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 PHYSICS Basic SI Units and Symbols

 is the study of matter and energy and

the interaction between them.

DERIVED QUANTITIES

 combinations of basic units. Speed is an

example of a derived quantity. Its unit is the Metric Prefixes and Their Equivalent Factors
ratio of the units of length and time.

Comparison of Units of Measurement

PHYSICAL QUANTITY

 is a number that is used to describe a physical

phenomenon quantitatively. Some Common Conversion Factors

METRIC SYSTEM

 the system of units used by scientists and

engineers around the world

 but since 1960 it has been known officially as

the International System, or SI (the
abbreviation for the French name, Systeme
International)
 METRIC PREFIX
 a unit prefix that precedes a basic unit of
measure to indicate a multiple or fraction of
the unit.
EXAMPLES: Perform the following conversion of
units using the SI prefixes.
1. The mean distance of the Earth from the Sun (also
known as Astronomical unit or AU) is about
1.5 x 10^11meters. Express this distance in
zettameter (Zm)

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2. The mass of proton is about 1 x 10^-29kilogram.

What is the mass of proton in megagram (Mg)?
then make the power of ten the same, before you
add or subtract.

 SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

 In this notation, a number has a form M x

10^n , where M is the number between 1 and
10 and n is a positive or negative integer.
To express a number in scientific notation:
 M - to determine, move the decimal point so
that you leave only one nonzero digit to its left.
4. Quantities expressed in scientific notation do
not need to have the same exponents before
they are multiplied or divided.
a. Multiply the values of M, then add the
exponents. The units are multiplied.

 n - to determine, count the number of places

you have moved the decimal point.
b. Divide the values of M, then subtract the
a. POSITIVE - if decimal point is moved to left exponent of the divisor from the exponent of
b. NEGATIVE - if decimal is moved the right the dividend.

Examples:
a) 170 000. is written as 1.7 x 10^5
b) 0.000 000 035 is written as 3.5 x 10^-8

ARITHMETIC OPERATIONS IN SCIENTIFIC

NOTATION:  ACCURACY, PRECISION AND ERRORS

1. Suppose you need to add or subtract Accuracy – is a measure of how close a

measurements expressed in scientific notation.
If the numbers have the same exponent, simply
add or subtract the values of M and keep the
same n.
measurement comes to the actual or true value of
whatever is measured .
Precision – is a measure of how close a series of
measurements are to one another. Note that the
precision of measurement depends on more than one
measurement

2. If the powers of ten are not the same, they
must be made the same before the numbers are
added or subtracted.
ERRORS – are varieties of outcome different from
the true or standard value
Error = standard or theoretical value –
experimental value


3. Suppose you have to add a measurement made
in meters to one made in kilometers. You
must first convert the measurements to a
common unit, and
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CLASSIFICATION OF ERRORS
Thus, errors may be classified into:
1. SYSTEMATIC ERRORS
a. Instrumental Error – caused by substandard
manufacturing and inaccuracy in calibration of
measuring instruments.
b. Personal Error – caused by personal biases,
reaction time, and responses of an
experimenter in performing and observing.
c. External Error – from environmental causes
such as temperature, wind velocity, humidity,
etc.
2. RANDOM ERRORS
 these usually result from the experimenter’s
inability to take the same measurement in
exactly the same way to get exact the same
number.
 These are errors in random events or errors
occurring by chance.
Determining and Treating Errors
One way to determine Errors is by solving the
percentage error.
So for the boiling point measurement of the given
example above, the percent error is calculated
as follows:
 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES
 in measurements include all of the digits that
are known, plus a last digit that is estimated.
The rules to follow in determining the number of
significant figures are:
1. All nonzero digits are significant
2. All zeros between 2 nonzero digits are
significant.
3. All zeros before or to the left of the first
nonzero digit are not significant. (leading
zero- act as place holders).
4. All zeros to the right of a decimal point and a
nonzero digit are significant. (Trailing zeros)
5. All zeros to the left of an unexpressed decimal
point are not significant.
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES IN CALCULATIONS
a. When adding or subtracting numbers, the result
is rounded off to the least
accurate number used in the calculation.
b. When multiplying or dividing numbers, the
number of significant figures in the final answer
should be equal to the least number of significant
figures in any of the given data.
 ROUNDING-OFF
When rounding off a number, add 1 to the preceding
digit if the number to be dropped is 5 or more. If the
number to be dropped is less than 5, retain the
preceding digit.
Examples:
1. When 7.832 is rounded off to 2 significant
figures, the result is 7.8.
2. When 4.367 is rounded off to 2 significant
figures, the result is 4.4.
3. When 2.059 is rounded off to 2 significant
figures, the result is 2.1.