The Sto.

Niño Formation and Science School

Rosario, Batangas
General Physics 1
Senior High School – Day Class
STEM 12-1&

Name: _________________________________________________ Strand & Section: _____________________

MODULE NO. 1
MEASUREMENT

Welcome to the General Physics 1 - Module on Units and Measurements!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace
and time. You will be enabled to process the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.

2. Finish each activity and submit worksheets on time.
3. Remind yourself of deadlines.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always
bear in mind that you are not alone.

We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and gain deep understanding of the relevant
competencies. You can do it!

LESSONS AND COVERAGE

Lesson 1: Systems of Measurement
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
 Differentiate the various systems and units of measurement.
 Explain the standards of measurement for length, mass, and time.
 Solve measurement problems involving conversion of units.
 Express measurements in scientific notation.
 Differentiate accuracy from precision.
 Differentiate random errors from systematic errors.
 Use the least count concept to estimate errors associated with measurements.
 Estimate the uncertainty of a derived quantity from the estimated values and uncertainties of directly measured quantities.
 Estimate errors from multiple measurements of a physical quantity using variance.

REFERENCE: General Physics 1 pp. 3 - 18

MATERIAL: scientific calculator

What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master the Units and Measurements. The scope of this
module permits it to be used in many different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of students.
The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to
correspond with the textbook you are now using.

Lesson
System of Measurement
1
Physicists, like other scientists, make observations and ask basic questions. For example, how big is an object? How much
mass does it have? How far did it travel? To answer these questions, they make measurements with various instruments (e.g., meter
stick, balance, stopwatch, etc.).

The measurements of physical quantities are expressed in terms of units, which are standardized values. For example, the length
of a race, which is a physical quantity, can be expressed in meters (for sprinters) or kilometers (for long distance runners). Without
standardized units, it would be extremely difficult for scientists to express and compare measured values in a meaningful way.
 What’s New

Physical Quantities

All physical quantities in the International System of Units (SI) are expressed in terms of combinations of seven fundamental
physical units, which are units for: length, mass, time, electric current, temperature, amount of a substance, and luminous intensity.

SI Units: Fundamental and Derived Units

There are two major systems of units used in the world: SI units (acronym for the French Le Système International d’Unités,
also known as the metric system), and English units (also known as the imperial system). English units were historically used in nations
once ruled by the British Empire. Today, the United States is the only country that still uses English units extensively. Virtually every
other country in the world now uses the metric system, which is the standard system agreed upon by scientists and mathematicians.

Some physical quantities are more fundamental than others. In physics, there are seven fundamental physical quantities that
are measured in base or physical fundamental units: length, mass, time, electric current temperature, amount of substance, and luminous
intensity. Units for other physical quantities (such as force, speed, and electric charge) described by mathematically combining these
seven base units. In this course, we will mainly use five of these: length, mass, time, electric current and temperature. The units in which
they are measured are the meter, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole, and candela. All other units are made by mathematically
combining the fundamental units. These are called derived units.

Table 1. SI Base Units

Quantity Name Symbol

Length Meter M
Mass Kilogram Kg
Time Second S
Electric current Ampere A
Temperature Kelvin K
Amount of substance Mole Mol
Luminous intensity Candela Cd

Metric Prefixes
Physical objects or phenomena may vary widely. For example, the size of objects varies from something very small (like an atom) to
something very large (like a star). Yet the standard metric unit of length is the meter. So, the metric system includes many prefixes that
can be attached to a unit. Each prefix is based on factors of 10 (10, 100, 1,000, etc., as well as 0.1, 0.01, 0.001, etc.).

