READING MATERIAL

DEVELOPED BY S KATARIA PGT PHYSICS JNV NASIK

XI PHYSICS

CHAPTER 2 - Units of Measurement

Measurement of physical quantities

Physics is a quantitative science, based on measurement of physical quantities.Certain physical

quantities have been chosen as fundamental or base quantities. The fundamental quantities that
are chosen are Length, Mass, Time, electric current, thermodynamic temperature, amount of
substance, and luminous intensity.

▣ Unit
A definite amount of a physical quantity is taken as its standard unit.
To express the measurement of a physical quantity we need to know two things :

(i) The unit in which the quantity is measured

(ii) The numerical value or the magnitude of the quantity i.e. the number of times that unit is
contained in the given physical quantity.

Therefore, Measure of physical quantity = Numerical value of the quantity x size of the unit
= nu

e.g. length of a table = 5 m = 500 cm

Clearly smaller the size of the unit, larger is the numerical value associated with the physical
quantity.

Base quantity and ​Fundamental Units

Each base quantity is defined in terms of a certain basic arbitrarily chosenbut properly
standardised reference standard called unit (such as
metre,kilogram,second,ampere,kelvin,mole,and candela.The units for the fundamental base
quantities are called fundamental or base units and two supplementary units in relation to
quantities plane angle and solid angle radian, Ste radian..
S.No. Fundamental Quantities Fundamental Units Symbol
1. Length metre m
2. Mass kilogram kg
3. Time second S
4. Temperature kelvin kg
5 Electric current ampere A
6 Luminous intensity candela cd
7 Amount of substance mole mol

Derived units
Other physical quantities derived from the base quantities can be expressed as a combination
of the base units and are called derived units.A complete set of units both fundamental and
derived units are called a system of units. Example :- volume, density etc

International System of units

*The International System of units based on seven base unitsis at present internationally
acceptedunit system and is widely used throughout the world. In computing any physical
quantity the units for derived quantities involved in the relationships are treated as though they
were algebraic quantities till the desired units are obtained

1. CGS System​ In this system, the unit of length is centimetre, the unit of mass is gram
and the unit of time is second.
2. FPS System​ In this system, the unit of length is foot, the unit of mass is pound and
the unit of time is second.
3. MKS System​ In this system, the unit of length is metre, the unit of mass is kilogram
and the unit of time is second.
4. SI System​ This system contain seven fundamental units and two supplementary
fundamental units. The SI units are used in all physical measurements, for both the base
quantities and the derived quantities obtained from them. Certain derived units are
expressed by means of SI units of special names such as joule, newton, watt etc.

* In computing any physical quantity the units for derived quantities involved in the relationships
are treated as though they were algebraic quantities till the desired units are obtained
* In SI system that is System Internationale d’ Units there are 7 base units’ and two
supplementary units.
S.No. Supplementary Fundamental Quantities Supplementary Unit Symbol
1 Plane angle radian rad
2 Solid angle steradian Sr

* Direct and indirect methods can be used for the measurement of physical quantities. In
measured quantities while expressing the result, the accuracy and precision of measuring
instruments along with errors in measurement should be taken into account.
* In measured and computed quantities proper significant figures only should be retained.

DEFINITION OF BASIC AND SUPPLEMENTARY SI UNITS

(i) Metre(m) : One meter is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum
during a time interval of (1/299792458) of a second.
(ii) Kilogram(kg) : Kilogram was originally defined in 1795 as mass of one litre of water. In
1889, One kilogram is the mass of prototype cylinder of platinum iridium alloy preserved
at International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Severs France. In 2019 kilogram
was redefined by taking the fixed numerical value of the Planck constant ‘h’ to be
6.662607015 x 10​-34​ when expressed in the unit Js, which is equal to kgm​2​s​-1​, where the
metre and the second are defined in terms of ‘c’.
(iii) Second : One second is the duration of 9192631770 periods of the radiation
corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of
cesium -133 atom.
(iv) (iv) Ampere(A) : One ampere is that constant current which when flown in two straight
parallel conductors of infinite length of negligible cross section and placed 1 metre apart
in vacuum, would exert a force equal to 2 x 10​-7​ newton per meter of length on each
other.
 (v) (v) Kelvin(K) : One kelvin is the fraction (1/273.16 ) of the thermodynamic temperature of
the triple point of water. The triple point of water is the temperature at which water can
coexist in all three states i.e. solid(ice), liquid (water) and vapour(water vapour).

(vi) (vi) Candela(Cd) : One candela is the luminous intensity in a given direction, of a source
that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540x10​12​ hertz and that has a radiant
intensity of (1/683) watt per steradian in that direction.

(vii) (vii) Mole(mol or ​μ​) : One more is that amount of a substance which contains as many
elementary entities as there are atoms in 0.012kg (12g) of carbon – 12 isotope.

