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Introduction to Physics I
Understanding Base and Derived Quantities
The SI base units are defined as follows:
Unit
Definition
The metre is the length of the
metre
path travelled by light in vacuum
during a time interval of 1/299
792 458 of a second.
kilogram The kilogram is the unit of mass;
it is equal to the mass of the
international prototype of the
kilogram.
The second is the duration of 9
second
192 631 770 periods of the
radiation corresponding to the
transition between the two
hyperfine levels of the ground
state of the caesium-133 atom.
The ampere is that constant
ampere
current which, if maintained in
two straight parallel conductors
of infinite length, of negligible
circular cross-section, and placed
1 metre apart in vacuum, would
produce
between
these
conductors a force equal to 2
107 newton per metre of length.
The
Kelvin,
unit
of
kelvin
thermodynamic temperature, is
the fraction 1/273.16 of the
thermodynamic temperature of
the triple point of water.
The mole is the amount of
mole
substance of a system which
contains as many elementary
entities as there are atoms in
0.012 kilogram of carbon 12.
When the mole is used, the
elementary entities must be
specified and may be atoms,
molecules, ions, electrons, other
particles, or specified groups of
such particles.
[Notes: The definitions of the units are only
served as an additional note, it is not
discussed in the SPM syllabus.]

Physical Quantity
1. A physical quantity is a quantity that can
be measured.
2. Physical quantities are usually expressed
as the product of a numerical value and a
physical unit
Example

E = 2.34 102 kJ
where
E represents the physical quantity of
energy
2
2.34 10 is the numerical value
k is the SI prefix kilo representing 103
J is the symbol for the unit of energy,
the joule
3. A physical quantity can be divided into
base quantity and derived quantity.
Base quantity
1. Base quantities are the quantities that are
conventionally accepted as functionally
independent of one another.
2. It is a quantity that cannot be defined in
term of other physical quantity.
3. The base Quantities and its units are as
below:
Quantity
Name of
Unit
unit
symbol
Length
metre
m
Mass
kilogram
kg
Time
second
s
Electric current
ampere
A
Thermodynamic
Kelvin
K
temperature
Amount of
mole
mol
substance
Luminous
candela
cd
intensity
[Notes: Amount of substance and Luminous
intensity are not discussed in SPM physics
syllabus.]

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Exercise 1
1. Which of the following quantity is not a
base quantity?
A Length
B Mass
C Current
D Force

4. The unit of mass which defined in SI

system is
A Gram
B Kilogram
C Pound
D Kilopound
5. Which of the following is true?
kilogram
gram
A Multiple of base Multiple of base
unit
unit
B Base unit
Base unit
C Multiple of base Base unit
unit
D Base unit
Multiple of base
unit

2. Which of the following quantity is base

quantity?
A Temperature
B Force
C Volume
D Charge
3. Which of the following units is not a SI
base unit?
A Kelvin
B Newton
C Kilogram
D Ampere

Answer

Scientific notation (Standard form)

1. Scientific notation (also known as Standard index notation) is a convenient way to write very
small or large numbers.
2. In this notation, numbers are separated into two parts, a real number with an absolute value
between 1 and 10 and an order of magnitude value written as a power of 10.
3. Physical quantities that are very big or very small need to be written in the standard form so that
it is neat, simple and easy to read.

Example:
Numerical value
6 020 000 000 000 000 kg
0.000 000 000 074 m

Standard form

Significant Figure
1. In measurement, significant figures relate the certainty of the measurement.
2. As the number of significant figures increases, the certainty of the measurement increase, which
means we are more certain about what we have measured.

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3. In the SPM syllabus, the magnitude of a physical quantity is usually rounded up to 3 or 4
significant figures.
Example:
speed of light in a vacuum = 299 792 458 ms-1
= 3.00 108 ms-1 (to 3 significant figures)
Exercise 2
1. Write down the significance figure (s.f.) of the following value:
a. 135 m,
(____s.f.)
e. 3700km
b. 0.013s
(____s.f.)
f. 0.003kg
c. 0.2000A
(____s.f.)
g. 1.54 10-3
d. 25.10 g
(____s.f.)
i. 0.001200

(____s.f.)
(____s.f.)
(____s.f.)
(____s.f.)

2. Round up the following number to the number of significance figure (s.f.) that given in the
bracket.
a. 235478
[3s.f.]
d. 0.00216
[1s.f.]
b. 230008

[3s.f.]

c. 12.4369

[4s.f.]

e. 134.016

[2s.f.]