Table 2 Metric Prefixes and symbols used to denote the different various factors of 10 in the metric system
Example Example Example
Prefix Symbol Value Example Description
Name Symbol Value

Distance light travels in a

Exa E 1018 Exameter Em 1018 m
century

Peta P 1015 Petasecond Ps 1015 s 30 million years

Tera T 1012 Terawatt TW 1012 W Powerful laser output

Giga G 109 Gigahertz GHz 109 Hz A microwave frequency

Mega M 106 Megacurie MCi 106 Ci High radioactivity

Kilo K 103 Kilometer Km 103 m About 6/10 mile

hector H 102 Hectoliter hL 102 L 26 gallons

Deka Da 101 Dekagram Dag 101 g Teaspoon of butter

 Example Example Example
Prefix Symbol Value Example Description
Name Symbol Value

____ ____ 100 (=1)

Deci D 10–1 Deciliter dL 10–1 L Less than half a soda

Centi C 10–2 Centimeter Cm 10–2 m Fingertip thickness

Mili M 10–3 Millimeter Mm 10–3 m Flea at its shoulder

Micro µ 10–6 Micrometer µm 10–6 m Detail in microscope

Nano N 10–9 Nanogram Ng 10–9 g Small speck of dust

Pico P 10–12 Picofarad pF 10–12 F Small capacitor in radio

Femto F 10–15 Femtometer Fm 10–15 m Size of a proton

Time light takes to cross

Atto A 10–18 Attosecond As 10–18 s
an atom

The metric system is convenient because conversions between metric units can be done simply by moving the decimal place of a number.
This is because the metric prefixes are sequential powers of 10. There are 100 centimeters in a meter, 1000 meters in a kilometer, and
so on. In nonmetric systems, such as U.S. customary units, the relationships are less simple—there are 12 inches in a foot, 5,280 feet in
a mile, 4 quarts in a gallon, and so on. Another advantage of the metric system is that the same unit can be used over extremely large
ranges of values simply by switching to the most-appropriate metric prefix. For example, distances in meters are suitable for building
construction, but kilometers are used to describe road construction. Therefore, with the metric system, there is no need to invent new
units when measuring very small or very large objects—you just have to move the decimal point (and use the appropriate prefix).

What is It

Unit Conversion and Dimensional Analysis

A conversion factor relating meters to kilometers. A conversion factor is a ratio expressing how many of one unit are equal to another
unit. A conversion factor is simply a fraction which equals 1. You can multiply any number by 1 and get the same value. When you
multiply a number by a conversion factor, you are simply multiplying it by one. For example, the following are conversion factors:

1 foot/12 inches = 1 to convert inches to feet, 1 meter/100 centimeters

= 1 to convert centimeters to meters,

1 minute/60 seconds = 1 to convert seconds to minutes

In this case, we know that there are 1,000 meters in 1 kilometer.

Now we can set up our unit conversion. We will write the units that we have and then multiply them by the conversion factor (1
km/1,000m) = 1, so we are simply multiplying 80m by 1:

Using Scientific Notation with Physical Measurements

Scientific notation is a way of writing numbers that are too large or small to be conveniently written as a decimal. For example, consider
the number 840,000,000,000,000. It’s a rather large number to write out. The scientific notation for this number is 8.40 × 1014. Scientific
notation follows this general format

x × 10y

In this format x is the value of the measurement with all placeholder zeros removed. In the example above, x is 8.4. The x is multiplied
by a factor, 10y, which indicates the number of placeholder zeros in the measurement. Placeholder zeros are those at the end of a number
that is 10 or greater, and at the beginning of a decimal number that is less than 1. In the example above, the factor is 10 14. This tells you
that you should move the decimal point 14 positions to the right, filling in placeholder zeros as you go. In this case, moving the decimal
point 14 places creates only 13 placeholder zeros, indicating that the actual measurement value is 840,000,000,000,000.
Numbers that are fractions can be indicated by scientific notation as well. Consider the number 0.0000045. Its scientific notation is
4.5 × 10–6. Its scientific notation has the same format
 x × 10y
Here, x is 4.5. However, the value of y in the 10y factor is negative, which indicates that the measurement is a fraction of 1. Therefore,
we move the decimal place to the left, for a negative y. In our example of 4.5 × 10–6, the decimal point would be moved to the left six
times to yield the original number, which would be 0.0000045.
Scientific Notation Rules

To determine the power or exponent of 10, let us understand how many places we need to move the decimal point after the single-digit
number.

