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Week 1 Measurements and Vectors
Week 1 Measurements and Vectors
Week 1
Physics is oftentimes defined as the study of natural laws in
the physical world, such as laws involving force, energy, and
lights. It deals with the interaction of matter, force, and
energy.
TWO BRANCHES:
b.) Heat and Thermodynamics – deals with the effects of heat when
added or removed from a system, the methods of heat transfer, and the
transformation of heat energy to mechanical energy to work and vice
versa.
c.) Optics – deals with the study of light and its properties.
e.) Wave motion and Sound – deals with properties, transmission, and
perception of different types of waves.
Modern Physics :
a.) Nuclear Physics – deals with the properties of and the reactions
within the atomic nucleus.
b.) General Relativity – tells how matter curves space-time and how the
curvature of space-time dictates the trajectory of matter and light.
d.) Participle Physics – deals with the building blocks of matter called
“elementary particles.”
e.) Quantum mechanics – deals with the nature and behavior of matter
and energy on the atomic and subatomic levels.
Measurement
- is the process of comparing something with a standard. It is made
up of a number and a unit.
Mass Kilogram kg
Length Meter m
Time Second S
Temperature Kelvin K
8 . 0 0 0 0 0 = 800,000 cm
4 7 5 . 5 = 4.755 dg
SCIENTIFIC NOTATION - is a convenient and widely used method of expressing large
and small numbers. Any quantity may be expressed in the form
of N x 10n, where N is any number between 1 to 9 and n is the
approximate power of 10.
1. When the decimal point is moved from right to left, the result
is positive exponent.
Example: 7806. 123 = 7. 806123 ×103 = 7.81 ×103
1 990 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 kg = 1.99 x 1030 kg
where mean ()is the true value, and the standard deviation is the
uncertainty.
Example:
During an experiment in a physics laboratory class, a group of five students
was asked to measure the period of a simple pendulum. Their measurements
were as follows: 2.3s, 2.4 s, 2.2 s, 2.5 s, and 2.1 s. What is the measured
period of the pendulum?
Solution:
a.) Mean () = = = 2.3 s
b.) Variance ()
=
= = = 0.02 s2
c.) Standard deviation () = = 0.14 s
d.) Measure period of pendulum = (true value ± uncertainty) units
= (2.3 ± 0.14) s
SCALAR vs. VECTOR
a.) Scalar – is a quantity that can be only be described by
its magnitude (numerical value consisting of the number
and the unit), such as time, mass, and temperature.