Prefixes
Prefixes are the preceding factor used to represent very small and very large physical quantities in
SI units.
Prefixes
Value
Standard form Symbol
Tera
Giga
Mega
Kilo
deci
centi
milli
micro
nano
pico

1012
109
106
103
10-1
10-2
10-3
10-6
10-9
10-12

1 000 000 000 000

1 000 000 000
1 000 000
1 000
0.1
0.01
0.001
0.000 001
0.000 000 001
0.000 000 000 001

Conversion of prefixes
Prefixes to Numerical Value
Example 1
The frequency of the radio wave is 210M Hz.
What is the frequency of the radio wave in Hz?

T
G
M
k
d
c
m

n
p

Numerical Value to Prefixes

Example 3
0.306 s is equal to how many ms.

Example 2
The thickness of a film is 245nm. What is the
thickness in unit meter?

Example 4
Convert 0.00034W into W.

One-School.net
Example 7
Arrange the following values in ascending
order.

Prefixes to Prefixes
Example 5
Convert 0.000012 km into cm.

2.32 103 Mm
2.32 107 m
Example 6
Convert 630,000,000 J into kJ.

Answer
2.32 103 Mm

2.32 10 m
7

2.32 104 cm

2.32 104 km

2.32 104 cm
2.32 104 km
=
=
=
=

Units for Area and Volume

1m

= 100cm

1 m2

= 1m 1m
= 100cm 100cm
= 10 000 cm2
= 1 104 cm2

1 m3

1m

= 1m 1m 1m
= 100cm 100cm 100cm
= 1 000 000 cm3
= 1 106 cm3

= ______ cm

1m

= ______ cm2

1 m3

= ______ cm3

1 cm

= ______ m

1 cm2

= ______ m2

1 cm3

= ______ m3

Example 8
a) 7.2 m

= ____________cm

d) 5.6 cm

= ____________m

b) 0.32 m2

= ____________cm2

e) 350 cm2

= ____________m2

c) 0.0012 m3 = ____________cm3

f) 45000 cm3 = ____________m3

Exercise 3
1. Convert each of the following measurements into metre ( m ).
c) 0.34 km
a) 12000 m
d) 0.012 Mm
b) 230 mm
2. Complete the following unit convertion
a) 12.34 kHz = ___________ Hz
b) 120
Mm = ___________m
c) 0.12 g
= ___________g
3
d) 7.110 mJ = ___________J
e) 8.3410-1 cA = ___________A
f) 5.1102 dW = ___________W
g) 1.1110-3 nm = ___________m
h) 7.134 104 pm= ___________m
i) 14500 g
= ___________kg

j)
k)
l)
m)
n)
o)
p)
q)
r)
4

12.34 N
0.134 s
756.6 Hz
0.00034 J
3.12 A
134
kg
1117 nHz
0.230 km
0.012 MJ

= ___________MN
= ___________ ms
= ___________ kHz
= ___________ J
= ___________d A
= ___________mg
= ___________Hz
= ___________m
= ___________kJ

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3. Complete the following unit conversion
a) 13 m
= ____________cm
b) 12.1 m2
= ____________cm2
3
c) 0.1 m
= ____________cm3
d) 12.1 cm
= ____________m
2
e) 1200 cm
= ____________m2
f) 130 cm3
= ____________m3
2
= ____________cm2
g) 3.55 m
2
h) 1200 m
= ____________cm2

i)
j)
k)
l)
m)
n)
o)

1000 m3
1.2102m3
5.34105cm2
7230 cm2
9.810-1cm3
800 cm3
710-3 cm

= ____________cm3
= ____________cm3
= ____________m2
= ____________m2
= ____________m3
= ____________m3
= ____________m

4. Which of the following sets of prefixes

are arranged in descending order?
A mili, centi, micro
B mega, micro, gega
C kilo, mili, centi
D kilo, mili, nano

9. The standard form of 540K is

A 5.40 102 K
B 5.40 10 K
C 5.40 10-6 K
D 5.40 10-3 K
E 5.40 10-4 K

5. Which of the following length is the

longest?
A 7.1103 cm
B 6.4105 m
C 4.210-3 km
D 9.810-7 Mm

10. Which of the following unit conversions

is correct?
A 2.5 m2 = 250 cm2
B 5.6 m3 = 560 cm2
C 4500 cm2 = 45 m2
D 2.5 107 cm3 = 25 m3

