Units of Measurement: Lesson

General Physics 1, 2021-2022, Quarter 1, Week 1
Lesson
1 Units of Measurement
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 In
How many units do we have for 1 foot or 12 inches ruler?
How many millimeters (mm), centimeters (cm), inches (in), foot (ft)?
Classify the given quantities as Metric System or British System of

measurement: 5 yards of cloth, 10 kg of banana, 8 hours watching TV, 8 inches
shoes, 30 miles walking and 70 km/h speed of Typhoon Hanna.
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 Example
Prefix Symbol Value
Name Symbol Value Description
Distance
Exa E 1018 Exameter Em 1018 m light travels
in a century
30 million
Peta P 1015 Petasecond Ps 1015 s
years
Powerful
Tera T 1012 Terawatt TW 1012 W
laser output
A
Giga G 109 Gigahertz GHz 109 Hz microwave
frequency
High
Mega M 106 Megacurie MCi 106 Ci
radioactivity
About 6/10
Kilo K 103 Kilometer Km 103 m
mile
hector H 102 Hectoliter hL 102 L 26 gallons
Teaspoon of
Deka Da 101 Dekagram Dag 101 g
butter
____ ____ 100 (=1)
Less than
Deci D 10–1 Deciliter dL 10–1 L
half a soda
Fingertip
Centi C 10–2 Centimeter Cm 10–2 m
thickness
Example Example Example Example

Prefix Symbol Value
Name Symbol Value Description
Flea at its
Mili M 10–3 Millimeter Mm 10–3 m
shoulder
Detail in
Micro µ 10–6 Micrometer µm 10–6 m
microscope
Small speck
Nano N 10–9 Nanogram Ng 10–9 g
of dust
Small
Pico P 10–12 Picofarad pF 10–12 F capacitor in
radio
Size of a
Femto F 10–15 Femtometer Fm 10–15 m
proton
Time light
takes to
Atto A 10–18 Attosecond As 10–18 s
cross 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 1014. 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.
What I Have Learned
1. Physical quantities are unit that describes the size of the quantity.
There are number that gives us the count of times the unit is contained
in the quantity being measured.
2. Physical Quantities are classified as fundamental and derived quantities.
Fundamental Quantities are the simplest form. Derived Quantities are
combination of fundamental Quantities.
3. Systems of measurement are Metric System of System International (SI) and
English System or British System of measurement.
4. Conversion of unit common method used is the factor-label method.
5. Scientific Notation is a convenient way of writing very small or very large
numbers. To write in scientific notation, follow the form N x 10a, where N is
a number between 1 and 10, but not 10 itself, a is an integer (positive or
negative number)
Lesson
2 Units of Measurement
Science is based on experimentation that requires good measurements. The validity

of a measurement can be described in terms of its accuracy and its precision.
What’s In
How to be accurate and precise in conversion of units and in expressing numbers in

scientific notation.
A student measures a test tube, she reported 15 g in mass, but the actual mass of
the test tube was 32 g. Is the data accurate?
A student measures the following temperature 40.30C, 410C and 400C. Is the data
given precise?
What’s New
Accuracy vs Precision
What is It
Accuracy
It is how close a measurement is to the correct value for that measurement. For
example, let us say that you are measuring the length of standard piece of bond
paper. The packaging in which you purchased the paper states that it is 11 inches
long, and suppose this stated value is correct. You measure the length of the paper
three times and obtain the following measurements: 11.1 inches, 11.2 inches, and
10.9 inches. These measurements are quite accurate because they are very close to
the correct value of 11.0 inches. In contrast, if you had obtained a measurement of
12 inches, your measurement would not be very accurate. This is why measuring
instruments are calibrated based on a known measurement. If the instrument
consistently returns the correct value of the known measurement, it is safe for use
in finding unknown values.
Precision
It states how well repeated measurements of something generate the same or similar
results. Therefore, the precision of measurements refers to how close together the
measurements are when you measure the same thing several times. One way to
analyze the precision of measurements would be to determine the range, or difference
between the lowest and the highest measured values. In the case of the printer paper
measurements, the lowest value was 10.9 inches and the highest value was 11.2
inches. Thus, the measured values deviated from each other by, at most, 0.3 inches.
These measurements were reasonably precise because they varied by only a fraction
of an inch. However, if the measured values had been 10.9 inches, 11.1 inches, and
11.9 inches, then the measurements would not be very precise because there is a lot
of variation from one measurement to another.
The measurements in the paper example are both accurate and precise, but in some
cases, measurements are accurate but not precise, or they are precise but not
accurate. Let us consider a GPS system that is attempting to locate the position of a
restaurant in a city. Think of the restaurant location as existing at the center of a
bull’s-eye target. Then think of each GPS attempt to locate the restaurant as a black
dot on the bull’s eye.
What I Have Learned
1. Accuracy refers to the closeness of a measured value to a standard value or known

