REVIEWER IN GENERAL PHYSICS 1 MEASUREMENT

PHYSICS - Deals with the interaction of matter, force and - The process of comparing something with a
energy. It usually involves experiments to support, refute, or standard.
validate a hypothesis or a theory. - To carry out measurements, a system of
- The branch of science concerned with the nature standards and a system of units should be defined.
and properties of matter and energy.
CLASSICAL PHYSICS TWO SYSTEM OF UNITS
- Deals with macroscopic objects moving at speeds 1. Metric System
very small compared to the speed of light in a vacuum. - The metric system has two variations, the mks
1. Mechanics (meter, kilogram and second) and cgs (centimeter, gram
- Deals with the motion, force, work, energy and and second) system
fluids. 2. English System
2. Heat and Thermodynamics - Known as the fps system. (Foot, pound and
- Deals with the effects of heat when added to or second)
removed from a system, the methods of heat transfer, and - The fps system considers pound-force as a
the transformation of heat energy to mechanical energy or fundamental quantity.
work and vice versa. International System of Unit
3. Optics - Or the SI.
- Deals with the study of light its properties. - The system of units that the General
4. Electricity and Magnetism Conference on Weights and Measures has agreed upon
- Deals with phenomena associated with electrical and is legally enforced in almost all parts of the world.
charges, magnetism and relationship between electricity - The modern form of the metric system.
and magnetism.
5. Wave, Motion and Sound PHYSICAL SYMBOL UNIT SYMBOL
- Deals with the properties, transmission and QUANTITY FOR OF UNIT
perception of different type of waves. QUANTITY
Length l Meter m
Mass m Kilogram kg
MODERN PHYSICS
Time t Second s
1. Nuclear Physics
Electric l Ampere A
- Deals with the properties of and the reactions Current
within the atomic nucleus. Temperature T Kelvin K
2. General and Special Relativity Luminous lu Candela cd
- Tells how matter curves space-time and how the Intensity
curvature of space-time dictates the trajectory of matter and Amount of n Mole mol
light. Substance
- Deals with phenomena associated when an object
moves with speed approaching the speed of light in
vacuum.
3. Particle Physics
- Deals with the building blocks of matter.
4. Quantum Mechanics
- Deals with the nature and behavior of matter and
energy on atomic and sub-atomic level.
 hecto h 102
Fundamental Quantities kilo k 103
- Basic quantities that are independent of one mega M 106
another. giga G 109
tera T 1012
Fundamental SI Unit Symbol peta P 1015
Quantities exa E 1018
Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg Significant Figures
Time second s - Also known as the significant digits or precision)
Electric Current Ampere A of a number written in positional notation are digits that
Temperature Kelvin K carry meaningful contributions to its measurement
Amount of mol mol resolution.
Substance
Luminous candela cd Significant Figure Rules:
Intensity
* All non – zero digits DO count.
Derived Quantities - 24 = 2
- The combination of fundamental quantities. - 3.56 = 3
- For example: speed, acceleration, density, work, * Leading zeros DON’T count.
and energy. - (zeros in front of numbers)
- 0.0025 = 2
* Captive Zeros DO count.
- (zeros between no – zero
numbers)
- 1502 = 4 1.008 = 4
* Trailing Zeros DO count IF the number
contains a DECIMAL.
- (zeros at the end of numbers)
- 100 = 1 2306.0 = 5 1.00 x 103 = 3
Scientific Notation
- Is a convenient and widely used method of
expressing large and small numbers.
Units corresponding to the fundamental quantities are - Any quantity may be expressed in the form of
called base or fundamental units. N x 10n

SI Fundamental Units are meter, kilogram, second, kelvin, UNCERTAINTY AND ERROR ANALYSIS
ampere, candela and mole. Error
- The deviation of a measured value from the
PREFIX SYMBOL FACTOR expected or true value.
atto a 10-18
femto f 10-15 Uncertainty
pico p 10-12 - Is a way of expressing this error.
nano n 10-9
micro μ 10-6
milli m 10-3
centi c 10-2
deci d 10-1
deka da 10
Accuracy - Percent difference between x1 and x2 is given
- Refers to the closeness of a measured value to by the equation x1 and x2 are two measured value in an
the expected or true value of a physical quantity. experiment.
Precision
- Represents how close or consistent the
independent measurements of the same quantity to one
another.

Measurement Error
- An error or fault can be described as the
disparity between the calculated worth and the exact
worth.
Types of Errors in Measurement
1. Systematic Errors
2. Random Errors
3. Gross Errors
Random Errors
- Result from unpredictable or inevitable
changes during data measurement.
Systematic Errors
- Usually come from the measuring instrument
in the design of the experiment itself.

Under systematic Errors

1. Observational Errors
2. Environmental Errors
3. Instrumental Errors
Percent Error
- When there is an expected or true value of
quantity, percentage error is usually calculated.

Xt = true or accepted value

x = measured value

Percent Difference
- A measure of how far apart the difference
measured values are from each other. It is also the
indication of precision.