6. Which of the following unit conversions

is not correct?
A 230 Ms = 2.3 108 s
B 360 s = 3.6 10-4 s
C 0.0013s = 1.3 ms
D 2.34 105s = 23.4 ks

11. The dimension of cuboids is 20cm, 25cm

and 30cm. The volume of the cuboids is.
A 1.5 10-2 m3
B 1.5 m3
C 1.5 102 m3
D 1.5 104 m3

7. Among the quantity below, which one is

equivalent to 0.000360 m?
A 360 km
B 360 cm
C 360 mm
D 360 m

12. The dimension of cuboids is 10cm, 20cm

and 20cm. The total surface area of the
cuboids is.
A 1600 m2
B 16 m2
C 1.6 m2
D 0.16 m2

8. 0.34km is equivalent to
A 3.4 104 cm
B 3.4 10-3 Mm
C 3.4 106 mm
D 3.4 103 m

Answer
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.

7.
8.
9.

10.
11.
12.

Derived Quantity
1. A derived quantity is a Physics quantity that is not a base quantity. It is the quantities which
derived from the base quantities through multiplying and/or dividing them.
Example
Area of a rectangle = length of the rectangle width of the rectangle
2. The length and width of the rectangle are base quantity whereas the area of the rectangle is a
derived quantity. It is derived from the product of two base quantities.

One-School.net
Example
State whether the following quantities in the equation are base or derived quantity.
Equation
Distance
Speed =
Time

Quantity
Distance = ___________ quantity
Time
= ___________ quantity
Speed = ____________ quantity

Example of derived quantities

Quantity
Equation
Area
Area = length width
Volume
Volume = length width height
Frequency
1

Unit
square metre
cubic metre
hertz

frequency =

Density
Velocity/speed
Acceleration
Force
Pressure, stress
Energy, work
Power

Unit symbol
m2
m3
Hz
s1

period
mass
density =
volume
displacement
velocity =
time
velocity change
acceleration =
time

kilogram
per
cubic metre

kg m3

metre
second

per

m s1

meters
per
second squared

m s2

Force = mass acceleration

Newton

Pascal

Pa

m kg
s2
N m2

Joule
Watt

J
W

Nm
J s1

Coulomb

As

Volt

WA1

Ohm

VA1

pressure =

force
area

Work = force displacement

power =

work
time

Quantity
of Quantity of charge = current time
electricity
Potential
energy
potential difference =
difference,
ch arg e
electromotive
force
Electric
potential difference
resistance=
resistance

current

SI unit
The International System of Units
(abbreviated SI from the French language
name Systme International d'Units) is the
modern form of the metric system.
It is the world's most widely used system of
units, both in everyday commerce and in
science.

Unit
A unit is a particular physical quantity,
defined and adopted by convention, with
which other particular quantities of the same
kind are compared to express their value.

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Hint

Example 6
Which of the physical quantity below has
correct S.I. unit?
Physical
S.I. unit
Quantity
A Length
Centimeter
B Mass
Gram
C Time
Minute
D Current
Ampere

velocity change
time
mass
density =
volume

acceleration =

Work = force displacement

Quantity of charge = current time

potential difference =

Derived Unit
1. The derived unit is a combination of base
units through multiplying and/or dividing
them.
For instance,
Speed is defined as the rate of distance
change, and can be written in the
mathematic form
Distance
Speed =
Time
The base unit for distance (length) is
metre (m) and
The base unit for time is second (s).
Therefore,
The unit of speed =

energy
ch arg e

Example 8
The moment inertia of a disc is given by
equation

( m)
= ms 1
(s)

I=

2. Sometime, the units are named after great

physicist to honour their significant
contributions to the field of physics.
3. For example Newton, N, which is the unit
of force, is named after Sir Isaac Newton,
who contributed a lot to the classical
mechanic.

1 2
mr
2

m = mass of the disc and r = its radius.

Find the unit of moment inertia, I.

Find the derived unit

Example 7
Derive the units for the following quantities
a) Acceleration
b) Density
c) Work
d) Charge
e) Potential difference

Find the unit of a constant in an equation

Example 9
The relationship of the mass of a metal plat
with its area is given by the equation
mass = k area
What is the unit of k?