Supplementary Units

(i)Radian (rad or c​​ ) ​: It is defined as the plane angle subtended at the centre of a circle by an
arc equal in length to the radius of the circle.
θ (in rad) = Length of Arc/ Length of Radius = l/r
(iii) Steradian (sr) : It is defined as the solid angle subtended at the centre of a sphere
by a surface of the sphere equal in area to that of a square having each side equal
to the radius of the sphere.

Ω​(in sr) = Surface Area/ (Radius)​2

Solid angle :Solid angle ‘dΩ’ is the ratio of the intercepted area ‘dA’ of the spherical
surface described at the apex ‘O’ as the centre, to the square of its radius ‘r’. Its SI
unit is ‘steradian’.

Advantages of SI system
(i) SI is a coherent system of units.
(ii) SI is a rational system of units.
(iii) SI is a metric system.
(iv) SI is an absolute system of units.
(v) Si is an internationally accepted system of units.

▣ Some Practical Units

1. 1 fermi =10​-15 ​m
2. 1 X-ray unit = 10​-13​ m
3. The average separation between the Earth and the sun is called one astronomical unit.
1 AU = 1.496 x 10​11​ m.
4. 4. Light Year(ly) : The distance travelled by light in vacuum in one year is called light
year.
1 light year = 9.46 x 10​15​ m.

5. 5. Parallactic Second (parsec) : The distance at which an arc of length of one

astronomical unit subtends an angle of one second at a point is called parsec.
1 parsec = 3.08 x 10​16​ m

▣ MEASUREMENT OF LENGTH
▣ DIRECT METHOD​ : (i) Metre scale (ii) Vernier Callipers (iii) Screw gauge
▣ Example:
▣ i) A metre rod can be used to measure distance as small as 10​-3 ​m or 0.1 cm or 1
mm.
▣ ii) A vernier callipers can be used to measure as small as 10​-4 ​m or 0.01 cm or
0.001 mm.
▣ iii) A screw gauge is used to measure as small as 10​-5 ​m or 0.001cm or 0.0001 mm.
 ▣ IN DIRECT METHOD

▣ 1. Parallax Method
This method is used to measure the distance of planets and stars from earth.
Parallax : Hold a pen in front of your eyes and look at the pen by closing the right eye
and ‘ then the left eye. What do you observe? The position of the pen changes with
respect to the background. This relative shift in the position of the pen (object) w.r.t.
background is called parallax.

▣ Parallax : Parallax is the apparent shift in the position of an object with respect to
another object when we shift our eye sidewise.

Measurement of Large Distances

The following indirect methods may be used to measure very large distances i.e. the
distance between celestial objects:
1. Parallax method
• Let us consider a far away planet ‘P’ at a distance ‘D’ from our two eyes.
• Suppose that the lines joining the planet to the left eye (L) and the right eye (R)
subtend an angle θ (in radians).
• The angle θ is called ‘parallax angle’ or ‘parallactic angle’ and the distance LR = b
is called ‘basis’.
• As the planet is far away, b/D << 1, and therefore θ is very small.
• Then, taking the distance LR = b as a circular arc of radius D, we have

Use of Dimensional analysis

* The dimensions of base quantities and combination of these dimensions describe the nature
of physical quantities .Dimensional analysis can be used to check the dimensional consistency
of equations, deducing relations among physical quantities etc. A dimensionally consistent
equation need not be actually an exact equation, but a dimensionally wrong or inconsistent
equation must be wrong.
Homogeneity Principle
If the dimensions of left hand side of an equation are equal to the dimensions of
right hand side of the equation, then the equation is dimensionally correct. This is
known as ​homogeneity principle.
Mathematically [LHS] = [RHS]

Applications of Dimensions
1. To check the accuracy of physical equations.
2. To change a physical quantity from one system of units to another system of units.
3. To obtain a relation between different physical quantities.

Error

The uncertainty in the measurement of a physical quantity is called an error.

The errors in measurement can be classified as (i) Systematic errors and (ii) Random errors
SYSTEMATIC ERRORS:

These are the errors that tend to be either positive or negative. Sources of systematic errors are
(i) Instrumental errors
(ii) Imperfection in experimental technique or procedure
(iii) Personal errors

RANDOM ERRORS :

Those errors which occur irregularly .These errors arise due to unpredictable fluctuations in
experimental conditions

Least count error

Least count error is the error associated with the resolution of the instrument.

Absolute error

The magnitude of the difference between the individual measurement and the true value of the
quantity is called the absolute error of the measurement.

