CIE A Level

 Physics
Revision Notes

Home / A Level / Physics / CIE / Revision Notes /

1. Physical Quantities & Units / 1.1 Physical Quantities & Units / 1.1.3
Homogeneity of Physical Equations

Say goodbye to ads. Join now

1.1.3 Homogeneity of Physical

Equations
 DOWNLOAD PDF TEST YOURSELF

Homogeneity of Physical
Equations

An important skill is to be able to check the

homogeneity of physical equations using the SI
base units
The units on either side of the equation should be
the same
To check the homogeneity of physical equations:

Check the units on both sides of an

equation

Determine if they are equal

If they do not match, the equation will need

to be adjusted

How to check the homogeneity of physical equations

Powers of Ten

Physical quantities can span a huge range of

values
For example, the diameter of an atom is about
10–10 m (0.0000000001 m), whereas the width of
a galaxy may be about 1021 m
(1000000000000000000000 m)
This is a difference of 31 powers of ten
Powers of ten are numbers that can be achieved
by multiplying 10 times itself
It is useful to know the prefixes for certain powers
of ten

Powers of Ten Table


Exam Tip
You will often see very large or very small
numbers categorised by powers of ten, so it
is very important you become familiar with
these as getting these prefixes wrong is a
very common exam mistake!

TEST YOURSELF NEXT TOPIC

Say goodbye to ads. Join now

1. PHYSICAL QUANTITIES & UNITS

1.1 Physical Quantities & Units

1.1.1 Physical Quantities

1.1.2 SI Units

1.1.3 Homogeneity of Physical Equations

1.1.4 Scalars & Vectors

1.1.5 Graph Conventions

2. MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES

3. KINEMATICS

4. DYNAMICS

5. FORCES, DENSITY & PRESSURE

6. WORK, ENERGY & POWER

7. DEFORMATION OF SOLIDS

8. WAVES

9. SUPERPOSITION

10. ELECTRIC FIELDS

11. CURRENT OF ELECTRICITY

12. D.C. CIRCUITS

13. PARTICLE & NUCLEAR PHYSICS

14. MOTION IN A CIRCLE

15. GRAVITATIONAL FIELDS

16. IDEAL GASES

17. TEMPERATURE

18. THERMAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

19. OSCILLATIONS

20. COMMUNICATION

21. ELECTRIC FIELDS

22. CAPACITANCE

23. ELECTRICITY & CIRCUITS

24. ELECTRONICS

25. MAGNETIC FIELDS

26. ALTERNATING CURRENTS

27. QUANTUM PHYSICS

28. NUCLEAR PHYSICS

Say goodbye to ads. Join now

Author:
Katie
Katie has always been passionate about the sciences,
and completed a degree in Astrophysics at Sheffield
University. She decided that she wanted to inspire
other young people, so moved to Bristol to complete a
PGCE in Secondary Science. She particularly loves
creating fun and absorbing materials to help students
achieve their exam potential.

Resources Members

Home Members Home

Join Account
Support Login

Company Quick Links

About Us GCSE Revision Notes

Contact Us IGCSE Revision Notes
Jobs A Level Revision Notes
Terms Biology
Privacy Chemistry
Facebook Physics
Twitter Maths
2022 Advance
Information

© Copyright 2015-2023 Save My Exams Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

IBO was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, the
resources created by Save My Exams.

 DOWNLOAD PDF