Calculations for Engineers

LECTURE 1
Presenter: Dianne Plummer
Revised: 10/06/16
 OBJECTIVES
• What are units
• System of Units
• Base Units
• Derived Units
• Consistency of Units
• Units of Common Physical Properties
• What are dimensions
 What are units?
• Units are means of expressing the dimensions
such as feet or meter for length,
hours/seconds for time.
Think about it
 Components of a system of units
• Base units - units for the dimensions of mass,
length, time, temperature, electrical current, and
light intensity.
• Derived units - units that are obtained in one or
two ways;
1. By multiplying and dividing base units. Example:
ft/min (velocity), cm2(area), kg.m/s2 (force).
2. Are defined as equivalent of compound units
(kg.m/s2 →J, Joule)
 System of Units
• SI - INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS
• CGS (cm-gram-second)
• American Engineering System AES

• Check out
http://www.periodni.com/international_syste
m_of_units.html
SI Units
CGS Units
AES Units
Zooming in on SI Units
Mass…kilogram…kg
Time…seconds…s
Length…meter…m
Electric current…ampere…A
Temperature…kelvin…K
Amount of substance…mole…n
Luminous intensity…candela…cd
Class Activity 1
Notes on Base & Derived Units
Class Activity 2
Operations of Units
Class Activity 3
Multiplication of Units
Class Activity 4
Division of Units
Class Activity 5
 Sub Multiple Unit
• Base units can be split into smaller units called
submultiple units.
• The millimetre is an example of a submultiple
unit and it is a smaller quantity than the
metre.
• A submultiple unit is a smaller quantity unit
than a base unit.
 Multiple Units
• Sometimes the base unit can be too small. For
example, large distances are often measured
in kilometres instead of metres.
• The kilometre is a larger quantity than the
metre.
• A multiple unit is a larger quantity than the
base unit.
Prefixes for multiple and submultiple
 Unit Conversion
• Conversion is an operation of changing
submultiple or multiple units into SI base
units.
• The Conversion Factor is the figure, which
relates the multiple, or submultiple unit to the
SI unit.
 Rule 1 for Conversion
• Rules for conversion Rule 1 When converting a
multiple unit (larger quantity) into the SI base
unit (smaller quantity), multiply the multiple
unit by the conversion factor.
Example
 Rule 2 for Conversion
• When converting a submultiple unit (smaller
quantity) into the SI base unit (larger quantity)
divide the submultiple unit by the conversion
factor.
Example
Basic Conversions
Activity 6
Area Conversions
Activity 7
Volume Conversions
Class Activity 8
Mass Conversions
Class Activity 9
Time Conversions
Class Activity 10
Temperature Conversions
Class Activity 11
Conversion between different System
of Units
Solution
Force
Weight
The Value of g
Classwork
Classwork
 Dimensions
• What are Dimensions?

Physical quantities like length, mass or time that

uniquely chracterises an object.

If you say you want to measure distance then the

dimension is length, for matter it’s mass and for
how long will it take it’s time.
Therefore units are used to measure these
quantities
 Dimensional Consistency
 An equation must be dimensionally consistent
 Each term in the equation MUST have the same net
dimension and units as every other term to which it is
added, subtracted or equated for that equation to be
valid.
 Illustrated by the Van der Waals equation that
represents pressure/volume/temperature behaviour of
a gas

 a 
 p  2 V  b   RT
 V 
 Dimensionally Homogenous
• All additive terms on both sides of equation
must have same dimensions.
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
 Dimensionless Quantity

Pure number or multiplicative combinations

with no net dimensions

Show that below is dimensionless

• What must be the units of a and b if p – atm
and V – cm3?

 a 
 p  2 V  b   RT
 V 
Non SI Units
Classwork
Solution
Solution
Solution
 Standard form
• Frequent calculations using very large or very small numbers
• Can be cumbersome to write out in decimal form
• Multiplication of numbers with powers of ten is done by adding
the exponents.
• With scientific notation the exponents of to are used to indicate
the decimal place
 Significant Figures
• The need to determine which figures are
significant (considered reliable)
• Number of significant figures indicate the
number of digits that can be used with
confidence.
• Example reporting too many figures indicates
that the number is more accurate than it
really is.
 Significant Figures
• CASE STUDY
• Example: Add the following numbers:
3.51, 2.205 and 0.0142.

Answer = 5.7292…..BUT how should it be

reported?
Should be reported to 3 S.F. rounded to 5.73
WHY?
 Significant Figures
• The answer should show significant digits
based on the least precise number in the
calculation.
• Example: Subtraction 1725.463 – 189.2 = ?
• Example: Product: 2.43 X 17.675 = ?
• Example: Quotient: 75.22 / 25.1 = ?
 Significant Figures
• What happens if the number following the
least significant figure is < 5?
• Leave the last figure as it is.
• What happens if the number following the
least significant figure is > 5?
• Increase the last figure by 1
• Example: 5.7242…..give number in 3 S.F………
• Example: 5.7262…..give number in 3 S.F………
 Significant Figures
• If the number following the least S.F. is EQUAL
to 5
• Round up the number so that the recorded
number is even.
• Example 2.525 round off to 3 SF
• Example 2.535 round off to 3 SF
 Graphical Analysis
• Relationship between variables: better
understanding through graphical use
Graphical Relationships
1. Straight lines
2. Parabolic Curves
3. Hyperbolic Curves
4. Exponential Curves
 Graphical Analysis
• Straight line y = mx+c
• m = slope of the line
• c = zero intercept or the value of y at x = 0
Draw Straight line relationship