1.

4 Physical Quantities and their unit

1. We use S.I unit all over the world to avoid confusion in measurement. KEYWORDS
Physical Quantity SI Unit Unit symbol
Mass Kilogram kg SI Unit- unit Sistem
Length Metre m Internasional
Time Second s
Temperature Kelvin K Electric current-arus elektrik
Electric current Ampere A
2. The symbols and values of prefixes for unit of length and mass Prefix-prefix
Prefix Symbol Value Standard Form
Standard form-unit piawai
mega M 1 000 000 1 × 106
kilo k 1 000 1 x 103 Weight-berat
centi c 0.01 1 x 10-2
mili m 0.001 1 x 10-3 Mass-jisim
micro µ 0.000001 1 x 10-6
3. We use prefixes to the unit if the values are too small or too large. Balance-neraca/alat
For example, timbang
3
i) the distance from JB to KL is 300km or 3 x 10 m
Facilitate-memudahkan
ii) the size of microorganism is 1 µm or 1 x 10 -6m
4. Standard form is used to express the large or small numerical values
to avoid writing the many zeroes.
For example
i) diameter of a hydrogen atom = 0.0000000001m = 1 x 10 -10m
ii) mass of a boeing747 aircraft = 2000 000kg = 2.0 x 10 8kg
1.5 Weight and Mass
Differences Weight Mass
Definition The pull of gravity on the The amount of matter contained in
object the object
S.I Unit Newton (N) kilogram(kg)
Measuring Spring balance, compression Lever balance, triple beam balance,
Instrument balance electronic balance
Characteristics Fixed at any place Changes in different places

1.7 The importance of standard unit.

1. The various unit of measurement like
i) length – foot,yard,chain,mile,metre,kilometre
ii) weight – pound,ounce,kati,tahil,gram
2. Many problems may occur when we use different types of unit in our measurement.
- prevent accurate sharing of information among the scientist
3. The advantages of using unit coordination are :-
i) it facilitates technical dealings and communications on similar measurement
ii)exchange of science and technological knowledge between countries is more efficient and
effective.