QUANTITIES AND UNITS

All the quantities in the world can be categories under one of two groups – base quantities and derived quantities

BASE QUANTITIES

Base quantities cannot be expressed in terms of other quantities.

List of base quantities and their units

1. Time (seconds)
2. Length (metre)
3. Mass (kilogram)
4. Temperature (kelvin)
5. Electric current (ampere)
6. Amount of substance (mol)
7. Luminous Intensity (candela)

Derived quantities are expressed in terms of two or more base or derived quantities.
*All quantities that do not belong to the list of base quantities are derived quantities

The list below shows some derived quantities expressed using other base and derived quantities

Force: Force = mass (base) x acceleration (derived)

Speed: Speed = Distance (base) / time (base)

Momentum: Momentum = mass (base) x velocity (derived)

Pressure: Pressure = Force (derived) / Area (derived)

UNITS
A unit quantifies (gives meaning to) a quantity

A unit should never be confused with a symbol

The table below shows a clear distinction

Quantity Quantity’s Symbol Unit Unit’s Symbol

Resistance R Ohm Ω
Force F Newton N
Charge Q coulomb C
Moment p Kilogram metre per second Kg ms-1
GRAPHS

Graphs serve two purposes in physics/mathematics.

● Quantity vs Quantity graphs represent the relationship between two quantities.
These include force – extension or voltage – current graphs.

The two quantities are directly proportional The two quantities are inversely proportional

● Quantity vs time graphs show how a specific quantity changes over time.

While dealing with quantity – time graphs, two factors have to be taken into consideration –

1. How the quantity is changing with time

2. How the rate is changing with time
The following are some generic graph shapes that apply to almost any situation, not just motion.

*For a quantity – time graph, the gradient represents the rate.