
&. Time T sec
'. !lectric current , or ( ampere
).
(mount of
substance
F mole*mol
*.
)uminous
intensity
H candela*cd)
,. Temperature $ or $elvin
Derived (hysical Quantities#
S.0
o
Derived
(hysical
Quantity
Formula
Dimensio
nal
Formula
S.4 Unit of
physical
quantity
7. (rea J K
@. Lolume J K
?. 'ensity J K
9. Specific Gravity J K Fo units
8. %requency J K hertG
;. (ngle Fo units
C. Lelocity m/sec
B. Speed m/sec
:. (real velocity
7A. (cceleration
77.
)inear
momentum
kg m/sec
7@. %orce
kg=m/ or
Fewton
7?. Weight w6mg
kg=m/ or
Fewton
79.
2oment of
force/Torque/3o
uple
kg
78. ,mpulse
kg m/sec or
Fs
7;. &ressure F/ or &a
7C. Work
Fm or
Houle
7B. $inetic !nergy Ioule
7:. &otential !nergy mgh Ioule
@A.
Gravitational
constant
@7.
Gravitational
field strength
@@.
Gravitational
&otential
@?.
%orce constant
*k)
@9. &ower W or H/sec
@8.
2oment of
,nertia * , )
kg
@;. Stress F/ or &a
@C. Strain Fo units
@B.
2odulus of
!lasticity
F/ or &a
@:. &oissionDs >atio M 6 =7 Fo units
?A. Lelocity gradient
?7. 3oefficient of
dynamic
viscosity
kg *or
) F=sec/
Nlate"
OmP@N
*or)pascal=
sec
*or)poiseuil
le
?@. Surface Tension F/m
??.
(ngular
displacement * )
no .nits
?9.
(ngular
velocity*Q)
rad/sec
?8.
(ngular
acceleration*R)
rad/
?;.
(ngular
momentum
,Q
?C. (ngular ,mpulse ,Q
?B. Temperature or $
kelvin or
degree
3elsius
?:.
3oefficient of
linear
e"pansion*R)
/kelvin
9A. Specific heat
97. )atent heat
9@. !ntropy
9?. Thermal capacity
99. Gas constant
98.
coefficient of
thermal
conductivity
9;. &ole strength (m
9C.
2agnetic
2oment
9B. 2agnetic flu"
weber -

-H/(mp
9:.
2agnetic
fieldmagnetic
flu" density *4)
Tesla-
8A.
&ermeability of
free space
87.
2agnetic
susceptibilty also
called volumetric
or bulk
S
m
6 T
r
U 7 no units
susceptibility S
m
8@. !lectric 3harge
(mp sec
coul
8?. !lectric potential Lolt
89. !.2.% Lolt
88. !lectric 3apacity %arad
8;.
!lectric
>esistance
+hm *V) or
volt/amp
8C. >esistivity
+hm mt
*V=m)
8B. 3onductivity 7/ Siemens/m
8:. &ermittivity
farad/m
;
A.
!lectric
conductance
Siemens
*or)
mhos
;7
.
!lectric power Watt
;@
.
!lectrical
,mpedance*W)
+hm *V)
or
volt/amp
;?
.
!lectrical
admittance
7/W*>eciprocal
of electric
Siemens
*or)
impedance) mhos
;9
.
Self
,nductance*))
weber/a
mp or
Eenry
;8
.
4oltGmannDs
constant
H/kelvin
;;
.
StefanDs
constant
;C
.
3o=efficient of
friction
6 F6Formal
reaction
dimensio
n less
scalar
no units
;
B.
'ielectric
constant
,t is also called
relative
permittivity
dimensio
n less
no
units
;:
.
&lanckDs
constant
H.sec *or)
eL.sec
CA
.
>efractive
inde"
T no units
C7
.
%ocal length*f)
'istance
between center
of the
lens*mirror) to
its focus
) meter
C@
.
