Chapter 1: Units and Dimensions

1.1 Physical Quantities

First and foremost, Physicists are required to make very careful and accurate observations
and measurements. Quantities that can be measured are known as physical quantities.
Examples of physical quantities are: length, mass, time, weight, electric current, force,
velocity and acceleration amongst others.
Two very important items need to be mentioned when stating a physical quantity namely, the
numerical value (magnitude) and the associated unit. For instance, if the height of a boy is
1.75 m, then the physical quantity is the height, the numerical value is 1.75 and the
unit for height is metres (m).

1.2 S.I. Units

To be able to measure and compare the numerical values of a physical quantity, a standard
size of that quantity is required. This standard size is known as the unit for that particular
physical quantity. Subsequently, the different magnitudes of the same physical quantity are
determined by comparing them to the standard size or the unit of the physical quantity. For
example, if the length of a rod is 2 m, the physical quantity is length and the unit for
length is metre (m).
Besides the metre (m), there are other units of length such as foot, yards and miles. Although
one unit can be converted into another unit by using a conversion factor, scientists familiar
with one system of unit find it difficult and time consuming when they encounter other
system of units. As such, scientists have agreed to use a common system of units called Le
Systme International d'Units or S. I. Units for short. The advantage for using the S. I.
system is that a physical quantity has only one unit. Prefixes are used for multiples or
submultiples of the unit.
Table 1.1: Prefixes used in S.I. Units.
Prefix

Symbol

pico

Multiplying factor
1012

nano

109

micro

10

milli

103

centi

10

deci

101

kilo

103

mega

106

giga

109

12

10

tera

1.3 Basic Quantities and Base Units

Let us a make simple analogy to understand the meanings of basic quantities and base units.
The basic materials used in constructing a building may be stone, water, wood, steel or glass.
Using some of the basic materials, a door or roof of the building can be made. The building
itself consists of doors, walls, windows, floor, roof and stairs which individually are derived
from the above-mentioned basic materials.
Similarly, Physics involves the use of many physical quantities out of which seven are
arbitrarily chosen as physical quantities in S.I. The units for the basic physical quantities are
known as base units. Base Quantities are those physical quantities on the basis of which
other physical quantities can be expressed. A base unit is a fundamental unit that is defined
arbitrarily and not by combinations of other units. Table 1.2 shows the seven basic physical
quantities and their associated base units.
Table 1.1: Prefixes used in S.I. Units.
Basic Quantities
Length
Mass
Time
Electric current
Temperature
Amount of substance
Luminous intensity

Base Units
Metre
Kilogram
Second
Ampere
Kelvin
mole
candela

Symbol
m
k
s
A
K
mol
cd

1.4 Derived Quantities and Derived Units

Physical quantities other than the seven basic physical quantities are known as derived
quantities. A derived quantity is a combination of various basic quantities (just as the door is
derived from basic materials like wood, steel and glass). Units for derived quantities are
known as derived units. Likewise a derived unit is one which consists of two or more base
units.
The derived unit for a derived quantity can be obtained from the relationship between the
derived quantity with the basic quantities. Certain derived units have special names. For

example, the S.I unit of force is Newton (N). Let us now find a simple way to find the base
units of force.
From Newtons Second Law, we know the following relationship:
Resultant force=mass acceleration

F R=ma

In symbolic forms,
If we want to find the base units of force,

FR

, square brackets need to be inserted on both

[ FR]

sides of the equation. The scientific notations

and

[ ma ] show that we are dealing

with the base units of the respective physical quantities.

[ F R ]= [ ma ]

Therefore,

[ F R ]=

kg ms-2 = kgms-2

Hence, the base units of force is kgms -2. From the above example, we can conclude that each
time one has to find the base units of a particular derived physical quantity, the best way is to
recall a simple formula connecting the derived quantity and other physical quantities, which
may in turn be a combination of basic quantities and other derived quantities.
Table 1.3 shows some examples of derived quantities and their units. For each of them, use
an appropriate formula to obtain the associated derived unit as listed below.
Table 1.3: Derived Quantities and Derived Units.
Derived Quantities
Area
Volume
Density
Velocity
Acceleration
Pressure
Energy
Power
Electric Charge
Voltage

S.I. Units
m2
m3
kg m-3
ms-1
ms-2
Pascal (Pa)
Joule (J)
Watt (W)
Coulomb (C)
Volt (V)

Derived Units
m2
m3
kg m-3
ms-1
ms-2
kg m-1 s-2
kg m2 s-2
kg m2 s-3
As
kg m2 s-3 A-1

Note that some physical quantities have no units. Examples of these quantities are: relative
density, refractive index and strain among others. All real numbers and some mathematical

constants such as

also have no units. They are sometimes referred to as dimensionless

constants.