value.
2. Precision refers to the closeness of two or more measurements to each other.
Lesson
3 Measurement Errors
All experimental uncertainty is due to either random errors or systematic errors.

Random errors are statistical fluctuations (in either direction) in the measured data
due to the precision limitations of the measurement device.
What’s In
Differentiate the following terms:

1. fundamental and derived quantities
2. Metric and British System of Measurement
3. accuracy and precision
What’s New
Random errors
It is usually result from the experimenter’s inability to take the same measurement
in exactly the same way to get exact the same number.
Systematic errors
There are reproducible inaccuracies that are consistently in the same direction.
Systematic errors are often due to a problem which persists throughout the entire
experiment. Note that systematic and random errors refer to problems associated
with making measurements. Mistakes made in the calculations or in reading the
instrument are not considered in error analysis. It is assumed that the experimenters
are careful and competent!
What is It
Definition of Random Error
The uncertain disturbances occur in the experiment is known as the random errors.
Such type of errors remains in the experiment even after the removal of the
systematic error. The magnitude of error varies from one reading to another. The
random errors are inconsistent and occur in both the directions.
The presence of random errors is determined only when the different readings are
obtained for the measurement of the same quantity under the same condition.
Definition of Systematic Error
The constant error occurs in the experiment because of the imperfection of the
mechanical structure of the apparatus is known as the systematic error. The
systematic errors arise because of the incorrect calibration of the device.
The error is mainly categorized into three types.
 Instrumental Error
 Environmental Error
 Observational Error
Instrumental Error – The instrumental error occurs because of the three reasons.
1. Misuse of the apparatus.

2. Imperfection in the mechanical structure of the apparatus.
3. The error occurs because of the loading effect.
What I Have Learned
1. The random error happens because of any disturbances occurs in the surrounding
like the variation in temperature, pressure or because of the observer who takes the
wrong reading.
2. The systematic error arises because of the mechanical structure of the apparatus.
The complete elimination of both the error is impossible.
Lesson
4 Significant Figures
It is important to be honest when reporting a measurement, so that it does not appear

to be more accurate than the equipment used to make the measurement allows. We
can achieve this by controlling the number of digits, or significant figures, used to
report the measurement.
Measurement values are only as accurate as the measurement equipment used to

collect them. For example, measuring meters with a meter stick is rather accurate;
measuring millimeters (1/1,000 of a meter) with a meter stick is inaccurate. Using
significant figures helps prevent the reporting of measured values that the
measurement equipment is not capable of determining. A significant figure is
comprised of the fewest digits capable of expressing a measured value without losing
accuracy. As the sensitivity of the measurement equipment increases, so does the
number of significant figures. Knowing the rules for working with significant figures
can help your students. “Rounding” numbers is the usual method of achieving
significant figures. Once the appropriate number of significant figures for any
measurement, calculation, or equation is determined, students can practice
rounding their answers appropriately.
What’s In
Compare and contrast accuracy and precision; random and systematic error.
What’s New
To determine the number of significant figures in a number

use the following 3 rules:
1. Non-zero digits are always significant
2. Any zeros between two significant digits are significant
3. A final zero or trailing zeros in the decimal portion ONLY are significant
Example: .500 or .632000 the zeros are significant
.006 or .000968 the zeros are NOT significant
For addition and subtraction use the following rules:

1. Count the number of significant figures in the decimal portion ONLY of each
number in the problem
2. Add or subtract in the normal fashion
3. Your final answer may have no more significant figures to the right of the
decimal than the LEAST number of significant figures in any number in the
problem.
For multiplication and division use the following rule:

1. The LEAST number of significant figures in any number of the problem
determines the number of significant figures in the answer. (You are now
looking at the entire number, not just the decimal portion)
*This means you have to be able to recognize significant figures in order to use
this rule*
Example: 5.26 has 3 significant figures
6.1 has 2 significant figures
What is It
Rules for Significant Figure

1. All non-zero numbers ARE significant. The number 33.2 has THREE significant
figures because all of the digits present are non-zero.
2. Zeros between two non-zero digits ARE significant. 2051 has FOUR significant
figures. The zero is between a 2 and a 5.
3. Leading zeros are NOT significant. They're nothing more than "place holders."
The number 0.54 has only TWO significant figures. 0.0032 also has TWO significant
figures. All of the zeros are leading.
4. Trailing zeros to the right of the decimal ARE significant. There are FOUR
significant figures in 92.00.
92.00 is different from 92: a scientist who measures 92.00 milliliters knows his value
to the nearest 1/100th milliliter; meanwhile his colleague who measured 92
milliliters only knows his value to the nearest 1 milliliter. It's important to
understand that "zero" does not mean "nothing." Zero denotes actual information,
just like any other number. You cannot tag on zeros that aren't certain to belong
there.
5. Trailing zeros in a whole number with the decimal shown ARE
significant. Placing a decimal at the end of a number is usually not done. By
convention, however, this decimal indicates a significant zero. For example, "540."
indicates that the trailing zero IS significant; there are THREE significant figures in
this value.
6. Trailing zeros in a whole number with no decimal shown are NOT
significant. Writing just "540" indicates that the zero is NOT significant, and there
are only TWO significant figures in this value.
7. Exact numbers have an INFINITE number of significant figures. This rule
applies to numbers that are definitions. For example, 1 meter = 1.00 meters = 1.0000
meters = 1.0000000000000000000 meters, etc.
So now back to the example posed in the Rounding Tutorial: Round 1000.3 to four
significant figures. 1000.3 has five significant figures (the zeros are between non-zero
digits 1 and 3, so by rule 2 above, they are significant.) We need to drop the final 3,
and since 3 < 5, we leave the last zero alone. so 1000. is our four-significant-figure
answer. (from rules 5 and 6, we see that in order for the trailing zeros to "count" as
significant, they must be followed by a decimal. Writing just "1000" would give us
only one significant figure.)
8. For a number in scientific notation: N x 10x, all digits comprising N ARE
significant by the first 6 rules; "10" and "x" are NOT significant. 5.02 x 104 has
THREE significant figures: "5.02." "10 and "4" are not significant.
Rule 8 provides the opportunity to change the number of significant figures in a value
by manipulating its form. For example, let's try writing 1100 with THREE significant
figures. By rule 6, 1100 has TWO significant figures; its two trailing zeros are not
significant. If we add a decimal to the end, we have 1100., with FOUR significant
figures (by rule 5.) But by writing it in scientific notation: 1.10 x 103, we create a
THREE-significant-figure value.
What I Have Learned
1. Significant figures of a measured or calculated quantity are the meaningful digits

in it.
2. Any digit that is not zero is significant.
3. Zeros between non-zeros digits are significant.
4. Zeros to the left of the first non-zero digit are not significant.
5. For numbers with decimal points, zeros to the right of a non-zero digit are
significant.
Lesson
Estimate Error Using
5 Variance
What’s In
 Compare and contrast:
1. scientific notation and significant figure
2. random and systematic error
 Illustrate scientific notation and significant figure through an example.
What’s New
Absolute, Relative and Percentage Error

