Chapter 1

Measurements and Units

Mohammad Alzaatreh
The International System of Units: (Metric system) SI-units:

In 1971, the 14th General Conference on Weights and Measures picked seven quantities as base
quantities.
Two types of Quantities :
1.Base Quantities:
The International System of Units: (Metric system) SI-units:
2.Derived Quantities:
Area =length *length ,SI-Units : m*m=m2

Volume =Area *height , SI units : m2*m= m3

Speed = distance /time , SI-units : m/s

Power = work/time , SI-units : Joule/ s = Kg.m2/s3=1 W

The International System of Units: (Metric system) SI-units:

SI –Units Prefix’s :
when dealing with very large or very small
measurements , we use the prefixes listed in
Table 1-2.

example:
The International System of Units: (Metric system) SI-units:
Example1:
SI –Units Prefix’s : 1. convert 6 years to seconds
2. 20 km/h = m/s
Conversion between units:
We use a conversion factor:

conversion factor

Exercise :
The International System of Units: (Metric system) SI-units:
The Base Quantities:

1. Length :
 SI-Units : is meter
 The meter :is the length of the path traveled by the light in vacuum during a time interval of
1/299792458 second.
The International System of Units: (Metric system) SI-units:
The Base Quantities:

2. Time:
 SI-Units : is second
 Table 1-4 page 5
 One second :is the time taken by 9192631770 oscillations of the light emitted by a cesium -133 atom
The International System of Units: (Metric system) SI-units:
The Base Quantities:

3. Mass
Old Def.(1889): The kilogram is the SI- unit of mass; it is equal to the mass
of the international prototype of the kilogram.
Mass prototype
New Def. (2019)The kilogram (kg) is defined by taking the fixed numerical
value of the Planck constant ℎ to be 6.62607015 × 10−34

when expressed in the unit J s, which is equal to 𝑘𝑔 𝑚2 𝑠 −1 , where

the meter and the second are defined in terms of c(speed of light) and ΔνCs
(specific atomic transition frequency) .
The International System of Units: (Metric system) SI-units:
The Base Quantities:

3. Mass
 For Large scale :
Kilogram

 for atomic scale :

Atomic mass unit:(u)
1 u = 1.66 x10-27 kg (the mass of carbon-12 atom)
 =
The International System of Units: (Metric system) SI-units:
The Derived Quantities:

 Density (ρ)
Density : is the mass per unit volume

• SI-Units : Kg/m3

• How many g/cm3 in one Kg/m3 ?

Example2:
A solid piece of lead has a mass of 23.94 g and a volume of 2.10 𝑐𝑚3 .
Calculate the density of lead in SI units (kilograms per cubic meter).
Example3:
Two spheres are cut form a certain uniform rock. One has radius 4.50cm.The mass of the other is five times
greater. Find its radius.
Example4:
The micrometer (1 𝜇𝑚) is often called the micron. (a) How many microns make up 1.0 km?1yd=3ft
(b) What fraction of a centimeter equals 1.0 𝜇𝑚? (c) How many microns are in 1.0 yd? 1m=3.281ft
Example5:

Earth is approximately a sphere of radius 6.37 × 106 𝑚. What are (a) its circumference in kilometers,
(b) its surface area in square kilometers, and (c) its volume in cubic kilometers?