THE NATURE OF PHYSICS

GENERAL PHYSICS I

1
PHYSICAL QUANTITIES AND MEASUREMENTS
WEEK 1

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STANDARDS AND UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS
LESSON 1

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STANDARDS AND UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS

 Numbers are used to describe the result of measurements.

 Any number that is used to describe a physical phenomenon quantitatively is called
physical quantities.

ng th
, le
m
What’s the difference between a physical quality and .0 c
250
physical quantities? 20.0 cm thick

150.0 grams 4
SYSTEMS OF UNITS

 British Imperial system/FPS system

 Natural systems – units of measurements based on universal constants
 Conventional systems – units suit necessity in field or discipline
 Ancient Systems – values vary upon location and person
Metric system – units based on decimal and prefixes
 SI/Rationalized Metric System
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SI BASE UNITS

Quantity Typical symbol Unit Symbol

time t second s

length l, x, r, etc. meter m

mass m kilogram kg

electric current I, i ampere A

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SI BASE UNITS

Quantity Typical symbol Unit Symbol

thermodynamic
T kelvin K
temperature

amount of substance n mole mol

luminous intensity Iv candela cd

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DERIVED UNITS

Derived units are based on the seven fundamental units and are
expressed from the product of two or more base units.

Example:
Physical quantity : area
Derived unit :
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DERIVED UNITS

Derived
Special Name Symbol Derived unit in terms of base units
Quantity

volume V m3

speed, velocity v m/s

kg·m
force newton N
s2

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DERIVED UNITS

Derived unit in terms of

Derived Quantity Special Name Symbol
base units

kg·m2 or N·m
energy, work joule J
s2
kg·m2
heat capacity J/K
Ks2

electric charge coulomb C A·s

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SUPPLEMENTARY UNITS
 Cannot be formed from the fundamental units

Quantity Typical symbol Unit Symbol

angle radian rad

Solid angle steradian sr

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BRITISH IMPERIAL SYSTEM

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BRITISH IMPERIAL SYSTEM

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PREFIXES USED WITH SI UNITS

Prefixes are added to the base units to make values

smaller or larger.

Example:
1000 meters = 1 kilometer
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PREFIXES USED WITH SI UNITS
Prefixes for powers of ten used with the SI units

Power Prefix Abbreviation Power Prefix Abbreviation

10–24 yocto y 10–15 femto f

10–21 zepto z 10–12 pico p

10–18 atto a 10–9 nano n

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PREFIXES USED WITH SI UNITS
Prefixes for powers of ten used with the SI units

Power Prefix Abbreviation Power Prefix Abbreviation

10–6 micro μ 10–1 deci d

10–3 milli m 103 kilo k

10–2 centi c 106 mega M

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PREFIXES USED WITH SI UNITS
Prefixes for powers of ten used with the SI units

Power Prefix Abbreviation Power Prefix Abbreviation

109 giga G 1018 exa E

1012 tera T 1021 zetta Z

1015 peta P 1024 yotta Y

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UNIT CONSISTENCY AND CONVERSION

Why is it important to convert units?

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UNIT CONSISTENCY AND CONVERSION

Always remember that an equation must always be

dimensionally consistent.
Two terms may be added or equated only if they have the
same units!

Can you directly add 5.0 m to 10.0 km?

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UNIT CONSISTENCY AND CONVERSION

Example 1:
A common housefly is 5.0 mm long. How long is it in
meter?

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UNIT CONSISTENCY AND CONVERSION

Example 2:
A three-storey building is 10 feet tall. How high is
it in meters?

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UNIT CONSISTENCY AND CONVERSION

Example 3:
A car is travelling in the North Luzon Expressway
at a speed of 35 km/h. Is the driver exceeding the
speed limit of 17.0 m/s?

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SCIENTIFIC NOTATIONS &
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES
LESSON 2

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SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

Very large and very small numbers can be expressed using

scientific notation.
All numbers can be expressed in the form:
any positive or
negative integer

any number between

1 and 10
• Integer or decimal
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SCIENTIFIC NOTATION: HOW TO WRITE

The temperature at the core of the sun is 15 700 000 K.

15 700 000 K

Moving the decimal point to the left makes the

exponent positive while moving it to the right
makes it negative. 25
SCIENTIFIC NOTATION: HOW TO WRITE

The radius of a hydrogen atom is 0.000000000025 m.

0.000000000025 m

Moving the decimal point to the left makes the

exponent positive while moving it to the right
makes it negative. 26
SCIENTIFIC NOTATION: HOW TO WRITE

The moon’s distance to Earth is 384,400 km.

384, 400 km

Quick recall: Covert 384,400 km to m and express it in scientific notation.

