A Figure 1.1 What’ the difference between mass and weight? A Figure 1.3 Why does a block of ron sink but an iron ship flats? Physics isa science that relies on accurate measurements. The scientific community throughout the world uses the same set of units, which are known as the SI (Systeme Internationale) units In this chapter we will look at the SI units, how the bas Quantities of mass, length and time are defined and how they can be combined to form units for more complex ‘quantities. Finally we will look at the concept of den and investigate why things float A Figure 1.2 How cid early clocks measure time? A Figure 1.4 How does the balloon gain height?De Table 141 Basie SI its. De Table 1.2 The prefix jis the Greek letter ‘mu, equivalent to our m, The metre was originally defined asa fraction of the Earth's circumference, but is now defined in terms ofthe distance travelled by light in a small fraction of a second, The kilogram is defined as the mass of a standard kilogram held in a ‘museum in Paris. The second was originally defined asa fraction of the time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. Its now defined in terms ofthe time period of a particular frequency radiation 1.1 SI units St units are based on seven basic quantities. In this course we will use five of these: length, mass, time, temperature and electric current. T listed in Table 1.1 Length metre m Mass kilogram kg Time second s Thermodynamic temperature’ kelvin Electric current ampere A All other units are made up from these ive basic units. Sometimes the basic units are either too big mall so we tse prefixes o alter the size of the unit Table 1.2 shows some of the commonly used prefixes Mega M % 1000000 kilo k X 1000 it m 1000 Micro » 1000000 ‘or example I kilometre (1 km) = 1000 m 1 milliampere (1 mA) = 5c I microsecond (1 4s) = jpalana jn the laboratory, when measuring length, the metre is often too large and the millimetre is too small, so we sometimes use the centimetre So in addition to the common prefixes, you might also meet cent (c 1.1. Write down the following in the basic units. a) 32km ——_b) 234ms ©) 2400mg 4) 35004A ©) 35Mm —f)_ 64009 1.2 Write down the following using the most appropriate prefix: a) 0.0048m — b) 35409 } 000000328) 8900m Errors and uncertainties No quantity can ever be me Whenever a measureme is made there isan uncert sample, a hand-held stopwatch ean measure to the nearest one-tenth of a second. An athlete is timecompleting a 100m race in 10.1 s. This means that, assuming the timing s done perfectly, his actual time lay between 10.05 and 10.15, an e uncertainty of 0.05 either way Ths is often written as 10.1 = 0.055. This might be improved by usingan electronic timer, which could measure to the nearest 15 of a seconds this might give a result of 10.12, The uncertainty is now reduced to 0.01 s ~ but still not eliminated “The precision of a measurement can be shown by how the figutes are written, A length written as 100 m means that the length is measured to the nearest metre. However, if this is written as 100.0 m, it indicates that it is measured to the nearest tenth of a metre Errors are quite different from uncertainties: they arise from poorly adjusted instruments or poor use of apparatus, This is explained in igure 1.5, showing that care must be taken to enstre that the eye is at right angles to the ruler. A reading taken from point A would give an answer of 1] mm, instead of the correet length, 12mm. What would a reading taken from point B giv Standard form Another method of showing the precision of a measurement i to use standart fre, For sxanpe the diana the Sn en the Ears 150000000 km. In standara for hiss writen as 130 % 10° km, This crit diplayiog medion hse sbesioges si sorta cher ove a RE example the mas of an electron ig 9.1 X 10" hg, that means 91 divided by 1 followed by 31 nero. Ty writing that out in all 2 Italo clearly shows the precision to which the readings ake Inthe example above, the mass othe electron i shown to significant figutes weelaurx react ai mia an to ageuRea arse is written as 9.1095 X 10°" kg, RomnrrIm eo 1 Welte 1.7 « 10m ou in fl 10'2m = 1000000000000 m 1:7 10m = 1700000 000.000 m i 2. Write 0.00004 sin standard form, 0.000045 = sates s =4x 107s 1.2 Measurement Measurement of length The basic St unit of length is the metre, although kilometres (1000 m) are often used for long distances, and millimetres (0.001 m) are used for shorter distances. On some occasions the centimette (0.01m) is also used, There are various instruments that can be used to measure length; the choice will be determined by the particular situation. In this course we \ shall only consider the use of rules. “A Figure 1.5 When you use 2 rule itis important that the eye is placed so that you are looking at right angles tothe rule Ifthe reading is taken from either position A or B an error is introduced, This type of erorf called a parallax 1.3 Write the following in standard form. a) 21500m b) 0031s ) 299.000000m 1.4 Write the following in full. a) 3.0 10'mis b) 17 x 10m 512 10-75A Figure 1.6 Calculating volume 10 5 A Figure 1.7 Reading volume from ar cylinder @ reiviy 1 easuring Measurement