ANGELES UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION

College of Engineering and Architecture

MEMBER’S NAME: GABRIEL IVERSON D. CUNAN

GROUP NUMBER: DATE PERFORMED:

COURSE CODE: PHY01 DATE SUBMITTED:
COURSE TITLE: Physics for Engineers YEAR AND SECTION:
LAB. INSTRUCTOR: GRADE:

LABORATORY EXPERIMENT NO. 1

COMPARISON OF THE METRIC AND ENGLISH SYSTEMS

OBJECTIVE

 To compare between the metric and the English systems of measurement.

THEORY/DISCUSSION

A measurement is the quantitative description of a physical property of an object. Such properties

include speed, length, and mass, to name a few. Measurement of the observation of physical phenomena.
Accurate measurement is essential to the experimental verification of physical laws and theories.

In the metric system of measurement, length, mass, and time are expressed using the following
units: meter, kilogram, and second, respectively. On the other hand, the English system uses the foot and
pound as units of linear measure and weight, respectively.

All measurements made have some degree of error in them. How large the margin of error is
depend on the precision of the measuring instrument and the skill of the person using it. The accuracy of a
measurement made is indicated accordingly by the number of significant figures.

MATERIALS

Meter stick/ ruler Rectangular wooden block

PROCEDURE

1. Study and examine the scale of the meter stick/ruler carefully. The centimeter scale should have
(ten) division lines and the inch scale should have (16) division lines.
2. Measure the length, width, and thickness of the block in centimeters and in inches. Make (3) trials
for each and get the average for each dimension. Record your readings.
3. Divide the average length, in centimeters by the average length in inches to get the experimental
value of the conversion factor used to convert inches to centimeters. Determine the amount of
error (in centimeters) and compute for the percent error using 2.54 cm. as the true value.
4. Compute the surface area of the block in cm 2 and in in2. Divide the area in cm 2 by the area in in2
to get the experimental value of the conversion factor. Determine the amount of error in cm 2 and
compute for the percent error using 6.45 cm2 as the true value.
5. Compute the volume of the block in cm 3 and in in3. Get the ratio between the volume in cm 3 and
in in3 to get the experimental value of the conversion factor that converts cubic inches to cubic
centimeters. Determine the amount of error and percent error using 16.39 cm 3 as the true value.
6. Record the gathered data on the specified table.

FORMULAS:

Area of the block = average length x average width

Volume of the block = area x average thickness
Amount of error = true value – experimental value

amount error
Percent error = x 100 %
true value

Experimental Results
Metric System (cm.)
Trial Length Width Thickness
1 18.80 cm 7.70 cm 7.70 cm
2 18. 80 cm 7.70 cm 7.70 cm
3 18. 80 cm 7.70 cm 7.70 cm
Average 18. 80 cm 7.70 cm 7.70 cm
 English System (in.)
Trial Length Width Thickness
1 7.4 in 3 in 3 in
2 7.4 in 3 in 3 in
3 7.4 in 3 in 3 in
Average 7.4 in 3 in 3 in

CALCULATIONS:

Description Data Description Data

E.V. of 1 inch 2.54 T.V. of 1 inch 2.54 cm
Amount of error 0 % error 0%
Area in in2 22.2 in2 Area in cm2 144.76 cm2
E.V. of 1 in2 6.52 T.V. of 1 in2 6.45 cm2
Amount of error 0.07 % error 1.09%
Volume in in3 66.6 in3 Volume in cm3 1,114.65 cm3
E.V. of 1 in3 16.74 in3 T.V. of 1 in3 16.39 cm3
Amount of error 0.35 % error 2.14%
QUESTIONS:
1. If a unit inch has 32 divisions units, what is the equivalent of 15 division units in inches? What is the
equivalent of 27 division units in inches? Convert these three values in centimeters?

32 divisions = 1/32 * 32 = 1 in. 1 in. = 2.54 cm

15 divisions = 1/32 * 15 = 0.47 in. 0.47 in. = 0.47 * 2.54 = 1.19 cm
27 divisions = 1/32 * 27 = 0.84 in. 0.84 in. = 0.84 * 2.54 = 2.13 cm

2. How many square inches are there in 345.6 cm 2? Show solution.

1 cm. = 0.393701 in.

345.6 cm2 = 345.6 * 0.393701 in. * 0.393701 in. = 53.57 in2

3. A traffic outpost has a sign which reads, “Speed limit: 40 miles per hour.” How many meters per
second is this?

1 mph = 0.44704 m/s

40 mph = 40 * 0.44704 = 17.88 m/s

4. What is the volume of a block of wood in cm3 if its edges are 2.5 in. x 1.25 in. x 3 in.?

V=l*w*h
2.5 in. * 1.25 in. * 3 in. = 9.375 in3

1 in3 = 16.3871 cm3

9.375 in3 = 9.375 * 16.3871 = 153.63 cm3
5. Differentiate derived quantity from fundamental quantity. Give three (3) examples of each.

The term "fundamental units" refers to all units that are self-contained and unrelated to one another
(including themselves). Both derived units are created by multiplying and/or dividing one or more
fundamental units with or without the addition of any other numerical element.

While fundamental quantities are independent of other quantities, derived quantities are dependent on
fundamental quantities.

The product of powers of fundamental units gives rise to derived quantities. To put it another way, these
values can be determined using fundamental units. Any units scheme defines a number of fundamental
units, and the related physical quantities are known as fundamental quantities. Fundamental units are
described separately, and quantities are often immediately observable in a physical setting.