1. If the given number is multiples of 10 then the decimal point has to move to the left, and the power of 10 will be positive.
Example: 6000 = 6 × 103 is in scientific notation.
2. If the given number is smaller than 1, then the decimal point has to move to the right, so the power of 10 will be negative.
Example: 0.006 = 6 × 0.001 = 6 × 10-3 is in scientific notation.

Positive and Negative Exponent

When the scientific notation of any large numbers is expressed, then we use positive exponents for base 10. For example:
20000 = 2 x 104, where 4 is the positive exponent.

When the scientific notation of any small numbers is expressed, then we use negative exponents for base 10. For example:
0.0002 = 2 x 10-4, where -4 is the negative exponent.

Problems and Solutions

Question 1: Convert 0.00000046 into scientific notation.

Solution: Move the decimal point to the right of 0.00000046 up to 7 places.

The decimal point was moved 7 places to the right to form the number 4.6

Since the numbers are less than 10 and decimal is moved to the right, so we use a negative exponent here.

⇒ 0.00000046 = 4.6 × 10-7

This is the scientific notation.

Question 2: Convert 301000000 in scientific notation.

Solution: Move the decimal to the left 8 places so it is positioned to the right of the leftmost non zero digits 3.01000000. Remove all
the zeroes and multiply the number by 10.

Now the number has become = 3.01.

Since the number is greater than 10 and decimal is moved to left, therefore, we use here a positive exponent.

Hence, 3.01 × 108 is the scientific notation of the number.

Question 3: Convert 1.36 × 107 from scientific notation to standard notation.

Solution: Given, 1.36 × 107 in scientific notation.

Exponent = 7

Since the exponent is positive, we need to move the decimal place 7 places to the right.

Therefore,

1.36 × 107 = 1.36 × 10000000 = 1,36,00,000.

Uncertainty in Measurement
In reporting a measurement, you write both the certain and the uncertain digits. The certain or exact digits are the ones that the
measuring instrument can give you. The smallest marked division in the measuring instrument is called the least count. On the other
hand, the uncertain digits are the ones that you estimate.
Measurements always have some degree of uncertainty due to unavoidable errors. Error is the deviation of a measured value
from the expected or true value. Uncertainty is a way of expressing this error. The equation below shows the relationship of these factors.
Measured value = (true value ± uncertainty) units
Sample Problem:
A ball is thrown in the air and 5 different students are individually measuring the time it takes to fall back down using
stopwatches. The times obtained by each student are the following:
6.2 s, 6.0 s, 6.4 s, 6.1 s, 5.8 s

a) What is the uncertainty of the results?

±0.3 s

The range is 6.4−5.8=0.6

6.4−5.8=0.6 s and the uncertainty is half the range, so the answer is ±0.3 s.

b) How should the resulting time be expressed?

6.1±0.3 s
The mean of the values obtained by the 5 students is:
6.2+6+6.4+6.1+5.8 = 30.5 = 6.1
5 5
Therefore, the time should be expressed as 6.1±0.3 s.
For further information and understanding about uncertainty in measurement, refer to your book General Physics 1 pages 8-10.
Precision vs. Accuracy

Precision is the closeness of measurement from one another while accuracy is the closeness of the experimental value to the true value.

Variance
You can numerically describe the consistency (precision) of measurements using variance. This measures how far or close the
2
measurements are from the mean (average). Variance (σ ) is defined as the average of the squared difference of the measurements (x)
from the mean (X). The formula to find variance is:

2 2
σ = Σ (x - X) where N is the number of measurements done. The square root of the variance is called the
N standard deviation (σ).

First Step: Compute the mean or average of the measurements.