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d) 0.2 gcm-3 = __________ kgm-3

Unit conversion
Example 9
A car is moving with speed 2km minute-1,
what is the speed in m s-1?

e) 0.000012 kg m s-2 = _________g cm s-2

Example 10
Complete the following unit conversion
a) 12 kmh-1 = __________ ms-1

b) 12 ms-1

Convert the SI unit to its base unit

Write the following unit in an appropriate
base unit:
a) 3 J =

= __________ kmh-1

c) 12 kgm-3 = __________ gcm-3

Summary
Physical quantities
Base quantity
Derive Quantity
Unit

b) 2 N=

A physical quantity is a quantity that can be measured.

Base quantities are the quantities that are conventionally accepted as
functionally independent of one another.
A derived quantity is a Physics quantity that is not a base quantity. It is the
quantities which derived from the base quantities.
A unit is a particular physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention,
with which other particular quantities of the same kind are compared to
express their value.

Exercise 4
1. Which of the followings is a derived
quantity?
A Charge
B Current
C Temperature
D Length
2. Which of the following quantities is not
derived from the base quantity of time?
A Force
B Density
C Pressure
D Speed

3. Which of the followings is a derived unit?

A metre2
B Kelvin
C gram
D second
4. Which of the following is not a derive
unit?
A Newton
B Kelvin
C Watt
D Joule

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5. Which of the derived units below is
correct for the given quantities?
displacement velocity acceleration
A ms-2
m
ms-1
B m
ms
ms-2
C m
ms-2
ms-1
-1
D m
ms
ms-2

11. The relationship of pressure (P), force (F)

and area (A) is given by the
equation P =

F
. Find the value of
A

pressure when the force = 500N and the

area = 10000 cm2.

6. The unit of force, Newton (N) is

equivalent to
A kg ms-1
B kg m2s-2
C kg ms-2
D kg2 ms-2
12. The elastic potential energy (US) that
store in a spring is given by the formula

7. The derived unit kg s-2 is equivalent to

A N m-1
B g s-1
C kg s-1
D N cm-2

1
U s = kx 2 , where k is the coefficient of
2

the spring and x is the extension of the

spring. The unit of k is
A J m-1
B kg s-2
C J m2
D kg m2 s-2

8. Which of the following is the unit of

density?
[Hint: density =
A
B
C
D

kg m3
kg m2
kg m-3
kg m-2

mass
]
volume

9. Which of the following derived units is

wrong?
Derived Quantity
S.I. unit
A Acceleration
ms-2
B Density
kg m-3
C Pressure
kg m-2
D Work
kg m2 s-2
10. Given that the mass and the volume of an
ice cube is as below
Mass = 0.45kg
Volume = 500 cm3
Find the density of the ice in kg m-3.
[Notes: density =

13. The specific heat capacity of a substance

(c) if given by the equation

c=

E
m

Where E = heat change (Energy)

m = mass of substance
= temperature change
Find the unit of specific heat capacity, c
A J kg K-1
B J kg-1 K
C J kg K-2
D J kg-1 K-1

mass
]
volume

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15. Complete the following unit conversion
of speed.
a) 90 kmh-1
= __________ ms-1

14. Find the unit of following Derive quantity.

a) Acceleration
( acceleration =

b) Momentum
velocity)

velocity change
)
time taken

(momentum

mass

b) 110 kmh-1

= __________ ms-1

c) 1.3 ms-1

= __________ kmh-1

d) 8.12 ms-1

= __________ kmh-1

16. Complete the following unit conversion

of density.
= __________ gcm-3
a) 760 kgm-3
b) 12000 kgm-3 = __________ gcm-3

c) Impulse (impulse = change of momentum)

c) 5.1 gcm-3

= __________ kgm-3

d) 3600 Nm-2

= __________ Ncm-2

e) 12106 Nm-2 = __________ Ncm-2

d) Density ( density =

f) 1.510+ Nm-2= __________ Ncm-2

mass
)
volume

g) 3.1610-5 Ncm-2= __________ Nm-2

h) 7.110-3 Ncm-2 = __________ Nm-2

e) Force (Force = mass acceleration)

f) Pressure ( pressure =

17. Convert 4500kJ/hour to Watt (J/s).

A 1250 W
B 1.25W
C 75W
D 75 000W

force
)
area

g) Electric Charge (electric charge = current

time)

10