of volume The volume of an object is the space it takes up. Consider the box in Figure 16 The volume of the box = width X height * length The basic unit of length is the metre. If each of the sides is measured in metres, the unit of volume cubed, The short form for this is m?. If th dimensions of the box is the centir metre X metre X metre, or the metre anit used for measuring the hen the unit for the volume The volume of liquids can be found using a measuring cylinde! in Figure 1.7, When using a measuring ¢ vill see that the water curves up to the glass at the edges. This is called a meniscus. should always be taken linder should be placed on the bench fram the bottom of the meniscus. The readi The measur nd the eye should be kept level with the line of the liquid, to avoid parallax errors, Measurement of the volume of an irregular object en! 40 cylinder, Figure 1.8(a). Record the volume of wate hen gently slide the stone into the measuring cylinder, Figure 1.8(b) Record the new folume of the stone new volume minus the ori What is the volume of the stone in this example? Note Afigure 1.8() A iat each division on the Measurement of time A stopwatch or stop clock may be used to measure time. The ¢ which to use will depend on availability and the precision that is needed enerally, will measure to the nearest second. If greater A stop clock, precision is needed, a stopwatch must be used. A hand-held stopwatch can measure to the nearest one-tenth of a second, Even thou; in the human reaction time is much more than this, consequently the hundredths must be used with caution, To measure to this level of precision, the stopwatch must be starte copwatch may record t0 7 and stopped electronicallyhe ‘A Figure 1.9(0) A Figure 1.9(6) 41.5 What are the readings on the stop clock and stopwatches in Figures 1.9(a) to 1.9(0? Give your answer to show the uncertainty in the reading. The simple pendulum Clocks must have a device that repeats a used a pendulum. -egular interval. Early clocks A simple pendulum consists ofa light string, « mped at the top and with a mass attached at the bottom, The mass is called a bob, The time it takes for the pendulum to make one complete swing or oscillation is called its period. The period of a simple pendulum dey only on the length of the pendulum, The period of ¢ pendulum of length 25 mm is about Is. To measure the time fora single oscillation with any reasonable degree of accuracy is difficult. Remember the uncertainty in the reading with a hand-held stopwatch is 0.1, giving at best a 10% uncertainty o find the period accurately we time at least 10 oscillations and then divide the reading by the number of swings. This reduces th uncertainty in the time for one oscillation by a factor of 10, from 0.1510 0.015, Measurement of mass Mass is one of the basic SI quantities. The basic unit of mass is the kilogram (kg). As with all units, multiples and submultiples may be used, so that small masses may be measured in grams, milligrams or even ‘ams. Larger masses can be measured in megagrams, although for historical reasons one megagram is usually referred to as one tonne (t) Mass is measured using a balance. The photographs in Figure 1.11 (see page 6) show various types of balances. A Figure 1.9(0) length pendulum Xe 8 4 Figure 1.10 (One complete oscillation is from Ato B and back to A once moreFigure 1.11(@) Beam balance Figure 1.11(0) Triple beam balance Figure 1.11(0) Lever arm balance @ roiivity 13 Me Figure 1.1108) Top pan balance In everyday life we often use the term weight when we mean mass, and for this reason itis easy to confuse the terms. Mass is the quantity of matter in an object, and it does not change with position, Weight is the gravitational pull on the object. This means that the same will have a greater weight on the Earth's surface than on the Moon's, surface, because the Earth has a g the Moon, The object will have no weigl space . We will explore this in more detail in Chapter 3. ater gravitational field strength ht (be weightless) when in outer Measuring masses of liquids The mass of a sample of liquid cannot be measured directly. The liquid ust b iquid, frst measure the mass of the empty container, pour the liquid into he container, and then measure the mass again. The mass of the liquid is eld in & container of some form. To measure the mass of equal to the difference between the two readings.Pec pwomen eau ES cvesnons 1.6 A beaker plus liquid has a mass of 6954, The beaker has is 8409. S etrenec cnc rininel ‘amass of 110g. What is the Calculate the mass of water in the jug LES AO ‘An empty jug has a mass of 490. When it is filled with water its mass ‘Mass of water = mass of jug and water ~ mass of empty jug 1.7. Convert the following: = 8409~ 4909 a) 43a to arams 3509 6) 4754 to kilograms 0 2469 to milligrams 4) 387 kg to tonnes 6) 236 pg to grams Density \We might say that ‘lead is heavier than wood, but this i technically incorrect. A kilogram of lead has the samte mass as a kilogram of wood, and therefore the same weight! The difference is that the wood has a much larger volume than the lead To compare materials we must look at equal volumes of material We define