Measurement

Topic 1.2 Measurement and

Uncertainties
Motivation
Identify units that are used to measure each
of the following.
A. length
B. volume
C. weight
D. temperature
Standards of Measurement
SI units are those of the Système
International d’Unités adopted in 1960

Used for general measurement in most

countries worldwide
Measurement
Is the process of comparing an unknown
(the thing to be measured) quantity to a
known (measuring device) quantity.
Fundamental (Base) Quantities

Some quantities cannot be measured in a

simpler form and for convenience they
have been selected as the basic quantities

They are termed Fundamental Quantities,

Units and Symbols
The 7 Fundamentals
Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Electric current ampere A
Themperature KelvinK
Luminous Intensity candela cd
Amount of a substancemole mol
Derived Quantities
When a quantity involves the measurement
of 2 or more fundamental quantities it is
called a Derived Quantity

The units of these are called Derived Units

Derived Units
Examples…
Acceleration m/s2
Momentum kgm/s or Ns

Some derived units have been given their

own specific names and symbols…
Force N = kg m/s2
Joule J = kgm2/s2
Standards of Measurement
Scientists and engineers need to make
accurate measurements so that they can
exchange information
Significant Figures
The number of significant figures should
reflect the precision of the values used as
input data in a calculation

Simple rule:
For multiplication and division, the number
of significant figures in a result should not
exceed that of the least precise value upon
which it depends