FOUNDATION PHYSICS I

PHY094

Madam A’bir Wardati binti Abd.Latif

E01, LEVEL 9
Bangunan Pentadbiran

019 - 4462716
03 - 89245543

abirwa2887@uitm.edu.my
 At the end of the lesson, the students
should be able to:
1. State basic quantities and their respective SI units
2. State derive quantities and their respective units and symbols
3. State the definition of a dimension and give examples of the
dimensions of some basic physical quantities
4. Use dimension to check equations for consistency
5. Use dimensional analysis to check homogeneity and construct
equation of physics
6. Convert physical quantities from one system of units to another unit
7. Identify the number of significant figures in a given physical
calculation/measurement.
8. Apply significant figures to estimate the proper accuracy of a
combination of physical measurements.
9. Estimates for the physical quantities using approximations
Mechanics uses three fundamental quantities
Length [L]
Mass [M]
Time [T]

 SI – Systéme International
› Agreed to in 1960 by an international committee
› Main system used in this text

Section 1.1
 Units
› meter, m
 The meter is currently
defined in terms of the
distance traveled by light
in a vacuum during a
given time
› Also establishes the value
for the speed of light in a
Section 1.1
vacuum
 Units
› kilogram, kg
 The kilogram is currently
defined as the mass of a
specific cylinder kept at the
International Bureau of
Weights and Measures

Section 1.1
 Units
› seconds, s
 The second is currently
defined in terms of the
oscillation of radiation
from a cesium atom

Section 1.1
Section 1.1
Listing the 5 base quantities with units:
Quantity Symbols SI Units Symbols
Length l meter m
Mass m kilogram kg
Time t second s
Temperature T Kelvin K
Current I ampere A

Listing 5 derived quantities with units:

Quantity Symbols SI Units Symbols
Velocity v meter/second m/s
Acceleration a meter/second2 m/s2
Force F Newton N or kgm/s2
Momentum p Newton-second kgm/s
Energy E Joule J or kgm2/s2
Section 1.1
 Prefixes correspond to
powers of 10
 Each prefix has a
specific name
 Each prefix has a
specific abbreviation

Section 1.1
 Technique to check the correctness of an
equation
 Dimensions (length, mass, time,
combinations) can be treated as algebraic
quantities
› Add, subtract, multiply, divide
 Both sides of equation must have the same
dimensions
 Cannot give numerical factors: this is its
limitation

Section 1.3
 Dimensions of some common quantities are
listed in Table 1.5

 Allows a check for calculations which can

show up in the units
> In physics, when we speak of the
dimension of a physical quantity, we refer to
the type of quantity in question, regardless
of the units used in the measurement.
Section 1.3
➢ For example, a distance measured in cubits
and another distance measured in light-years
both have the same dimension - length.

➢ The same is true of compound units such as

velocity, which has the dimensions of length
per unit time (length/time).

➢ A velocity measured in miles per hour has the

same dimensions - Iength/time – as one
measured in inches per century.
Section 1.3
➢ Now, any valid formula in physics must be
dimensionally consistent; that is, each term in
the equation must have the same dimension.

➢ To check the dimensional consistency of an

equation, it is convenient to introduce a
special notation for the dimension of a
quantity.

➢ We will use square bracket, [ ], for this

purpose.

Section 1.3
 Section 1.3

➢ Let's use this notation to check the dimensional

consistency of a simple equation.
➢ Consider the following formula:
x = xo + vt
➢ In this equation, x and xo represent distances, v is
a velocity, and t is time.
➢ Writing out the dimensions of each term, we have

L
L = L + T
T
➢ It might seem at first that the last term has
different dimensions than the other two.
➢ However, dimensions obey the same rules of
algebra as other quantities.
➢ Thus the dimensions of time cancel in the last
term:
L
L = L + T = L + L
T
➢ As a result, we see that each term in this
formula has the same dimensions.
➢ This type of calculation with dimensions is
referred to as dimensional analysis
Section 1.3
 ➢ Dimensional analysis is the checking of
dimensions of all quantities in an equation to
ensure that those which are added, subtracted, or
equated have the same dimensions.
➢ Example:
Is this the correct equation for velocity?