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SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

A significant figure is a reliably known

digit.
It helps in accurately reporting values that the
measurement equipment is capable of
determining. 28
RULES IN IDENTIFYING A SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

1 521.2
Nonzero digits are always significant.
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RULES IN IDENTIFYING A SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

9 202 045
Zeros between nonzero digits are
considered significant. 30
RULES IN IDENTIFYING A SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

0.000 000 03
Zeros that appear before the nonzero digit are
not significant. 31
RULES IN IDENTIFYING A SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

13 200
The terminal or trailing zero(s) in a number
without a decimal point are not significant. 32
RULES IN IDENTIFYING A SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

6.500
Trailing zero(s) in a number with a decimal
point are significant. 33
RULES IN IDENTIFYING A SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

65.00
Trailing zero(s) in a number with a decimal
point are significant. 34
RULES IN IDENTIFYING A SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

6.000
Trailing zero(s) in a number with a decimal point
are significant. 35
ACTIVITY:

1.001
Correct answer: 4 significant figures 36
ACTIVITY:

202 000 000

Correct answer: 3 significant figures 37
ACTIVITY:

0.000 002 002

Correct answer: 4 significant figures 38
UNCERTAINTIES IN MEASUREMENTS
LESSON 3

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UNCERTAINTIES

Recall: Measurement is quantifying a property of an object.

Measurements always have UNCERTAINTIES.

What is uncertainty, and how do we address

it in measurements?
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 Ruler (reliable at the nearest millimeter)

Vernier caliper (a device that can measure

to the nearest 0.01 mm)

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ACCURACY VS. PRECISION

ACCURACY refers to the closeness of the experimental values

to the expected or true value.
PRECISION pertains to the closeness of the experimental
values with one another.

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 ACCURACY

Indicates how close the measured value is to the true value.

Reported starting with the best estimate of the measurement,
followed by a symbol, and a second number indicating the
UNCERTAINTY of the measurement.

𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 ( 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 )= 𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑬𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 ± 𝑼𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒚

5.07 ± 0.2 mm
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 PRECISION

It describes the scatter or the variability of a set of measurements

made.

13.2 mm 13.5 mm
13.3 mm 12.8 mm
13.2 mm 14.2 mm
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Student # 1 Student # 2
ACCURACY AND PRECISION

Which measurement is precise? Which is accurate? Which is both

accurate and precise? Which is neither accurate nor precise? 45
FACTORS THAT MAY AFFECT THE VALUE OF UNCERTAINTY

Quality of the apparatus Ability of the person to calibrate the equipment

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Measuring the thickness of a book once may result in low accuracy.

21.7 mm

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Measuring the thickness of a book multiple times may increase accuracy.

21.7 mm,
21.5 mm,
21.6 mm. 48
ERRORS: SOURCES AND TYPES
LESSON 4

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ERROR

Identifying the uncertainty and evaluating its source is

important to correct and address it.

This is essential especially in science where the whole

field is dependent on measurement.
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ERRORS IN MEASUREMENT

 It is defined as the difference between the true value and the measured value.
 It is used interchangeably with uncertainty.
 Error is different from a mistake.
 Signifies an inevitable uncertainty that is present in all types of measurements.
 It cannot be completely eliminated even if one is conducting an experiment
carefully.

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Nobody’s perfect, and error is something inevitable in life.

ERRORS IN MEASUREMENT

Two main types of errors

Systematic error
Random error

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RANDOM ERRORS
 Occur when repeated measurements produce randomly different results.
 Caused by unknown and unpredictable changes in the environment.
 Can only be observed when the same quantity is measured in the same
condition or setup.

d1 = 2.75 in
d2 = 2.73 in
d3 = 2.77 in 53
SYSTEMATIC ERROR

Error that remains constant or changes in regular fashion even if

measurements are repeated.
Suppose you have three apples, and you measured the diameter of each.
Apple Diameter, d (in)
(observed)
1 2.75
2 2.73
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3 2.77
SYSTEMATIC ERROR

Compare the observed value and the true value.

Apple Diameter, d (in) Diameter, d (in)

(observed) (true)

1 2.75 2.77

2 2.73 2.75

3 2.77 2.79
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SYSTEMATIC ERROR

All measurements have the same error.

Apple Diameter, d (in) Diameter, d (in)

(observed) (true)

1 2.75 2.77

2 2.73 2.75

3 2.77 2.79
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SYSTEMATIC ERROR

Question: Where do you think systematic error arise?

Apple Diameter, d (in) Diameter, d (in)

(observed) (true)

1 2.75 2.77

2 2.73 2.75

3 2.77 2.79
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SOURCES OF SYSTEMATIC ERROR

faulty calibrations of the instruments

poorly maintained instruments
Incorrect reading by the user

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EXAMPLE OF SYSTEMATIC ERROR

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Parallax error
HOW TO REDUCE GETTING ERRORS?

In systematic error, it is important to have the equipment and

instrument calibrated every now and then.
To reduce random error, it is important to get the average of a
large sample of values of measurements.

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