The Absolute Error is the difference between the actual and measured value.
But ... when measuring we don't know the actual value! So we use the maximum
possible error.
In the example above the Absolute Error is 0.05 m
What happened to the ± ...? Well, we just want the size (the absolute value) of the
difference.
The Relative Error is the Absolute Error divided by the actual measurement.
We don't know the actual measurement, so the best we can do is use

the measured value:
Relative Error = Absolute Error Measured Value
The Percentage Error is the Relative Error shown as a percentage.
What is It
Example: a fence is measured as 12.5 meters long, accurate to 0.1 of a meter
Length = 12.5 ±0.05 m
So:
Absolute Error = 0.05 m
And:
Relative Error = 0.05 m 12.5 m = 0.004
And:
Percentage Error = 0.4%
Example: The thermometer measures to the nearest 2 degrees. The

temperature was measured as 38° C
The temperature could be up to 1° either side of 38° (i.e. between 37° and 39°)
Temperature = 38 ±1°
So:
Absolute Error = 1°
And:
Relative Error = 1°38° = 0.0263...
And:
Percentage Error = 2.63...%
Estimating Uncertainty in Repeated Measurements
Suppose you time the period of oscillation of a pendulum using a digital instrument
(that you assume is measuring accurately) and find: T = 0.44 seconds. This single
measurement of the period suggests a precision of ±0.005 s, but this instrument
precision may not give a complete sense of the uncertainty. If you repeat the
measurement several times and examine the variation among the measured values,
you can get a better idea of the uncertainty in the period. For example, here are the
results of 5 measurements, in seconds: 0.46, 0.44, 0.45, 0.44, 0.41.
(5)
x 1 + x2 + + x N
Average (mean) = N
For this situation, the best estimate of the period is the average, or mean.
Whenever possible, repeat a measurement several times and average the results.
This average is generally the best estimate of the "true" value (unless the data set is
skewed by one or more outliers which should be examined to determine if they are
bad data points that should be omitted from the average or valid measurements that
require further investigation). Generally, the more repetitions you make of a
measurement, the better this estimate will be, but be careful to avoid wasting time
taking more measurements than is necessary for the precision required.
Consider, as another example, the measurement of the width of a piece of paper

using a meter stick. Being careful to keep the meter stick parallel to the edge of the
paper (to avoid a systematic error which would cause the measured value to be
consistently higher than the correct value), the width of the paper is measured at a
number of points on the sheet, and the values obtained are entered in a data table.
Note that the last digit is only a rough estimate, since it is difficult to read a meter
stick to the nearest tenth of a millimeter (0.01 cm).
sum of observed widths 155.96 cm

Average = 31.19 cm
no. of observations 5
This average is the best available estimate of the width of the piece of paper, but it is
certainly not exact. We would have to average an infinite number of measurements
to approach the true mean value, and even then, we are not guaranteed that the
mean value is accurate because there is still some systematic error from the
measuring tool, which can never be calibrated perfectly. So how do we express the
uncertainty in our average value? One way to express the variation among the
measurements is to use the average deviation. This statistic tells us on average (with
50% confidence) how much the individual measurements vary from the mean.
|x1 − x| + |x2 − x| + + |xN − x|

d=
N
However, the standard deviation is the most common way to characterize the spread
of a data set. The standard deviation is always slightly greater than the average
deviation, and is used because of its association with the normal distribution that is
frequently encountered in statistical analyses.
STANDARD DEVIATION
To calculate the standard deviation for a sample of N measurement:
1 Sum all the measurements and divide by N to get the average, or mean.
2 Now, subtract this average from each of the N measurements to

obtain N "deviations".
3. Square each of these N deviations and add them all up.
4 Divide this result by (N − 1) and take the square root. We can write out the
formula for the standard deviation as follows. Let the N measurements be
called x1, x2, ..., xN. Let the average of the N values be called x.
Then each deviation is given by δxi = xi − x, for i = 1, 2, , N.