X = ∑x
N
Second Step: Then, make a table for the calculation of deviations (x - X) and square of deviations (x - X) for each measurement.
Third Step: Find the variance using the formula.
2 2
σ = Σ (x - X)
N
Fourth Step: Get the standard deviation by getting the square root of the variance.

σ= 2
Fifth Step: Estimate the standard error of the mean (SEM) by dividing the standard deviation with the square root of the number of
measurements done.
SEM = N

Then, you can write the average measurement in the following form:
Average measurement = mean ± SEM

For further information and understanding about the variance, analyze the examples given on pages 10-13 of your book.

Percent Error and Percent Difference

A percentage error that is very close to zero means the measurement is close to the accepted value.

(𝑋−𝑋𝑇 )
Percent error = x 100%
𝑋𝑇
X = measurement
𝑋𝑇 = true value
Example:
X = 2.54 cm
𝑋𝑇 = 3.0 cm
Solution:
2.54−3.0
PE = x 100%
3.0
= 0.153 x 100%
PE = 15. 3%

A percent difference is a measure of how far the different measured values are from each other, and is therefore an indication
of precision.
𝑋1 − 𝑋2
Percent difference = 𝑋1 + 𝑋2 x 100%
2
Example:
𝑋1 = 2.54 cm
𝑋2 = 2.89 cm
Solution:
2.54− 2.89
PD = 2.54+ 2.89 x 100%
2

PD = 12.89%

Calculating with Uncertainties

Absolute Uncertainty
- has the same unit as the quantity itself; shows how large the error is.
Example:
The resistance of wire is (25.00 ± 0.05) ohms. The absolute uncertainty is 0.05 ohms. This means that the resistance of the wire
ranges from 24.95 to 25.05 ohms.

25.00 ± 0.05 Ω 0.05 is the absolute uncertainty

Formula:
𝑅𝑈
AU = 𝑥 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
100%

Relative Uncertainty
- shows how large the error is in relation to the true value; it is obtained by dividing the absolute uncertainty by the numerical
or measured value.
Formula:
𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑦
RU = 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑥 100% Example: 25.00 ± 0.05
↓ ↓
Measured value Absolute uncertainty

Range Uncertainty
The best way to come up with a good measurement of a physical quantity is to get independent measurements of the same
thing.
 The mean or average of these measurements represents are best estimate.
 The range may be obtained by getting the lowest and the highest and the highest values.
 The uncertainty is one-half of this range.
Example:
6.15 cm, 6.02 cm, 6.01 cm, 6.08 cm
𝛴𝑋
𝑋̅ = 𝑁

6.15 + 6.02 + 6.01 + 6.08

= 4

𝑋̅ = 6.065 cm

Range = (subtract the highest measurement to low measurement)

Ru = 6.15 -6.01
0.14
= 2

Ru = 0.07 cm
(6.065 cm ± 0.07 cm)

GOD BLESS YOU!

Prepared by:

Ma’am Jo Ann R. Maputi

Name: _________________________________________________ Strand & Section: _____________________

Lesson 1: Systems of Measurement

Activity 1.1
Metric Conversion Challenge
(See Attachment in the Quiz Assignment section.)

1. 2000 mg = ______ g 7. 75 mL = _______ L

2. 5 L = ______ mL 8. 65 g = _______ mg
3. 16 cm = ______ mm 9. 50 cm = _______ m
4. 198 g = ______ kg 10. 38 ml = _______ cm
5. 2500 m = ______ km 11. 480 cm = _______ m
6. 104 km = ______ m 12. 5.6 kg = _______ g

Activity 1.2
Metric Prefixes
Directions: Using the picture below, convert the following and solve for the missing value. Write the answer on the box
provided below.
(See Attachment in the Quiz Assignment section.)

Convert 10.25 kilometers to meters.

Notice in the listing above that meter is three places to the right of the prefix kilo. This tells us to move the decimal point three places
to the right. The answer is 10, 250 meters.