Check the dimensions:

/

No, it is dimentionally incorrect

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Section 1.3
➢ Any valid physical formula must be
dimensionally consistent – each term must
have the same dimensions

From the table:

Distance = velocity × time
Velocity = acceleration × time
Energy = mass × (velocity)2

Section 1.3
 A significant figure is a reliably known digit
 All non-zero digits are significant
 For example, 91 has two significant digits (9
and 1), while 123.45 has five significant digits
(1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).
 Zeros appearing anywhere between two non-
zero digits are significant.
 Example: 101.12 has five significant digits:
1, 0, 1, 1 and 2.

Section 1.4
 Leading zeros are not significant. For example,
0.00052 has two significant digits: 5 and 2.
 Trailing zeros in a number containing a decimal
point are significant
 For example:
12.2300 has six significant digits: 1, 2, 2, 3, 0 and
0. The number 0.000122300 still has only six
significant digits (the zeros before the 1 are not
significant)
 In addition, 120.00 has five significant digits.

Section 1.4
 This convention clarifies the precision of such
numbers; for example, if a result accurate to four
decimal places is given as 12.23 then it might be
understood that only two decimal places of
accuracy are available.

 Stating the result as 12.2300 makes clear that it is

accurate to four decimal places.

Section 1.4
Example:
A turtle travels at 2.51 cm/s for 12.23 s. How far does the
turtle go? (Give the answer in three significant figures)

Answer:
2.51 cm/s × 12.23 s = 30.7 cm
Section 1.4
Scientific Notation
• Leading or trailing zeroes can make it hard to determine
number of significant figures: 2500, 0.000036
• Each of these has two significant figures
• Scientific notation writes these as a number from 1-10
multiplied by a power of 10, making the number of significant
figures much clearer:
2500 = 2.5 × 103
If we write 2.50x103, it has three significant figures
0.000036 = 3.6 x 10-5
Section 1.4
Round-off error:
The last digit in a calculated number may vary depending
on how it is calculated, due to rounding off of insignificant
digits
Example:
$2.21 + 8% tax = $2.3868, rounds to $2.39
$1.35 + 8% tax = $1.458, rounds to $1.49
Sum: $2.39 + $1.49 = $3.88

$2.21 + $1.35 = $3.56

$3.56 + 8% tax = $3.84
Section 1.4
Section 1.5
EXAMPLE A HIGH-VOLUME WAREHOUSE
A warehouse is 20.0 yards long, 10.0 yards wide, and 15.0 ft high. What
is its volume in SI units?

SOLUTION
1. Convert the length of the warehouse to meters:

2. Convert the width to meters:

3. Convert the height to meters:

4. Calculate the volume of the warehouse:

Section 1.5
Convert Audi R8’s
top speed into m/s

Acceleration of the
car is 7.12 m/s2.
convert into km/hr2

Section 1.5
Why are estimates useful?
1) As a check for a detailed calculation – if your answer
is very different from your estimate, you’ve probably
made an error
2) To estimate numbers where a precise calculation
cannot be done

Section 1.6
Section 1.6
Section 1.7
• The basic trigonometric functions are as follows;

• Another important relationship,

called the Pythagorean Theorem,
exists between the lengths of the
sides of a right triangle:

Section 1.8
Section 1.8
 Summary

•Units of length are meters; of mass, kilograms; and of time,

seconds
• All terms in an equation must have the same dimensions
• The result of a calculation should have only as many
significant figures as the least accurate measurement used
in it
•Convert one unit to another by multiplying by their ratio
• Order-of-magnitude calculations are designed to be
accurate within a power of 10