Chapter 2

Lecture 2
 Units and Dimensions
• A dimension is a property that can be:
1. Measured, such as: Length, time, mass , and temperature
2. Calculated, such as: velocity (length/time), volume , density
• Measurable units are specific values for dimensions (cm) for
length, (gm) for mass, second for time.
• Units are treated as algebraic variable when quantities are
added, subtracted, multiplied or divided
 Conversion of Units
• To convert a quantity expressed in terms of one unit to its
equivalent in terms of another unit, multiply the given
quantity by the conversion factor
SYSTEMS OF UNITS
 Force and weight
• According to Newton’s second law of motion, force is proportional to the
product of mass and acceleration ( ). Natural force units are, therefore,
kg.m/ (SI), g cm/s (CGS), and lb.ft/ (American engineering).
• To avoid having to carry around these complex units in all calculations
involving forces, derived force units have been defined in each system.
• In the metric systems, the derived force units (the newton in SI, the dyne in the
CGS system) are defined to equal the natural units:
• Weight of an object is the force exerted on the object by gravitational
acceleration:
 Significant figures
• All non-zero digits are significant. (345: 3 significant figures)
• Zeros between non-zero digits are significant (captive zeros 200004: 6
significant figures).
• Leading zeros are never significant. (000.000045: 2 significant figures).
• In a number with a decimal point, trailing zeros, those to the right of the last
non-zero digit, are significant (2000. : 4 significant figures).
• In a number without a decimal point, trailing zeros may or may not be
significant. More information through additional graphical symbols or
explicit information on errors is needed to clarify the significance of trailing
zeros. For the time being we will not consider them significant. (1000: 1
significant figure).
Note:
• When two or more quantities are combined by multiplication
and/or division, the number of significant figures in the result
should equal the lowest number of significant figures of any of the
multiplicands or divisors.
• If the initial result of a calculation violates this rule, you must round
off the result to reduce the number of significant figures to its
maximum allowed value.
• If several calculations are to be performed in sequence it is
advisable to keep extra significant figures of intermediate quantities
and to round off only the final result.
• When two or more numbers are added or subtracted, the positions of the last
significant figures of each number relative to the decimal point should be
compared. Of these positions, the one farthest to the left is the position of the last
permissible significant figure of the sum or difference .
• Note: Finally, a rule of thumb for rounding off numbers in which
the digit to be dropped is a 5, then the rule states: that the last
digit of the rounded-off number must be even:1.35 = 1.4, 1.25 =
1.2 (i.e.) if the last digit is odd then we increase it by 1 to be even,
and if it is even, then we leave it as is.
 Validating Results
• Back-substitution is straightforward: after you solve a set of equations,
substitute your solution back into the equations and make sure it works.

• Order-of-magnitude estimation means coming up with a crude and easy-to-

obtain approximation of the answer to a problem and making sure that the more
exact solution comes reasonably close to it.

• Applying the test of reasonableness means verifying that the solution makes
sense. If, for example, a calculated velocity of water flowing in a pipe is faster
than the speed of light or the calculated temperature in a chemical reactor is
higher than the interior temperature of the sun, you should suspect that a
mistake has been made somewhere.