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By the end of
this chapter
Physical quantities and units
嘼
嘼
explain what is meant by a ‘quantity’ in physics;
state the five fundamental quantities recognised and used in physics;
you should be 嘼 explain the need for units when dealing with physical quantities;
able to: 嘼 state how the base units used in this course are defined;
嘼 explain what is meant by derived quantities and obtain their units in
terms of base units;
嘼 recall and use the symbols for base units and derived units;
嘼 use multiples and submultiples of units;
嘼 do calculations using these multiple and submultiple units.

Concept map
physical quantities

fundamental quantities derived quantities

base S.I. units derived S.I. units

multiple and submultiple multiple and submultiple

base units derived units

Introduction
Measurement is something we use every day to find the value or size of
things.
We describe the results using a wide variety of units, depending on what it is
we are measuring, but the results always begin with a number usually followed
by the unit. For example, a cricket score might be 85 runs; a cake recipe may
mention 6 cups of flour; a salary may be 2500 dollars; and the size of a hotel
unit of measurement  could be 100 rooms. Here the units of measurement are runs, cups, dollars and
rooms.
The units we use in physics are internationally agreed, and generally used,
particularly in science, industry and technology. They are called S.I. units. S.I.
stands for the French Système International (‘International System’). This system
of units was agreed at a conference of prominent scientists in France in 1960.
This chapter will introduce you to quantities measured in physics as well as
the units in which they are measured.

Physical quantities
In a school physics laboratory, there are a host of different quantities we may
measure, from the length of a bench to the voltage supplied by a battery. In
fundamental quantity  physics, seven quantities are seen as fundamental. You will come across five

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 A – Measurement and practical work

of the fundamental quantities in your course: mass (figure 1.1), length, time,
temperature and electric current. (The other two fundamental quantities are
‘luminous intensity’ and ‘amount of substance’.)
Each of these fundamental quantities is represented by a symbol, as shown
in table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Five fundamental quantities and their symbols.

Fundamental quantity Symbol for the quantity

mass m
length l
time t
temperature T
electric current I

Figure 1.1 Mass is a fundamental

quantity in physics. The kilogram
Units for fundamental quantities
standard mass, shown here, is kept at When we measure a quantity, we express the value as a number followed by a
Sèvres.
unit such as ‘metre’ or ‘second’.
Each of the fundamental quantities in physics has an S.I. base unit. For
example, the base unit of length is the metre. The base units are defined using
internationally agreed standards.
base unit  The five base units most often used in physics are shown in table 1.2 with
their symbols.

Table 1.2 Five fundamental quantities and their S.I. base units.

Fundamental Symbol for the Base unit Symbol for the

quantity quantity unit
mass m kilogram kg
length l metre m
time t second s
In print, the symbols for quantities in physics are
temperature T kelvin K
shown as here, in italic, for example T, not T.
electric current I ampere A
Symbols for units are never written in the plural.
For example, we would write 10 kg, not 10 kgs. The units kelvin and ampere are
named after famous scientists.

The standards kept at the International
Bureau of Weights and Measures are ‘primary’
standards. Other ‘standards’, made in properly
equipped laboratories and based on those at
the International Bureau, are called ‘secondary
standards’.
kilogram standard 
The kilogram
The kilogram is the base unit of mass.
The kilogram is defined as the mass
of a particular platinum–iridium
cylinder kept at the International
Bureau of Weights and Measures at
Sèvres, near Paris, in France, stored
under specified conditions (figure
1.1). This cylinder is called the kilo- Figure 1.2 A high-precision balance.
gram standard. All other masses are Values for mass are ultimately based
ultimately measured against this upon the primary standard kilogram at
standard (figure 1.2). Sèvres.

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Figure 1.3 A caesium clock.
Caesium clocks are so constant that two of them
will agree with each other to within 1 second
in 300 000 years! This means that if the two
clocks were switched on at the same time,
then after they had been working for a period
of 300 000 years, the times they showed would
differ by no more than 1 second!
Measurements using a caesium clock show that
the Earth’s daily rotation is not constant, but is
very gradually slowing down.
‘Sub’ means ‘lower than’, ‘less than’, ‘below’ or
‘under’.
submultiple unit 
multiple unit 
1 – Physical quantities and units
Thus if we say that a certain mass is 40 kilograms, what we mean is that the
mass is 40 times that of the kilogram ‘standard’. The mass of a standard must
not change with time or with environmental conditions. The kilogram standard
is made from an alloy chosen for its resistance to corrosion and is kept under
very closely controlled conditions (figure 1.1).
The metre and the second
The values of base units must remain constant, irrespective of the environment.
Because of this, the older definition of the metre, based on the separation of
two fine scratches on a bar of a particular alloy, has had to be abandoned. In
1983, the metre was redefined as the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in
1/299 792 458 of a second. (You do not need to remember this number!)
The older definition of the second, based on the rotation of the Earth on its
axis, has also been abandoned. The second was redefined in 1967, as the time
for 9 192 631 770 vibrations of a particular electromagnetic wave given off by
the atoms of caesium-133 (figure 1.3). (You do not need to remember that
number either!)
When standardised in this way, the values of the metre and the second are
not affected by environmental conditions. Further, these definitions allow the
standards to be reproduced in any properly equipped laboratory anywhere in
the world with the same accuracy.
The kelvin and the ampere
The standard definitions of the kelvin and the ampere are outside the
scope of our course, but are given here for completeness. You do not have to
remember them.
Zero kelvin (0 K) is the absolute zero of temperature. The kelvin (K) is defined
as 1/273.16 of the temperature at which water can coexist as liquid, solid and
gas. The ice point 0 °C = 273.15 K on the Kelvin scale.
The ampere is defined as the current which, if flowing in two straight and
infinitely long parallel wires 1 metre apart in vacuum, would produce a force
between them of 2 × 10–7 newtons per metre.
Multiple and submultiple units
Imagine that two students are asked to measure the thickness of a leaf of their
exercise books. One student gives the thickness as 0.2 millimetre while the other
expresses the result as 0.0002 metre. Which of these two statements gives one a
better idea of the thickness?
You may have a perfectly good idea of the size of a millimetre and of a metre,
but it is more difficult to visualise two ten-thousandths of a metre than two-
tenths of a millimetre. So there is a need for units smaller than the base unit,
and these are called submultiple units.
We also need units of length that are greater than the metre. Imagine you
are to run a marathon race. Is it easier to visualise a distance of 26 kilometres
rather than 26 000 metres? Units such as the kilometre, which are larger than
the fundamental unit, are called multiple units.
There is a need for both multiple and submultiple units of most quantities.
These units are the base unit multiplied by a power of 10. The factor by which
the base unit is multiplied is given by a prefix, as shown in table 1.3.
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 A – Measurement and practical work

Table 1.3 Prefixes for multiple and submultiple S.I. units.

Prefix Abbreviation Power of 10

Submultiples pico p 10–12
nano n 10–9
micro µ 10–6
milli m 10–3
centi c 10–2
deci d 10–1
The abbreviation da is hardly ever used. Hecto- Multiples deca (or deka) da 101
and deca- are also seldom used nowadays in
physics.
hecto h 102
A hectare is a unit of area used for land kilo k 103
measurement. One hectare is 10 000 m2, roughly mega M 106
2.5 acres.
giga G 109
tera T 1012

micron  The unit ‘micrometre’ is sometimes called the micron, written as ‘µ’ (the
Greek mu), without the m for ‘metre’.

Liquid volumes in chemistry are commonly

measured in dm3.
1 decimetre3 = 1 dm3
= (10–1 m)3
= 10–3 m3
This is 1 litre (l). The litre is used in chemistry
and in commerce (figure 1.4).

ITQ1
How many cm3 are there in 1 dm3?

Figure 1.4 A filling station in Trinidad. What is the unit used on the pump for
measuring the quantity of gasoline bought?
ITQ2
Express the following numbers in standard
form:
(i) 2000 Standard form
(ii) 0.002 34 This is a convenient way of writing very large or very small numbers, by express-
(iii) 3833.33 ing them as a number between 1 and 9.9999 that is multiplied by a power of 10.
(iv) 0.000 000 02
Standard form is also referred to as scientific notation. Examples are
(v) 123 456.789
6.02 × 1023
2.000 × 103
ITQ3
2 × 10–3
Express
(i) 10 000 milliseconds in seconds
(ii) 2000 km in metres
(iii) 2000 km in megametres
(iv) 0.002 g in micrograms
Take care to write the symbols correctly.

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 1 – Physical quantities and units

derived quantity 
Derived quantities
Fundamental quantities can be multiplied or divided. For example, length (as
in distance travelled) may be divided by time to find a speed. The resulting
quantity, speed in this example, is called a derived quantity. Another derived
quantity is density, which is mass per unit volume.

mass
density  density =
volume

Some other examples of derived S.I. quantities are shown in table 1.4.

Table 1.4 Some derived S.I. quantities.

Derived Unit Symbol Derivation

quantity
for unit
acceleration metre per second m s–2
squared
area metre squared m2
density kilogram per metre kg m–3
cubed
electric charge coulomb C 1C = 1As
energy joule J 1J = 1Nm
force newton N 1 N = 1 kg m s–2
momentum kilogram metre per kg m s–1
second
potential volt V 1 V = 1 J C–1
difference
power watt W 1 W = 1 J s–1
pressure pascal Pa 1 Pa = 1 N m–2 = 1 kg m–1 s–2
velocity metre per second m s–1
volume metre cubed m3

derived unit  The units used to measure derived quantities are called derived units. For
example,
distance travelled (length)
derived quantity, speed =
time taken (time)
metre m
Full stops are not used within units: we would derived unit of speed = =
second s
write 5 m s–1, not 5 m. s.–1. We also leave a space
between the m and the s, so we write m s–1, not So the unit of speed is the derived unit, m/s, or m s–1. We say that the unit of
ms–1, because ‘ms’ means ‘millisecond’.
speed has the dimensions ‘metre/second’, or m s–1.
Any unit obtained by multiplying or dividing base units is a derived unit.

Units named after famous scientists

Units are often named after scientists who have made a significant contribution
to a particular field of study. For example, Isaac Newton did a lot of work in the
area of mechanics, which is mostly about the effect of forces, and so the unit of
newton  force, the newton, has been named after him. The symbol for this unit is N.