Measurements and Vectors

Week 1
Physics is oftentimes defined as the study of natural laws in
the physical world, such as laws involving force, energy, and
lights. It deals with the interaction of matter, force, and energy.

TWO BRANCHES:

1. Classical physics – are considered to be all the discoveries,

principles, and inventions prior to 1900. It deals with
macroscopic objects moving at speeds very small
compared to the speed of light in vacuum (3x108 m/s).

2. Modern Physics – all discoveries beyond 1900.

Classical Physics :
a.) Mechanics – deals with motion, force, work, and energy, and
magnetism.

b.) Heat and Thermodynamics – deals with the effects of heat when
added or removed from a system, the methods of heat transfer, and the
transformation of heat energy to mechanical energy to work and vice
versa.

c.) Optics – deals with the study of light and its properties.

d.) Electricity and Magnetism – deals with phenomena associated with

electrical charges (whether at rest or moving), magnetism, and the
relationship between electricity and magnetism.

e.) Wave motion and Sound – deals with properties, transmission, and
perception of different types of waves.
Modern Physics :
a.) Nuclear Physics – deals with the properties of and the reactions
within the atomic nucleus.

b.) General Relativity – tells how matter curves space-time and how the
curvature of space-time dictates the trajectory of matter and light.

c.) Special Relativity – deals with phenomena associated when an object

moves with speeds approaching the speed of light in vacuum.

d.) Participle Physics – deals with the building blocks of matter called
“elementary particles.”

e.) Quantum mechanics – deals with the nature and behavior of matter
and energy on the atomic and subatomic levels.
Measurement
- is the process of comparing something with a standard. It is
made up of a number and a unit.

q Two System of Units:

a.) English System or British System – comprises units such as
pound (for force), yard (for length), and ounce (for volume).

b.) Metric System (SI – International System of Units) – consists

units based on powers of 10. It the most preferred system to be
used in science.
ENGLISH SYSTEM OR BRITISH SYSTEM
 INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS

Physical Quantity Unit Name Symbol

Mass Kilogram kg

Length Meter m

Time Second S

Amount of Substance Mole mol

Temperature Kelvin K

Electric Current Ampere A

Luminous Intensity Candela cd

CONVERSION OF UNITS
• Fundamental quantities or base units – are the basic quantities
which are independent of one another.
Example: length, mass time, thermodynamic, temperature, electric
current, luminous intensity, and amount of substance

• Derived quantities or units – are the conversion of two or more

base units.
Example: speed, acceleration, density, work, and energy
Let’s convert units!
1. How many inches are there in 12 m?

2. Convert a density of 2.79 g/cm3 to kg/m3

Let’s convert units!
3. Convert 8 kilometer into centimeter.

8 . 0 0 0 0 0 = 800,000 cm

4. Convert 475.5 mg to dg.

4 7 5 . 5 = 4.755 dg
SCIENTIFIC NOTATION - is a convenient and widely used method of expressing large
and small numbers. Any quantity may be expressed in the form
of N x 10n, where N is any number between 1 to 9 and n is the
approximate power of 10.

1. When the decimal point is moved from right to left, the result
is positive exponent.
Example: 7806. 123 = 7. 806123 ×103 = 7.81 ×103

1 990 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 kg = 1.99 x 1030 kg

2. When the decimal point is moved left to right, the result is

negative exponent.
Example: 0.00007806123 = 7.806123×10-5 = 7.81×10-5

0.0000000000000000000000000016726231 kg = 1.67 x 10-27 kg

SCIENTIFIC NOTATION to STANDARD FORM

Move the current decimal point according to the number of places

based on the exponent

(+) positive exponent : move to the RIGHT

Example: 3 x 108 m/s = 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 m/s = 300, 000, 000 m/s

4.75 x 105 kg = 4 7 5 0 0 0 kg = 475, 000 kg

(-) negative exponent : move to the LEFT

Example: 3.12 x 10-5 km = 0 . 0 0 0 0 3 1 2 km = 0.0000312 kg

1.03 x 10-8 L = 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 L = 0.0000000103 L

• Measurements always have some degrees of uncertainty due to
unavoidable errors.

