PHYSICAL QUANTITIES AND UNITS

1.0 PHYSICAL QUANTITIES AND UNITS

INTRODUCTION

The study of physics deals with the fundamental laws of nature and many of their
applications. These laws govern the behavior of all physical phenomena. We describe
the behavior of physical systems using various quantities that we create for this purpose.
However, there are three quantities, length, mass, and time, that we take as
fundamental quantities and we use these three to create other quantities.
Each theory in physics involves
(a) A few concepts or physical involves
(b) Assumption in order to obtain mathematical model
(c) Relationship various physical concepts

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this unit are to:
1. Understand quantities and unit.
2. Understand base quantities and derived quantities
3. Understand SI prefixes and its application in science and engineering.
4. Understand scalar and vector quantities

LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing the unit, students should be able to:
1. Explain what base quantities and derived quantities are.
2. List base quantities and their units.
3. Express quantities using prefixes.
4. Express quantities using scientific notation.

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1.1 The International System Of Unit (SI)

The system of units used in engineering and science is the System International
Units (International system of units), and is based on the metric system. This was
introduced in 1960 and is now adopted by the majority of countries as the official system
of measurement.

SI units may be made larger or smaller by using prefixes, which denote

multiplication or division by a particular amount. The eight most common multiples, with
their meaning, are listed in the table below.

Prefix Name Meaning

T tera multiply by 1012
G giga multiply by 109
M mega multiply by 106
K kilo multiply by 103
M milli multiply by 10-3
μ micro multiply by 10-6
n nano multiply by 10-9
p pico multiply by 10-12

1.2 SI Base unit

The SI is founded on seven SI base units for five base quantities assumed to be mutually
independent, as given in Table 1.These five base quantities and their units are
summarised in the table below.

Base Quantity symbol Base unit symbol

length l meter m

mass m kilogram kg

time t second s

electric current  ampere A

temperature  kelvin K

Table 1: SI basic unit

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1.2.1 Definitions of the SI base units

Unit of length meter The meter is the length of the path travelled by light
in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of
a second.
Unit of mass kilogram The kilogram is the unit of mass; it is equal to the
mass of the international prototype of the kilogram.
Unit of time second The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods
of the radiation corresponding to the transition
between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state
of the cesium 133 atom.

1.3 Volume, Density, Force, Weight, Pressure, Work And Power

Volume
the total amount of space that an object contains or that a substance fills. The symbol is
V, and unit is m3.

Density
The mass density  is the mass m of a substance divided by its volume V. SI unit of
density kg/m3 .

Density = Mass
Volume
 = m
V

Relative Density
Relative density is defined as ratio of substance density with water density, where as
water density is 1000 kg/m3 .

Relative density = substance density

water density

*No unit for relative density.

Force
Force acting on an object can change its speed, shape, direction and size.
The symbol is F, SI unit: kgm/s2 or Newton (N).

Force = mass x acceleration

F = ma

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Weight

The weight of an object on the earth is the gravitional force that the earth exerts on the
object. The weight always acts downward, toward the center of the earth. The value of
weight of an object is depending on the position of an object from the earth. The Symbol
is W, and SI unit: Newton (N).

Weight = mass x gravity accleration

W = mg

Pressure
Pressure is defined as normal force per unit area. The Symbol is P, and SI unit: N/m2 or
Pascal (Pa).

Pressure = normal force

Area
P = F
A

Work
Work done is the product of an applied force and the displacement of an object in the
direction of the applied force. When work is done to an object, energy is transferred to
the object. Work done is a form of energy. Unit for work is joule (J).

Work = force x displacement

W = Fxs

Power
Power is defined as the rate of work done or energy transferred. Unit for power: joule per
second (J s–1) or watt (W).

Power = Work
time
P = Force x distance
time
= Force x velocity

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EXERCISE 1.0
1. Express each of the following in terms of its base S.I. unit.
(a) 1 km: __________________________
(b) 5 ms: __________________________
(c) 7 MV: __________________________

2. Choose the longest measurement from the following.

2.456 x 103 cm 2.456 x 102 mm 2.456 x 102 m 2.456 x 10-3 km

Answer: ______________________________

3. A wooden block measures 5.0 cm x 3.2 cm x 1.5 cm. The volume of the wooden
block is __________________________________.

4. A mass of 45 µg is equivalent to __________________________________ g.

5. Find the derived units for each of the following physical quantities.
(a) Acceleration: ________________
(b) Speed: ________________
(c) Density: ________________
(d) Momentum: ________________

6. Which of the following quantities is not a derived quantity?

Force , Energy , Momentum ,Electric current

Answer: ______________________________

7. A satellite receives radio waves of frequency 99.5 MHz. The value of the radio
frequency in Hz is __________________________________.

8. Match each of the following physical quantities with its correct S.I. unit.

Energy
N m–2
Area
J
Pressure
m2
Temperature
K

9. Select scalar quantities from the following.

Force, Length, Density, Energy, Power, Pressure, Momentum, Time, Mass,

Acceleration

Answer: ____________________________

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SUMMARY
In this unit we have studied that a physical quantity is clearly defined with a
numerical value and a unit. A physical quantity can be measured using a standard size
call the unit. The unit is used to compare different sizes of the same physical quantity.
The standard size used must
(a) Be easily reproduced
(b) Not have its magnitude changed
(c) Be internationally accepted

REFERENCES
1. Engineering Science 4th edition, E Hughes & C Hughes, Longman, 1996.
2. Applied Physics, Arthur Beiser, Schum’s Outline 2004
3. Physics For Scientists And Engineers 6th Edition By Serway And Jewett

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