Answer
1. 650 mL to daL
2. 750 grams to milligrams
3. 45.60 meters to centimeters
4. 87.91 kilogram to milligrams
5. 6340 cm to kilometers

Activity 1.3
Scientific Notation
Directions: Look for the examples about Scientific Notation on pages 7-8 of your book. Express the following numbers
in scientific notation.
(See Attachment in the Quiz Assignment section.)

1. 1 230 045 600 000

2. 0.00000876000
3. 2.59 x 107
4. 958 x 103
5. 36.25 x 105

Activity 2.1
Uncertainty in Measurement
Answer What Have I Learned So Far? on page 10 of your book.
(See Attachment in the Quiz Assignment section.)

Activity 2.2
Understanding Precision and Accuracy
Choose the letter of the correct answer.
(See Attachment in the Quiz Assignment section.)
1. Who is more accurate when measuring a book that has a true length of 17.0 cm?
A. Susan: B. Amy:
17.0 cm, 16.0 cm, 18.0 cm, 15.0 cm 15.5 cm, 15.0 cm, 15.2 cm, 15.3 cm

2. Which is more precise when measuring a book that has a true length of 17.0 cm?
A. Susan: B. Amy:
17.0 cm, 16.0 cm, 18.0 cm, 15.0 cm 15.5 cm, 15.0 cm, 15.2 cm, 15.3 cm

3. Which set is more precise?

A. Set 1 18.2, 18.4, 18.35
B. Set 2 17.9, 18.3, 18.85
C. Set 3 16.8, 17.2, 19.44

Activity 2.3
Variance
Directions: Determine the (a) mean, (b) variance, (c) standard deviation, and (d) measured range of the projectile.
Write the complete solution.
(See Attachment in the Assignment section.)

In an experiment, 10 trials were done to determine the range of a projectile. The measurements for the range of the projectile
in centimeters are as follows:

134.8 133.9 135.1 134.7 135.3

134.9 135.2 134.8 135.5 135.4

Activity 2.4
Percent Error and Percent Difference
Directions: Answer the following problems with complete solution.
(See Attachment in the Assignment section.)

Two trials were performed in an experiment to determine the latent heat of vaporization (Lv) of water at 100⁰C. The values of
(Lv) of water obtained were 532 cal/g and 536 cal/g. Find the percent difference between the two values.

Find the percent error for each measurement if the accepted value of Lv of water at 100⁰C is 540 cal/g.

Written Output
Reflection
(See Attachment in the Assignment section.)

What would you like to become in the future? What concepts or skills that you have learned so far in this module about
measurement will be important for your future career? (8-10 sentences)

Rubric:
Depth of Reflection 50%
Content & Development 30%
Structure 20%
TOTAL 100%

Performance Task 1
Do Beyond Walls 1.2 on page 14 of your book.
(See Attachment in the Assignment section.)

Minimum 10 slides, INCLUDING title slide

Minimun 6 pictures, photos, clip art, etc.
Rubric:

Organization 30%
Graphics 25%
Background 25%
Spelling & Grammar 20%
TOTAL 100%

Performance Task 2
Calculating with Uncertainties
Answer the following problems with complete solution. (100 points)
(See Attachment in the Assignment section.)
1. Find the relative uncertainty.
[2 (5.01 m ± 2.08%) ÷ (3.08 m ± 0.08 m) x (6.08 m ± 0.07 m)²

2. Find the absolute uncertainty.

(9.82 m ± 0.01%) + (0.08 m ± 0.02%)

3. Find the range uncertainty.

a. 31.0⁰C, 30.5⁰C, 30.0⁰C, 31.3⁰C, 30.8⁰C, 30.6⁰C, 31.1⁰C
b. 8.35cm, 8.23cm, 8.22cm, 8.25cm, 8.26cm, 8.24cm
c. 15.1m, 15.8m, 15.5m, 15.2m, 15.5m, 15.4m, 15.0m, 15.2m, 15.6m

Prepared by:
Ma’am Jo Ann R. Maputi