Physics Worksheet

Units and Measurements

1. Derive SI units for the following quantities:

a. Volume of a cube
b. Area of a triangle.
c. Surface Area of a cylinder
d. Speed (v = distance ÷ time)
e. Momentum (P = mass × velocity)
f. Pressure (P = Force ÷ Area)
g. Acceleration (a = change in velocity ÷ time)
h. Force (F = mass × acceleration)
i. Kinetic Energy (E = ½ m v2)
j. Potential Energy (E = mgh)
k. Work done (W = force × displacement)

2. Convert the following into scientific notation:

a. 0.0123
b. 10289.963
c. 123 km
d. 123 × 0.650
e. 45.801 ÷ 23.4
f. 456.34 + 1009
g. 7693.00 – 123.343

3. Which of the following equalities is NOT correct?

a. 100 cg = 1g b. 1000 mm = 1 m c. 1 cm3 = 1 mL d. 10 kg = 1 g

4. Which of the following units is an official SI base unit (i.e. NOT a derived unit)?
a. Fahrenheit b. second c. gram d. Litre

5. The closeness of a measurement to its true value is a measure of its:

a. Reproducible b. accuracy c. precision d. usefulness
6. The diameter of a carbon atom is 0.000 000 000 154 m. What is this number
expressed in nanometres?
a. 0.000154 nm b. 154 nm c. 0.000 000 154 nm d. 0.154 nm

7. Three different people weigh a standard mass of 2.00 g on the same balance. Each
person obtains a reading of exactly 7.32 g for the mass of the standard. These results
imply that the balance that was used is:
a. Neither accurate nor precise
b. Accurate but not precise
c. Precise but not accurate
d. Both accurate and precise

8. An ammeter has a zero-offset error. This fault will affect:

a. neither the precision nor the accuracy of the readings.
b. only the precision of the readings.
c. only the accuracy of the readings.
d. both the precision and the accuracy of the readings.

9. The reading of a constant potential difference is made four times by a student. The
readings are 1.176 V, 1.178 V, 1.177 V, 1.176 V The student averages these readings
but does not take into account the zero error on the voltmeter. The average
measurement of the potential difference is:
a. precise and accurate.
b. precise but not accurate.
c. accurate but not precise.
d. not accurate and not precise

10. A reaction takes place that is expected to yield 171.9 g of product, but only yields
154.8 g. What is the percent error for this experiment?
a. 90.1% b. 111.01% c. 17.1% d. 9.9%

11. Both random and systematic errors are present in the measurement of a particular
quantity. What changes, if any, would repeated measurements of this quantity have
on the random (R) and systematic errors (S)?
a. R-reduced S-reduced
b. R-reduced S-unchanged
c. R-unchanged S-reduced
d. R-unchanged S-unchanged