density as the mass of lem’ or 1m Density is defined as the mass per unit volume, Density isa property of a material rather than a particular object. A given material always has the same density no matter w atits size or shape To calculate density of an object we must measure both the mass and the volume of the object and then use the formula net 18 mas Oe vot woe density = ass Units The basic unit of mass is the kilogram (kg), and the basic unit of volume isthe metre cubed (m:'). The unit of density is formed by giving kg/m’ or kgm. Alternatively, if the mass is, measured in grams and the volume in centimetres cubed, the unit will FORTE iia of 250m? and a mass of 6754, dividing kg by m’ An aluminium eylinder has a vol Cala the density alum, dersiy = ts = 875 glen? ~ 250 ai = 2.7G/em*im A Figure 1.12 Cube of water: | C Calculate the density of a steel door of mass 585kg and dimensions 2.0 m x 0.75m x 0,050m. 1.9 Caleulate the volume of a Gold ring of mass 84 9, Density of gold = 19.3 g/cm. 1.10 Calculate the mass ofa cube of ice of side 2.0m. Density of ee = 0:92 /em® Measuring the density of cooking oil @ raivity vs GQ retiity 16 Hine Even though the problem is {quite simple, each stage of the calculation is clearly shown. This is good practice, which you should follow. It will help you to avoid mistakes. A closer look at units Witerhasa density of 1000 kg/ be 1000 1k = 1000 Therefore the mass ofthe cube is 1000 X 1000.g ~ 10000000 Lm = 100em The density of the cube mass 1.000000 , Too 000 8°" So we ce that a density of 1000 kg/m! = 1 fer Measurement of density To find the density ofa material you must measure both the volume and the mass ofthe materia. The techniques used are the same as those me Figure 1.13 shows the stages of measuring the density of cooking ol Mass of the measuring cylinder The answer is given to two significant figures as the I measurement (the volume) is only given to two significant figures.Floating and sinking Y Table 1.3 Densities, Why do some objects float and others sink when placed in differ liquids? Ifyou look at Table 1.3, you will see that the substances that are less dense than water (cork, wood, wax ice) wil float in water. You will alee also observe that a helium-filled balloon, ora balloon filed with hot ar ein afm will float in air, The general rule is that an object will float in a fluid if it is Aluminium less dense than the Mui ne Gold Lead Platinum Glass Perspex Cork ‘Wood Wax Water Brine 1200 lee 920 Petrol 730 Air 1.26 Helium 022 A Figure 1.14 Asteel boat floats because the average density of the steel and the air it contains is less than the density of water, “4 Figure 1.15 Hot aris ess dense than cool ait, the hot air balloon floats in ai @ divin 17 Finding the density of margin @ roivity 18 Inestiating Noting an sink (Use the values of density in Table 1.3) 111 Calculate the density of a piece of wood measuring 30cm X 20m x 5 cm and of mass 2.25 kg. Give your answer a) in g/em? and b) in kg/m.1.12. Asheet of copper is used to make the roof a building. The copper sheet has dimensions 4.0m x 3.2m x 0.80em. Calculate the mass Of the copper sheet. 1.13 Calculate the volume of 784 of brine. 1.14 What are the lengths of the following items? a) » b) » qi 1 soitiiiits :) 20 30 40 wa te ine 1.15 Astudent measures the length of a room five times. The readings. are 4.85m, 4.78 m, 490m, 483m and 4.79 m. What is the average reading? Explain the advantage of taking the reading more than once and taking an average. 1.16 Caleulate the volume of the box wy —20m a) Caleulate your answer in ()) m* and (i) inem? (remember that all the dimensions must be converted to cm). b) Use your answer to find the number of em? in a nv. 41.17 What is the volume of liquid in each of the measuring cylinders? a) »1.18 In an experiment a student makes the following measurements, ‘Mass of empty measuring eylinder = 134g ‘Mass of measuring eylinder plus ethanol Calculate the mass of the ethanol. 869) 1.19 List the stages neetied to find the density of a stone. AAstone has a density of 2.70 glenn, andl a mass of 62.19. Calculate the volume of the stone. 1.20 A student needs to measure the diameter of @ wire. She wraps the Wire round a pencil, as shown in the diagram, ee >_> She measures the distance, ys 12mm. a) Calculate the diameter of the wie, ') Suggest one source of error in the measurement and state how. it could be minimised. Now that you have completed this chapter, you should be able to: Use and recall the SI units of length, mass and time recognise prefixes to alter the size of units recognise that all units are made up from five basie units understand that there is always an uncertainty when taking a measurement understand the use of standard form Use rulers and measuring cylinders to measure length and volume Use a stopwatch to measure time ‘measure mass of solids and liquids using a balance Understand the meaning of density, mass Volume measure the density of regular solids and liquids recall and use the equation density recognise that objects will float in fluids if they have lower density than the fluid measure the time period of a pendulum. measure the volume of an irregular object: