CHAPTER 1

PHYSICS AND MEASUREMENT

 1.1 Standards of Units
 Physics is an experimental science.
 Experiments require measurements
 Numbers are used to describe experimental result
 Physical quantity is a number that is used to describe a physical
phenomenon quantitatively
 Measurements are expressed in units and officially accepted units
are called standard units
 Major systems of units:
1. Metric (International system of units SI )
2. British
Standards of Length, Mass and Time
 Fundamental and derived Quantities

 Example of fundamental quantities

- Length, L

- Mass, M and

- Time, T

 Example of derived quantities

- Speed

- acceleration
 SI Units of Length, Mass, and Time
Fundamental Quantities:
In addition to length, mass, and time, base units in the SI
system include electric current, temperature, amount of
substance, and luminous intensity.
These seven units are believed to be all that are necessary
to describe all phenomena in nature.
More about the Metric System
Here are some common prefixes metric units:
1.3 Dimension Analysis
A powerful way to check your calculations is to use unit
analysis.
Not only must the numerical values on both sides of an
equation be equal, the units must be equal as well.
1.3 Unit Analysis (Dimension Analysis)
Units may be manipulated algebraically just as other
quantities are.
Example:

Therefore, this equation is dimensionally correct.

 example
1. If x refers to distance, and to speeds, a to acceleration, and t to
time, which of the following equations is dimensionally correct:
(a) x =vit + at3
(b) v2 =vi2 + 2at
2. (# 9 page15) which of the following equations are dimensionally
correct?
a. Vf = Vi + ax
b. Y = (2m) cos(kx) , where k = 2m-1
3. (#13 page 16) The position of a particle moving under a uniform
acceleration is some function of time and the acceleration. Suppose
we write this position as x = kam tn , where k is a dimensionless
constant. Show by dimensional analysis that this expression is
satisfied if m = 1 and n = 2. Can this analysis give the value of k?
 1,4 Unit Conversions
A conversion factor simply lets you express a quantity in terms of
other units without changing its physical value or size.

The fraction in blue is the conversion factor; its

numerical value is 1.
Example: 50 km/h → ?? mi/h
 How fast in mi/h is 50 km/h?
 Conversion Factor is 1km/h=0.621mi/h

0.621mi / h
50 km/h x = 31.05 mi/h
1km / h
Starting Value Conversion Result
Factor

Section 1.6
 Example
problem # 15 and 27 page 16
1. A solid piece of lead has a mass of 23.94 g and a volume of 2.10
cm3 . From these data, calculate the density of lead in SI units
(kilogram per cubic meter)
2. One gallon of paint (Volume = 3.78 x 10-3 m3 ) covers an area
of 25.0 m2. what is the thickness of the fresh paint on the wall?
1.6 uncertainty and significant figures
 Examples
 3mm, 3.00mm, 2.91mm
 56.47 ± 0.02mm
 56.47 (2) mm

Methods of indicating the accuracy of a measured value:

Example 56.47 ± 0.02 mm
Where
0.02 indicating the uncertainty of the measurement
 Fractional error (fractional uncertainty)
the fractional error is calculated as
0.02 mm/56.47mm = 0.0004
1.5 uncertainty and significant figures

percentage error (percentage uncertainty)

 Example 56.47 ± 0.02 mm
the percentage error is calculated as
fractional error times 100
0.0004 x 100 = 0.04%
 That is 56.47 ± 0.04%
Error Analysis and Uncertainty
 All measurements involve an element of uncertainty.
 In experiments, therefore, it will be important to determine
quantitatively how these uncertainties affect the values that are
computed from the data.

There are two aspects of error analysis.

 The first involves the comparison of a measured value with an
accepted or literature value.
 The second involves an analysis of the uncertainty in the actual
measurement.
 Consequently there will be an uncertainty in any final result
based on this measurement.
Percentage Error and Percentage Difference
 If a generally accepted value of a quantity,Y, is known to exist
(referred to as the literature value ofY) and one or more experiments
are performed to measure Y, then it is usual to compare the
experimentally measured value of Y with the literature value
according to:

experimental value - literature value

%error = 100%
literature value
 This %error represents the accuracy to which the experimental
value has been measured.
Example
 Find the percentage error in an experimental value of
gravitational acceleration which is 10.2 m/ s2.
Percentage Error and Percentage Difference
 If a literature value is unavailable but the results of two different
measurements are, then it is useful to compute the percentage between
the results. Three methods for computing the percentage difference
follows:
 1. The % difference between Y1 and Y2 relative to Y1

y2 − y1
%difference = 100%
y1
 2. The % difference between Y1 and Y2 relative to Y2
y1 − y2
%difference = 100%
y2
 3. The % difference between Y1 and Y2 relative to their arithmetic mean
(mostly used to calculate error)
y2 − y1
%difference = 100%
1
2
( y2 + y1 )
 Uncertainty and its Propagation
 Every physical measurement, regardless of its accuracy, contains a measure
of uncertainty or what is sometimes referred to as the margin of error.
 If this measurement is then used to calculate some other physical quantity, then that
uncertainty propagates throughout the calculation and results in an
uncertainty in the final calculated quantity.
 This type of error or uncertainty is not human error, but an inherent part
of the experimental process.
 If an experiment yields the data α and β having respective uncertainties of
Δα and Δβ and the result of the experiment requires the calculation of:
Y = α·β or Y = α/β
 then the percentage uncertainty in Y is obtained by
Uncertainty and its Propagation
 percentage uncertainty in Y is

y    
% =  +  100%
y    
 That is, the percentage error in Y is the sum of the percentage
errors in α and β.
 For example, if one measures the length and width of a
rectangle, obtaining L = 100 ±1 cm and W =50 ±1 cm
respectively, then the area, A, is given by the product:
 A = L ⋅W = (100 cm)(50 cm) = 5000 cm2
 Uncertainty and its Propagation
 Since the % uncertainties in L and W are respectively:
L 1 w 1
% =  100% = 1% and % =  100% = 2%
L 100 w 50

 the % uncertainty in the calculated area is

A
% = 1% + 2% = 3%
A
 Thus ΔA = (0.03)(5000 cm 2) = 150 cm2
 A = 5000 cm2 ± 150 cm2
 Similarly, if the quantity Y = αβ2

y    
% =  +2   100%
y    
Uncertainty and its Propagation
 Under the operations of addition or subtraction
 Y = α −β Y = α +β
 the uncertainty in Y is:
 ΔY = Δα + Δβ

 Finally in the case of the function Y obtained by multiplying the

measured variable, α, by a constant k,
Y = kα
 the percentage uncertainty in Y is:

y   
% =   100%
y   
Significant Figures
 Significant figures (“SF”) – a method of
expressing measured numbers properly

 Calculations may contain two types of numbers:

exact numbers and measured numbers

 A mathematical operation, such as multiplication,

division, addition, or subtraction cannot give you
more significant figures than you start with.

Section 1.7
 For example,
- 6.8 has two SF and
- 1.67 has three SF.
 When we use hand
calculators we may
end up with results
like: 6.8/1.67 =
4.0718563
 Are all these numbers
“significant?”

Section 1.7
Significant Figures
Significant figures in calculations:
1. When multiplying and dividing quantities,
leave as many significant figures in the answer as
there are in the quantity with the least number of
significant figures.
2. When adding or subtracting quantities, leave
the same number of decimal places (rounded) in
the answer as there are in the quantity with the
least number of decimal places.
 Significant Figures
 Example:

 6.8 cm/1.67 cm =?
4.1(round off 4.0718563)
 6.8 is the limiting term with two SF
 5.687 + 11.11 = ?
16.80 (round up 16.797)
 11.11 is the limiting term with four SF

Section 1.7
 Significant Figures - Rules
 All non-zero digits are significant
Both 23.4 and 234 have 3 SF
 Zeros are significant if they are between two
non-zero digits, for example
20.05 has 4 SF, 407 has 3 SF
 Zeros are not significant to the left of non-zero
digits – used to locate a decimal point (leading
zeros)
example 0.0000035 has 2 SF
 To the right of all non-zero digits (trailing
zeros), must be determined from context – 45.0
has 3 SF but 4500 probably only has 2 SF
Section 1.7
 Significant Figures
 Exact Numbers –
Example: numbers of people, items, etc. are assumed
to have an unlimited number of SF
 In the process of determining the allowed number of
significant figures, we must generally also ‘round
off’ the numbers.

Section 1.7
Rules for Scientific Notation
 The exponent, or power-of-10, is increased by one
for every place the decimal point is shifted to the
left.
 360,000 = 3.6 x 105
 The exponent, or power-of-10, is decreased by one
for every place the decimal point is shifted to the
right.
 0.0694 = 6.94 x 10-2

Section 1.7
Example
Rounding/Scientific Notation

 5.6256 x 0.0012 = ?
0.0067507
 → round to 2 SF
 0.0067507 rounds to 0.0068
 → change to scientific notation
 0.0068 = ?
6.8 x 10-3

Section 1.7
 Example
Rounding/Scientific Notation
 0.0024/8.05 =?
0.0002981
 → round to 2 SF
 0.0002981 rounds to 0.00030
 → change to scientific notation
 0.00030 = 3.0 x 10-4

 **Note that the “trailing zero” is significant**

Section 1.7
Exercise:
problem # 35 page 17
1. A rectangular plate has a length of (21.3 ± 0.2) cm and a
width of ( 9.8 ± 0.1) cm. Calculate the area of the plate,
including its uncertainty.