The standard deviation is:
s= (δx12 + δx22 + + δxN2)
(N − 1)
In our previous example, the average width x is 31.19 cm. The deviations are:
The average deviation is: d = 0.086 cm.
The standard deviation is:
s= (0.14)2 + (0.04)2 + (0.07)2 + (0.17)2 + (0.01)2
5−1
= 0.12 cm.
The significance of the standard deviation is this: if you now make one more
measurement using the same meter stick, you can reasonably expect (with about
68% confidence) that the new measurement will be within 0.12 cm of the
estimated average of 31.19 cm. In fact, it is reasonable to use the standard
deviation as the uncertainty associated with this single new measurement.
However, the uncertainty of the average value is the standard deviation of the
mean, which is always less than the standard deviation (see next section).
Consider an example where 100 measurements of a quantity were made. The
average or mean value was 10.5 and the standard deviation was s = 1.83. The
figure below is a histogram of the 100 measurements, which shows how often a
certain range of values was measured. For example, in 20 of the measurements,
the value was in the range 9.5 to 10.5, and most of the readings were close to the
mean value of 10.5. The standard deviation s for this set of measurements is
roughly how far from the average value most of the readings fell. For a large
enough sample, approximately 68% of the readings will be within one standard
deviation of the mean value, 95% of the readings will be in the interval x ± 2 s,
and nearly all (99.7%) of readings will lie within 3 standard deviations from the
mean. The smooth curve superimposed on the histogram is
the gaussian or normal distribution predicted by theory for measurements
involving random errors. As more and more measurements are made, the
histogram will more closely follow the bell-shaped gaussian curve, but the
standard deviation of the distribution will remain approximately the same.
What I Have Learned
1. The accepted value of a measurement is the true or correct value based on

general agreement with a reliable reference.
2. The experimental value of a measurement is the value that is measured during

the experiment.
3. The error of an experiment is the difference between the experimental and

accepted values.
Error = experimental value − accepted value
4. The percent error is the absolute value of the error divided by the accepted value
and multiplied by 100%.
% Error=|experimental value − accepted value | accepted value×100%
Lesson
Units of Derived Quantities,
6 Reporting Uncertainties
Derived quantities, are defined in terms of the seven base quantities via a system of
quantity equations. The SI derived units for these derived quantities are obtained
from these equations and the seven SI base units.
What’s New
Derived Quantities
Derived quantities are quantities that are calculated from two or more
measurements. Derived quantities cannot be measured directly. They can only be
computed. Many derived quantities are calculated in physical science. Three
examples are area, volume, and density.
Table of Derived Quantities
Expression in terms
Derived Quantity Name
of SI units
area square meter m2
volume cubic meter m3
speed, velocity meter per second m/s
acceleration meter per second squared m/s2
mass density kilogram per cubic meter kg/m3
force newton (N) m·kg·s2
pressure pascal m-1·kg·s2
energy, work joule (J) N-m m2·kg·s2
electric potential volt (V) m2·kg·s-3·A-1
current density ampere per square meter A/m-2
electric resistance Ohm m2·kg·s3·A-2
dynamic viscosity pascal second m-1·kg·s3
surface tension newton/meter m·kg·s-2/m
magnetic field strength ampere per meter A/m
electric charge Coulomb (C) s·A
Calculating Area
The area of a surface is how much space it covers. It’s easy to calculate the area of a
surface if it has a regular shape, such as the blue rectangle in the sketch below. You
simply substitute measurements of the surface into the correct formula. To find the
area of a rectangular surface, use this formula:
Area (rectangular surface) = length × width (l × w)
Download from https://flexbooks.ck12.org/cbook/ck-12-middle-school-physical-science-flexbook-

2.0/section/1.27/primary/lesson/calculating-derived-quantities-ms-ps
What is the area of the blue rectangle?