• Errors – is the deviation of a measured value from the expected

true value.

• Uncertainty – is a way of expressing the error.

Measured value = (true value ± uncertainty) units

• Accuracy – refers to the closeness of a measured value to the

expected or true value of a physical quantity.

• Precision – presents how close or consistent the independent

measurement of the same quantity are to one another.
TYPES OF ERRORS:

a.) Random Errors – are the results from the unpredicted or

inevitable changes during data measurement. These errors
may be reduced by increasing the number of trials of
measurement and averaging out the results.
Example: Electronic noise from an electrical device; variation
of body heat temperature due to sun heat

b.) Systematic errors – are usually come from the measuring

instrument or in the design of the experiment itself. These
errors limit the accuracy of one’s results.
Example: uneven calibrations of a meter stick; slight deformed
on beakers
One of the ways to estimate errors from multiple measurements of a physical
quantity is to determine the variance of the set of measurements. Variance
measures the squared deviation of each number in the set from the mean.

*Steps on solving:
�
1. Take the mean of the set of measurements, � =  
�
2. Take the deviation of each measurement from the mean (� − �).
3. Square each deviation, (� − �)2 .
4. Get the sum of the squares of each deviation, (� − �)2 .
5. Divide the sum of the squares by the number of measurements
2 (�− �)2
in the set, � = .
�
(�− �)2
6. Get the standard deviation or the square root of � = .
�
7. Use the measure value formula:

Measured value = (true value ± uncertainty) units,

where mean (�)is the true value, and the standard deviation (�) is the
uncertainty.
Example:
During an experiment in a physics laboratory class, a group of five students was
asked to measure the period of a simple pendulum. Their measurements were
as follows: 2.3s, 2.4 s, 2.2 s, 2.5 s, and 2.1 s. What is the measured period of
the pendulum?
Solution:
� 2.3 �+2.4 �+2.2 �+2.5 �+2.1 �
a.) Mean (�) = = = 2.3 s
� 5
(�− �)2
b.) Variance (�2 )  =
�
(2.3 �−2.3 �)2 +(2.4 �−2.3 �)2 +(2.2 �−2.3 �)2 +(2.5 �−2.3)2 +(2.1 �−2.3)2
=
5
02 �2 +0.12  �2 +(−0.1)2  �2 +0.22  �2 +(−0.2)2  �2 0.1�2
= = = 0.02 s2
5 5
c.) Standard deviation (�) = 0.02 �2 = 0.14 s
d.) Measure period of pendulum = (true value ± uncertainty) units

= (2.3 ± 0.14) s
SCALAR vs. VECTOR
a.) Scalar – is a quantity that can be only be described by
its magnitude (numerical value consisting of the number
and the unit), such as time, mass, and temperature.

b.) Vector – is a physical quantity characterized by both

magnitude and direction. It is always represented by an
arrow.
Example: velocity, acceleration, force, momentum, and
electric field.
Scalar Addition
Adding scalar quantities is similar to ordinary addition. We add
together the quantities express in the same units.
Example: If the mass (m1) = 25 g and another mass (m2) = 50 g, their sum is
m = m1 + m2
Thus, m = 25 g + 50 g
m = 75 g
However, you must be careful about how the given magnitude are expressed.
If there are two different units, you need to convert the unit before adding.
Example:
If mass (m1) = 25g and another mass (m2) = 5kg. What is the total
mass of an object?
Thus, convert g to kg so that,
25 g x 1 kg/1000 g =25/1000 or 0.025kg
Therefore, m = m1 + m2
= 0.025 kg + 5kg
m = 5.025kg (total mass of an object)
Vector Addition
Now that we know how to represent vectors graphically, we are
now ready to add two or more vectors. For example, we are asked to
determine the vector sum of the resultant of the following vectors:

1. � = 2 units, East 2. � = 2 units, East

� = 4 units, East � = 4 units, West