Physical Quantities and Units

Basic Information

What is physical quantity?

A physical quantity is the result of a
measurement, reported as a numerical multiple
of a unit.
Physical quantity = numerical value unit
Examples:

mass (m) = 2.5 g

Density (d) = 1.01 g mL-1

States of matter: is the state at which the

material, or matter, exist.
There are three states of matter; namely:
Gas, liquid, or solid
Physical state:
state is a specific condition of a
sample of a matter described in terms of its
physical form (gas, liquid, or solid) and volume,
pressure, temperature, and mass.

According to the International system of units

(SI: Systeme International dUnites), there are
seven base units:

Physical quantity

Base unit

Length, l

metre, m

Mass, m

kilogram, kg

Time, t

second, s

Electric current, I

ampere, A

Thermodynamic temperature, T

kelvin, K

Amount of substance, n

mole, mol

Luminous intensity, I

candela, cd

Some derived units have special names and

accepted as SI names:

Physical quantity

Derived unit

SI name

Force

1 kg m s-2

newton, N

Pressure

1 kg m-1 s-2

pascal, Pa

Energy

1 kg m2 s-2

joule, J

Power

1 kg m2 s-3

watt, W

Units may be modified by a prefix that denotes a

factor of a power of 10:
Prefix

Name femto pico nano micro milli centi deci kilo

Factor

10-15 10-12

10-9

10-6

10-3 10-2

10-1

103

mega giga
106

109

T
tera
1012

Pressure:
p = Force / Area = F/A
1 Pa = 1 kg m-1 s-2 = 1 N m-2

And since density = mass / volume = m / V

m=v
Therefore, p = F /A = m. g / A = g h A / A

p=gh

Temperature (T)
The property of an object that determines the direction of
energy (heat) flow.
Flow continues until thermal equilibrium
Zeroth law of thermodynamics: If A is in thermal
equilibrium with B and B is in thermal equilibrium with C,
then C is also in thermal equilibrium with A

Units:
Celsius scale : the unit is (C) and it is based
on the freezing point (0C) and boiling point
(100C) of water.
Kelvin scale T: the unit is Kelvin (K) and it is
related to the Celsius scale by
T (K) = (C) + 273.15

Amount of substance n:
The amount of substance, or chemical amount, is based on the
mole concept.
Mole: 1 mol of specified particles is equal to the number of atoms in
exactly 12 g of carbon 12.
n = N / NA
Where N is the number of particles (atoms, ions, or molecules) and
NA is Avogadros constant = 6.022 x 1023
Also,
n = mass / molecular mass = m / RMM