Substitute the values for the rectangle’s length and width into the formula for area:
Area = 9 cm × 5 cm = 45 cm2
Can you use this formula to find the area of a square surface?
Yes, you can. A square has four sides that are all the same length, so you would
substitute the same value for both length and width in the formula for the area of a
rectangle.
Calculating Volume
The volume of a solid object is how much space it takes up. It’s easy to calculate the
volume of a solid if it has a simple, regular shape, such as the rectangular solid
pictured in the sketch below. To find the volume of a rectangular solid, use this
formula:
Volume (rectangular solid) = length × width × height (l × w × h)
https://flexbooks.ck12.org/cbook/ck-12-middle-school-physical-science-flexbook-
2.0/section/1.27/primary/lesson/calculating-derived-quantities-ms-ps
What is the volume of the blue rectangular solid?

Substitute the values for the rectangular solid’s length, width, and height into the
formula for volume:
Volume = 10 cm × 3 cm × 5 cm = 150 cm 3
Calculating Density
Density is a quantity that expresses how much matter is packed into a given space.
The amount of matter is its mass, and the space it takes up is its volume. To calculate
the density of an object, then, you would use this formula:
Density = mass / volume
The volume of the blue rectangular solid above is 150 cm3. If it has a mass of 300 g,
what is its density?
The density of the rectangular solid is:
Density = 300 g / 150 cm3 = 2 g/cm3
Suppose you have two boxes that are the same size but one box is full of feathers
and the other box is full of books. Which box has greater density?
Both boxes have the same volume because they are the same size. However, the
books have greater mass than the feathers. Therefore, the box of books has greater
density.
Units of Derived Quantities

A given derived quantity, such as area, is always expressed in the same type of units.
For example, area is always expressed in squared units, such as cm 2 or m2. If you
calculate area and your answer isn’t in squared units, then you have made an error.
What units are used to express volume?
Volume is expressed in cubed units, such as cm 3 or m3.
A certain derived quantity is expressed in the units kg/m 3. Which derived quantity
is it?
The derived quantity is density, which is mass (kg) divided by volume (m 3).
Best Estimate ± Uncertainty

When scientists make a measurement or calculate some quantity from their data,
they generally assume that some exact or "true value" exists based on how they
define what is being measured (or calculated). Scientists reporting their results
usually specify a range of values that they expect this "true value" to fall within. The
most common way to show the range of values is:
measurement = best estimate ± uncertainty
Example: a measurement of 5.07 g ± 0.02 g means that the experimenter is confident
that the actual value for the quantity being measured lies between 5.05 g and 5.09
g. The uncertainty is the experimenter's best estimate of how far an experimental
quantity might be from the "true value." (The art of estimating this uncertainty is
what error analysis is all about).
How many digits should be kept?

Experimental uncertainties should be rounded to one significant
figure. Experimental uncertainties are, by nature, inexact. Uncertainties are almost
always quoted to one significant digit (example: ±0.05 s). If the uncertainty starts
with a one, some scientists quote the uncertainty to two significant digits (example:
±0.0012 kg).
Wrong: 52.3 cm ± 4.1 cm
Correct: 52 cm ± 4 cm
Always round the experimental measurement or result to the same decimal place as
the uncertainty. It would be confusing (and perhaps dishonest) to suggest that you
knew the digit in the hundredths (or thousandths) place when you admit that you
unsure of the tenths place.
Wrong: 1.237 s ± 0.1 s
Correct: 1.2 s ± 0.1 s
Comparing experimentally determined numbers

Uncertainty estimates are crucial for comparing experimental numbers. Are the
measurements 0.86 s and 0.98 s the same or different? The answer depends on how
exact these two numbers are. If the uncertainty too large, it is impossible to say
whether the difference between the two numbers is real or just due to sloppy
measurements. That's why estimating uncertainty is so important!
Measurements don't 0.86 s ± 0.02 s and 0.98
agree s ± 0.02 s
0.86 s ± 0.08 s and 0.98