1.5 Dimensions
The dimensions of a physical quantity is the relationship between the physical quantity and
the basic quantities, that is, length ( L ), mass ( M ), time ( T ), electric current ( A ),
temperature ( ) and amount of substance ( N ).
The dimensions of a physical quantity can be written as [physical quantity].
Examples:
2
1. [ Area ] =[ length breadth ] =L L=L

Unit for area = m2

2. [ Velocity ] =

displacement
L
= =LT 1
time
T

Unit for velocity = ms-1

1
change velocity L T
=
=LT 2
3. [ Acceleration ] =
time taken
T

Unit for acceleration = ms-2

2
4. [ Force ]= [ mass acceleration ] =ML T

Unit for force = Newton (N) = kgms-2

2
2 2
5. [ Work ] =[ force displacement ] =MLT L=M L T
Unit for work = Joule (J) = kg m2 s-2

1.6 Uses of Units and Dimensions

1.6.1 Checking the homogeneity of physical equations
A physical equation is true irrespective of the system of units used for the physical quantities
mentioned in the equation. Each term in the equation has the same dimensions or units. Only
quantities with the same dimensions and units can be added, subtracted or equated in an
equation. The dimension of an equation is said to be homogeneous if all the terms in the
equation have the same dimensions or units. In other words, an equation is said to be
dimensionally consistent or homogenous if all each term in the equation has the same base
units. It means the same thing if one writes that the base units of all the terms on both sides of
the equation are equal.
4

Consider one of the equations of motion:

1
s=ut + a t 2 , where
2
s

is the displacement,

is the initial velocity,

is the time taken and

is the

uniform acceleration within the specific interval of time.

We need to check if the above-mentioned equation is homogenous and, consequently, we
must find the base units of each term of the equation as illustrated below.
Base units of s=

Base units of ut= ms-1 s = m

Base units of

1 2
a t =
ms-2 s2 = m
2

Notice that all the three terms of the equation have the same base units, i.e., m.

dimensionless constant (no unit). The equation

1 2
s=ut + a t
2

1
2

is a

is therefore dimensionally

consistent or dimensionally homogeneous or simply homogeneous.

If one wants to be more mathematical in nature, the use of square brackets can be used to
show clearly that the base units of the respective terms need to be found. This is means that
instead of writing Base units of ut , we can simply write in symbolic forms [ ut ].
Alternative way to show that the aforementioned equation is dimensionally homogeneous:

[ s ] = m
[ ut ] = ms-1 s m

[ ]

1 2
at = ms-2 s-2 = m
2

Since

[ ]

1
[ s ] =[ ut ] = 1 a t2 = m, the equation s=ut + a t2 is dimensionally consistent or
2
2

homogenous.
5

Suppose that a student had written the following equation:

1
s=u t 2+ at
2
In terms of base units,

[ s ] = m

[ u t 2 ]=

ms-1 s2 ms

[ ]

1
at = ms-2 s ms-1
2

We can notice that the base units for the 3 terms in the equation are not the same or
1
s=u t 2+ at
2

homogeneous. It can be concluded that the equation

is wrong.

An equation which is not homogeneous must be wrong. On the other hand, if the base units
for the various terms in an equation are the same, it does not imply that the equation is
physically correct.
1.6.3 Cases where an equation can be homogeneous and yet physically incorrect are:
1. Incorrect coefficient (s)
The correct equation relating

s ,

u ,

and

for the motion of a body

under uniform acceleration is:

1
s=ut + a t 2
2
Look at the equation below which has been written wrongly.
1
s= ut + 2 at 2
2
Each term in the equation has the same base units but the equation is still wrong
because the coefficient of the first on the right hand side is
that of the last term is 2 instead of

1
2 .

2. Missing terms
6

1
2

instead of

and

The relationship between s , u , t

1
s= a t 2
2

and a may just be written as:

which is incomplete and wrong; although the equation is homogeneous.

3. Extra terms
Conversely, the above correct equation may be wrongly written with an extra term
which has the same dimension or unit as other terms in the equation. For example,
1
s=ut +vt + a t 2
2
4. Incorrect sign (s)
The above correct equation may still be wrongly written if the signs of the terms are
incorrect. For instance,
1
s=ut+ at 2
2
The equation is dimensionally consistent but still physically incorrect because of the
wrong sign of the first term on the right hand side of the equation.
Note:
The correctness of a physical equation is confirmed experimentally where the
appropriate terms and associated signs in the equation are properly deduced.
1.6.2 Finding the units of unknown quantities in an equation
Additionally, base units are used to find units of unknown quantities in an equation. The units
of an unknown quantity in a physical equation can be found by substituting known units into
the defining equation.
Self-Evaluation Exercise 1.1:
1. What are the S.I. units of k

so that the equation:

velocity=k density

is dimensionally correct? Give your answer in terms of the base units.