Mean Absolute Error

The arithmetic mean of all the absolute errors is taken as the final or mean absolute error of the
value of the physical quantity a. It is represented by Δa​ mean

Relative error​ - it is the ratio of the mean absolute error to the true value.
Relative error = Δa​ mean​/ a​ mean
Percentage Error : W ​ hen the relative error is expressed in per cent, it is called the
percentage error (δa).
Percentage error =( Δa​ mean​/ a​ mean​) ×100

COMBINATION OF ERRORS

ERROR OF A SUM OR A DIFFERENCE

When two quantities are added or subtracted, the absolute error in the final result is thesums of
the absolute errors in the individual quantities.
IF Z=A+ B then the max possible error in Z, ∆Z =∆A + ∆B
IF Z=A- B then the max possible error in Z, ∆Z =∆A + ∆B

ERROR OF A PRODUCT OR A QUOTIENT

When two quantities are multiplied or divided the relative error is the sum of the relative errors in
the multipliers
Suppose Z= A*B or Z=A/B then the max relative error in ‘Z’ = ∆Z/Z= (∆A/A) + (∆B/B)

ERROR IN CASE OF A QUANTITY RAISED TO A POWER

The relative error in a physical quantity raised to the power k is the k times the relative
error in the individual quantity.
Suppose Z = A​k
then ∆Z/Z = K (∆A/A)

Significant figures: -

The significant figures are normally those digits in a measured quantity which are known reliably
plus one additional digit that is uncertain.
For counting of the significant figure rule are as:
(i) All non- zero digits are significant figure.
(ii) All zero between two non-zero digits are significant figure.
(iii) All zeros to the right of a non-zero digit but to the left of an understood decimal point are not
significant. But such zeros are significant if they come from a measurement.
(iv) All zeros to the right of a non-zero digit but to the left of a decimal point are significant.
(v) All zeros to the right of a decimal point are significant.
(vi) All zeros to the right of a decimal point but to the left of a non-zero digit are not significant.
Single zero conventionally placed to the left of the decimal point is not significant.

(vii) The number of significant figures does not depend on the system of units.

Addition or subtraction with significatn figure :-

In addition or subtraction , the result should be reported to the same number of decimal places
as that of the number with minimum number of decimal places.
For ex: A= 334.5 kg; B= 23.45Kg then A + B =334.5 kg + 23.43 kg = 357.93 kg
The result with significant figures is 357.9 kg

Mutiplication and division in significant figure :-

In multiplication or division, the result should be reported to the same number of significant
figures as that of the number with minimum of significant figures.

Accuracy in measurement

Accuracy refers to the closeness of a measurement to the true value of the physical quantity
and precision refers to the resolution or the limit to which the quantity is measured. The
accuracy of a measurement is a measure of how close the measured value is to the true value
of the quantity.

Precision

Precision tells us to what limit the quantity is measured.

ROUNDING OFF:

While rounding off measurements the following rules are applied

Rule I: If the digit to be dropped is smaller than 5,then the preceding digit should be left
unchanged. For ex: 9.32 is rounded off to 9.3
Rule II: If the digit to be dropped is greater than 5, then the preceding digit should be raised by
1 For ex: 8.27 is rounded off to 8.3
Rule III: If the digit to be dropped is 5 followed by digits other than zero, then the preceding digit
should be raised by 1
For ex: 9.351 on being rounded off to first decimal, becomes 9.4
Rule IV: If the digit to be dropped is 5 or 5 followed by zeros, then the preceding digit is not
changed if it is even, is raised by 1 if it is odd. For ex:
5.45, on being rounded off,become 5.4
5.450 on being rounded off, becomes 5.4
7.35 , on being rounded off, becomes 7.4

DIMENSIONS, DIMENSIONAL FORMULA AND DIMENSIONAL

EQUATION

(1)Dimensions of a derived unit are the powers to which the fundamental units of mass, length
and time etc. must be raised to represent that unit.

(2)Dimensional formula is an expression which shows how and which of the fundamental units
are required to represent the unit of a physical quantity.M​1​L​1​T​-2​ is the dimensional formula of
Force.

CATEGORIES PHYSICAL QUANTITIES

Dimensional Costants:​ These are the quantities which possess dimensions and have a
fixed value.
Ex: Gravitational Constant
Dimensional Variables:​ These are the quantities which possess dimensions and do not
have a fixed value
For ex: velocity, acceleration etc.
Dimensionless Constants:​ these are the quantities which do not possess dimensions and
have a fixed value.
For ex: πetc.
Dimensionless Variables: ​These are the quantities which are dimensionless and do not
have a fixed value.
For ex: Strain, Specific Gravity etc.

Importance of dimensional analysis

A given physical relation is dimensionally correct if the dimensions of the variousterms on either
side of the relation are the same.

​LIMITATIONS OF DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS

* It supplies no information about dimensionless constants. They have to be determined either

by experiment or by mathematical investigation.
* This method applicable only in the case of power functions. It fails in case of
exponential and trigonometric relations.
* It fails to derive a relation which contains two or more than two quantities of like nature.
* It can only check whether a physical relation is dimensionally correct or not. It cannot tell
whether the relation is absolutely correct or not
* It cannot identify all the factors on which the given physical quantity depends upon.