Measurements agree
s ± 0.08 s
If the ranges of two measured values don't overlap, the measurements

are discrepant (the two numbers don't agree). If the ranges overlap, the
measurements are said to be consistent.
Estimating uncertainty from a single measurement

In many circumstances, a single measurement of a quantity is often sufficient for the
purposes of the measurement being taken. But if you only take one measurement,
how can you estimate the uncertainty in that measurement? Estimating the
uncertainty in a single measurement requires judgement on the part of the
experimenter. The uncertainty of a single measurement is limited by the precision
and accuracy of the measuring instrument, along with any other factors that might
affect the ability of the experimenter to make the measurement and it is up to the
experimenter to estimate the uncertainty.
What I Have Learned
1. Derived quantities are quantities that are calculated from two or more
measurements. Derived quantities cannot be measured directly. They can only
be computed.
2. Experimental uncertainties should be rounded to one significant figure.
3. Estimating the uncertainty in a single measurement requires judgement on
the part of the experimenter.
4. The uncertainty of a single measurement is limited by the precision and
accuracy of the measuring instrument, along with any other factors that might
affect the ability of the experimenter to make the measurement and it is up to
the experimenter to estimate the uncertainty.

Units of Measurement: Lesson

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Units of Measurement: Lesson

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General Physics 1, 2021-2022, Quarter 1, Week 1

The measurements of physical quantities are expressed in terms of units,

How many units do we have for 1 foot or 12 inches ruler?

Classify the given quantities as Metric System or British System of

SI Units: Fundamental and Derived Units

Table 1. SI Base Units

Quantity Name Symbol

hector H 102 Hectoliter hL 102 L 26 gallons

____ ____ 100 (=1)

Example Example Example Example

Unit Conversion and Dimensional Analysis

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.

Using Scientific Notation with Physical Measurements

What I Have Learned

Science is based on experimentation that requires good measurements. The validity

How to be accurate and precise in conversion of units and in expressing numbers in

What I Have Learned

1. Accuracy refers to the closeness of a measured value to a standard value or known

All experimental uncertainty is due to either random errors or systematic errors.

Differentiate the following terms:

1. fundamental and derived quantities

2. Metric and British System of Measurement

3. accuracy and precision

Definition of Random Error

Definition of Systematic Error

The error is mainly categorized into three types.

1. Misuse of the apparatus.

What I Have Learned

It is important to be honest when reporting a measurement, so that it does not appear

Measurement values are only as accurate as the measurement equipment used to

To determine the number of significant figures in a number

For addition and subtraction use the following rules:

For multiplication and division use the following rule:

Rules for Significant Figure

What I Have Learned

1. Significant figures of a measured or calculated quantity are the meaningful digits

 Compare and contrast:

1. scientific notation and significant figure

2. random and systematic error

 Illustrate scientific notation and significant figure through an example.

Absolute, Relative and Percentage Error

In the example above the Absolute Error is 0.05 m

We don't know the actual measurement, so the best we can do is use

Relative Error = Absolute Error Measured Value

The Percentage Error is the Relative Error shown as a percentage.

Example: a fence is measured as 12.5 meters long, accurate to 0.1 of a meter

Length = 12.5 ±0.05 m

Absolute Error = 0.05 m

Relative Error = 0.05 m 12.5 m = 0.004

Percentage Error = 0.4%

Example: The thermometer measures to the nearest 2 degrees. The

Relative Error = 1°38° = 0.0263...

Percentage Error = 2.63...%

Estimating Uncertainty in Repeated Measurements

Consider, as another example, the measurement of the width of a piece of paper

stick to the nearest tenth of a millimeter (0.01 cm).

sum of observed widths 155.96 cm

|x1 − x| + |x2 − x| + + |xN − x|

To calculate the standard deviation for a sample of N measurement:

100 (=1)