&ower of a
lens *&)
The reciprocal
of the focal
length of a lens
in meters is
called power of
a lens- p67/f
diaptors
C?
.
Wave number
Fo.of
waves/distance
C9
.
Wave length
)ength of a
wave
) meter
Dimensions 5 Dimensional formulae .
Dimensions# 'imensions of a physical quantity are the
powers to which the fundamental units are raised to get one
unit of the physical quantity.
The fundamental quantities are e"pressed with following
symbols while writing dimensional formulas of derived physical
quantities.
2ass J2K - )engthJ)K- TimeJTK- !lectric current J,K -
Thermodynamic temperature J$K -,ntensity of light JcdK -
5uantity of matter JmolK .
Dimensional Formula # Dimensional formula of a derived
physical quantity is the Xe"pression showing powers to which
different fundamental units are raisedY.
!" # 'imensional formula of %orce % J K
Dimensional equation # When the dimensional formula of a
physical quantity is e"pressed in the form of an equation by
writing the physical quantity on the left hand side and the
dimensional formula on the right hand side then the resultant
equation is called 'imensional equation.
!"# 'imensional equation of !nergy is ! 6 J K.
5uestion # Eow can you derive 'imensional formula of a
derived physical quantity.
(ns # We can derive dimensional formula of any derived
physical quantity in two ways
i)Using the formula of the physical quantity # !"# let us
derive dimensional formula of %orce .
%orce %ma - substitute the dimensional formula of mass m
J2K - acceleration J K
we get % J2KJ K- % J K .
ii) Using the units of the derived physical quantity. !"#
let us derive the dimensional formula of momentum.
.nit of 2omentum * p ) J K -
kg is unit of mass J2K - is unit of length J)K - sec is the unit
of time JTK
Substitute these dimensional formulas in above equation we get
p J K.
Z Quantities having no units6 can not possess
dimensions# Trigonometric ratios logarithmic functions
e"ponential functions coefficient of friction strain &oissonDs
ratio specific gravity refractive inde" >elative permittivity
>elative permeability. (ll these quantities neither possess units
nor dimensional formulas.
Z Quantities having units6 7ut no dimensions# &lane
angle angular displacement solid angle. These physical
quantities possess units but they do not possess dimensional
formulas.
Z Quantities having 7oth units 5 dimensions# The
following quantities are e"amples of such quantities.
(rea Lolume 'ensity Speed Lelocity (cceleration %orce
!nergy etc.
(hysical 2onstants # These are two types
i) 'imension less constants *value of these constants will be
same in all systems of units)# Fumbers pi e"ponential
functions are dimension less constants.
ii)'imensional constants*value of these constants will be
different in different systems of units)# .niversal gravitational
constant *G)plankDs constant *h) 4oltGmannDs constant *k)
.niversal gas constant *>) &ermittivity of free space* )
&ermeability of free space * )Lelocity of light *c).
(rinciple of -omogeneity of dimensions# The term on
both sides of a dimensional equation should have same
dimensions. This is called principle of Eomogeneity of
dimensions. *+r) !very term on both sides of a dimensional
equation should have same dimensions. This is called principle
of homogeneity of dimensions.
Uses of Dimensional equations # dimensional equations are
used i) to convert units from one system to another
ii) To check the correctness of the dimensional equations iii)to
derive the e"pressions connecting different physical quantities..
!imitations of dimensional method# The limitations of
dimensional methods are
i) The value of dimensionless constants can not be calculated
using dimensional methods
ii) We can not analyGe the equations containing
trigonometrically e"ponential and logarithmic functions using
method of dimensions.
iii) ,f a physical quantity is sum or difference of two or more
than two physical quantities such physical quantities can not be
derived with dimensional methods
iv) ,f any equation having dimensional constants like G > etc
can not be derived using dimensional methods
v) ,f any equations is involving more than three fundamental
quantities in it such e"pressions can not be derived using
dimensional methods.