2. A sphere of radius

moving with a velocity

under streamline conditions in a

viscous fluid experiences a retarding force given by

constant. What are the S.I. units of k
3. The heat capacity
temperature T

F=krv

where

is a

in terms of the base units?

of solid can be expressed as function of the absolute

to fit the expression:

7

C=T + T

Find the possible base units of

and

4. Using an appropriate equation, find the base units of the specific capacity

of a

substance.

5. Bernoullis equation, which applies to fluid flow, states that:

1 2
p+hg+ v =k
2
p

where
v

is pressure,

velocity and k

height,

density,

acceleration due to gravity,

a constant. Show that the equation is dimensionally consistent

and state an S.I. unit for k .

6. For temperatures close to

0 K, the specific heat capacity for a particular solid is

c=aT 3 , where

given by

is its thermodynamic temperature and

is a

constant. What is the unit of a in terms of the base units in S.I. systems?
7. The viscous drag

F between two layers of liquid with surface area of contact

in a region of velocity gradient

F=A

is the coefficient of viscosity of the liquid. Find the base units of .

8. The drag coefficient

CD=

is given by:

dv
dx

where

dv
dx

CD

of a car moving with speed

is given by:
F
1 2
v A
2

through air of density

where

is the drag force exerted on the car and

is the maximum cross-

sectional area perpendicular to the direction of travel of the car. Show that

CD

is

dimensionless (i.e., it does not have a unit).

When a certain car is travelling at a speed of 20 ms -1, it experiences a drag force of
350 N. What drag force would be expected when the car is travelling at its top speed
of 40 ms-1?
9. The following equations had been suggested to describe the variation of the pressure
p with velocity v of a liquid which flows in a horizontal pipe.
(a)

P+ Agv =X

(b)

P+B v 2=Y

(c)

P+Cg v 2=Z

where

A , B

and C

are non-dimensionless constants;

are constants with the same unit as pressure,

X , Y , and Z

is the acceleration due to gravity,

is the density of the liquid and

is Nm-1). Which one of the above equations is dimensionally homogenous?

is the surface tension of the liquid (unit for

10. A famous formula in Physics relates the moving mass

a particle in terms of the speed v

to the rest mass

m0

of

and the speed of light c . This relation arose as

a consequence of the special theory of relativity due to Albert Einstein. A boy recalls
the relationship almost correctly but forgets where to put the c . He writes the
equation as follows:
m=

m0

1v 2

Guess where to put the missing c ?

11. A book with many printing errors contains four different formulae for the
displacement y of a particle undergoing a certain periodic motion:

( 2Tt )

y=asin

y=asinvt

y=

a
t
sin
T
a

y=

a
2 t
2 t
sin
+cos
T
T
2

where a

()

[ ( ) ( )]

is the maximum displacement of the particle,

T

is the speed and

is the time taken,

is the time period of motion. Using S.I base units, rule out the

wrong formulae.
12. (a) How would you check the homogeneity of a physical equation? Why this method
of checking does not give definite confirmation that an equation is correct?
(b) Express the units of force and charge in terms of the S.I. base units. Hence, with
reference to Coulombs Law:
1 Q1 Q2
F=
4 0 r2

Express the unit of

, the permittivity of vacuum, in terms of the S.I. base

units.
0

A unit for
unit for

, the permeability of vacuum, is kg ms-1 A-2. Use this unit and your

to decide which one of the following relations between

and c , the speed of light in vacuum, is dimensionally consistent.

0 0=c 2 ,
0 0=c ,
0 0=c1 ,
0 0=c2
13. (a) Define the work done by a body.
10

(b) Express the Joule in terms of the S.I. base units.

(c) The theory of gas flow through small diameter tubes at low pressures is an
important consideration of high volume technique. One equation which occurs in
this theory is:
3
k r ( p1 p2 ) M
Q=
l
RT

where
p2

is a dimensionless constant,

is the radius of the tube,

are the pressures at each end of the tube of length

mass of the gas (unit: kg mol-1),

and

l ,

p1

and

is the molar

is the molar gas constant (unit: J K-1 mol-1)

is the thermodynamic temperature. Use the equation to find the base

units of Q .

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