Measurement

Base quantities and their units; mass (kg), length (m), time (s), current (A), temperature (K),
amount of substance (mol):
SI Units

Base Quantities

Name

Symbol

Length

metre

Mass

kilogram

kg

Time

second

Amount of substance

mole

mol

Temperature

Kelvin

Current

ampere

Luminous intensity

candela

cd

Derived units as products or quotients of the base units:

Derived

Quantities Equation

Derived Units

Area (A)

A = L2

m2

Volume (V)

V = L3

m3

Density ()

=m/V

kg m-3

Velocity (v)

v=L/t

ms-1

Acceleration (a)

a = v / t

ms-1 / s = ms-2

Momentum (p)

p=mxv

(kg)(ms-1) = kg m s-1

Derived Quantities

Equation

Derived Unit
Special Name

Derived Units

Symbol

Force (F)

F = p / t

Newton

[(kg m s-1) / s = kg m s-2

Pressure (p)

p=F/A

Pascal

Pa

(kg m s-2) / m2 = kg m-1 s-2

Energy (E)

E=Fxd

joule

(kg m s-2)(m) = kg m2 s-2

Power (P)

P=E/t

watt

(kg m2 s-2) / s = kg m2 s-3

Frequency (f)

f=1/t

hertz

Hz

1 / s = s-1

Charge (Q)

Q=Ixt

coulomb

As

Potential Difference (V)

V=E/Q

volt

(kg m2 s-2) / A s = kg m2 s-3 A-1

Resistance (R)

R=V/I

ohm

(kg m2 s-3 A-1) / A = kg m2 s-3 A-2

Prefixes and their symbols to indicate decimal sub-multiples or multiples of both base and
derived units:
Multiplying Factor

Prefix

Symbol

10-12

pico

10-9

nano

10-6

micro

10-3

milli

10-2

centi

10-1

decid

103

kilo

106

mega

giga

12

tera

10
10

Check whether the following equation is homogenous.

v2 = u2 + 2as
In this case the equation is composed of three groups of quantities: v2 , u2 and 2as. You should
check that the three groups of quantities have the same unit.
If the three group have the same unit the equation is homogenous otherwise it is not
homogenous.
1 (a) (i) Define pressure.
(ii) State the units of pressure in base units.

(b) The pressure p at a depth h in an incompressible fluid of density

given by
p = gh, where g is the acceleration of free fall.
Use base units to check the homogeneity of this equation.
2 a) i) Define density.
ii) State the base units in which density is measured.
(b) The speed v of sound in a gas is given by the expression

is

where p is the pressure of the gas of density and

is a constant.

Given that p has the base units of kgm-1/s-2 show that the constant has no
unit.
3 (a) Derive the SI base unit of force.
SI base unit of force =
(b) A spherical ball of radius r experiences a resistive force F due to the air
as it move through the air at speed v. The resistive force F is given by the
expression
F = crv,
where c is a constant.Derive the SI base unit of the constant c.
5) Speed and velocity have the same units. Explain why speed is a scalar
quantity whereas velocity is a vector quantity.
6) a) i) Explain what is meant by a base unit.
ii) Give four examples of base units.
b) State what is meant by derived unit.
c) i) For any equation to be valid, it must be homogeneous.

Explain what is meant by a homogeneous equation.

ii) The pressure P of an ideal gas of density

is given by the equation
1
p c 2
3
where (c2) is the mean square speed
{ i.e. it is a quantity measures as [speed]2}. Use base units to show
that the equation is homogeneous.
7) Determine the base units of:
i) work done,
ii) the moment of force.
a) Express derived units as products or quotients of the base units and use the
named units listed in this syllabus as appropriate.
b) Use base units to check the homogeneity of physical equations.
c) Show an understanding of the ultimate dependence of all definitions of derived
units on base units.
Recall and show that homogeneity is necessary with respect to either units or
dimensions, but that this is not a sufficient test for correctness. (The use of units or
dimensions to predict simple physical relationships is not required. Demonstration
of homogeneity is required).