CHAPTER 1: PHYSICS FOR MEASUREMENT

Outline
- What is Physics?
- Theory & Experiment
- Matter & Model Building
- Density & Atomic Mass
- Measurements
- Basic Physical Quantities & SI Unit Used in Mechanics
- Reasonableness of Results
- Symbols
- Prefixes
- Dimension & Dimensional Analysis
- Units vs Dimensions
- Conversion of Units
- Estimated & Order-of-Magnitude Calculations
- Uncertainty in Measurements
- Significant Figures
- Precision & Accuracy

What is Physics?
= Fundamental Science which
concerned with the basic principles of the Universe which
is dealing with MATTER & ENERGY
Energy can take the form of:
motion
Energy

light
electricity
gravity
and so on..
Physics deals with matter on scales ranging from sub-
atomic particles (i.e: the particles that make up an atom) to
the stars & even entire galaxies
How Physics Works?
Utilizes the scientific method to formulate & test hypotheses that
are based on observation of the natural world

Main objective of Physics:

to find the limited number of fundamental laws that govern natural
phenomena from experimental work
to use these laws to develop theories that can predict the results of
future experiments
- usually expressed in the language of mathematics, which can
then be used to predict other phenomena
**So, Mathematics provides the bridge between theory & experiment
Role of Physics in Other Field of Science
In a broader sense, Physics can be seen as the most fundamental
of the natural sciences
Examples:
a) Chemistry:
can be viewed as a complex application of Physics, as it
focuses on the interaction of energy & matter in chemical
systems
b) Biology:
an application of chemical properties in living things,
which means that it is also, ultimately, ruled by the
physical laws

Division of Physics:
Classical physics - classical mechanics, thermodynamics,
optics & EM
Modern physics (phenomena that could not be explained by
classical physics) - relativity & quantum mechanics

Theory and Experiments:

Should complement each other
When a discrepancy occurs, theory may be modified:
Theory may apply to limited conditions
E.g: Newtonian Mechanics is confined to objects traveling slowly
with respect to the speed of light
Try to develop a more general theory
 Matter & Model Building
Matter:
= everything around you
composed of atoms & molecules
anything that has mass and takes up space
5 states of matter:

**BE Bose Einstein

Model:
= a system of physical components
useful when we cannot directly interact with a phenomenon
can be changed
can make problems easier to visualize can help to predict the
behaviour of the system

E.g: ATOMIC MODEL (e- & protons in an atom)

- can be used to predict the chemical and physical properties of matter based on
interactions between electrons and with heat, temperature, light, etc.

Model of Matter
Modeling Technique:
Identify a system of physical components for the problem
Make predictions of the behavior of the system based on the interactions
among the components and/or the components and the environment

Density & Atomic Mass

Density ():
= an example of a derived quantity
Defined as:
m

V
Unit: kg/m3

Atomic Mass:
= total number of protons & neutrons in the element
measured in atomic mass units (u):
1 u = 1.6605387 x 10-27 kg

Measurements
Used to describe natural phenomena
Needs defined standards

Basic Physical Quantities & SI Unit Used in Mechanics

Physical quantities = a quantity that can be measured
Basic physical quantities used:
a) Length
- common instruments used to measure length:
Metre rule measure lengths up to 1 m
Tape measure measure lengths up to a few meters
Vernier calliper measure both internal & external
diameters of objects (1 cm 10 cm)
Micrometer screw gauge measure diameters of wire
@ ball bearings (<1 cm)
b) Mass
- common instrument used to measure mass: mass balance
c) Time
- common instrument used to measure time:
Pendulum
Clock
Stopwatch

Characteristics of standards for measurements

Readily accessible
Possess some property that can be measured reliably
Must yield the same results when used by anyone anywhere
Cannot change with time

The need for a standard:

trade or commerce
general communications
International System of Units (SI) for the BASIC mechanic quantities:
Quantities SI unit Definition
Length meter defined in terms of distance traveled by light in a
(m) vacuum during a given time
Mass kilogram defined based on a specific cylinder kept at the
(kg) International Bureau of Standards
Time second defined in terms of the oscillation of radiation from a
(s) cesium atom
 All other physical quantities can be derived from these basic
quantities

Remember,
All measured physical quantities have units.
Units are VITAL in physics!!

Reasonableness of Results
***Always ask is a result is reasonable or believable???
Don't rely entirely on your calculation!

Example:
If you're working in the lab and calculate that an air track glider had a
speed of 567.89 m/s, STOP! That's an ernormous speed. Something has
gone wrong!
Make an estimate before going through the detailed calculations.

Symbols
The symbol used in an equation is not necessarily the symbol used
for its dimension
Some quantities have one symbol used consistently
Example: time is t virtually all the time
Some quantities have many symbols used, depending upon the
specific situation
Example: lengths may be x, y, z, r, d, h, etc.
Prefixes
correspond to the powers of 10
Each prefix:
has a specific name
has a specific abbreviation (symbol)
can be used with any basic units
are multipliers of the base unit
E.g: 1 mm = 10-3 m
1 mg = 10-3 g

Dimension & Dimensional Analysis

Dimension:
The way in which the derived quantity is related to the basic quantity
can be shown by the dimensions of the quantity
In considering dimensions, we will restrict ourselves to those used
in mechanics & properties of matter only
So, dimension denotes the physical nature of a quantity
denoted with square brackets

Length [L] Mass [M] Time [T]

 We can have a combination of these quantities
Example:
Quantity Dimensions Quantity Dimensions
area [L]2 energy [M][L]2[T]-2
volume [L]3 power [M][L]2[T]-3
velocity [L][T]-1 pressure [M][L]-1[T]-2
acceleration [L][T]-2 momentum [M][L][T]-1
force [M][L][T]-2

**Dimensions can be treated as algebraic quantities - add, subtract,

multiply, divide

Dimensional analysis:
= Technique to check the correctness of an equation @ to assist in
deriving an equation
Both sides of equation must have the same dimensions
Limitation: Cannot give numerical factors
Example:
Given the equation: x = at 2. Check dimensions on each side.
[ ] = (1/2)[][ 2 ]
[ ]
[] = 2
[ 2 ]
[ ]
= dimensionally correct
Unit vs Dimensions
Dimensions: L, T, M, L/T
Units: m, mm, cm, kg, g, s, hr, years

When equation is all algebra: check dimensions

When numbers are inserted: check units

Units obey same rules as dimensions:

Never add terms with different units

Angles are dimensionless but have units (degrees @ radians)

In physics sin(L) @ cos(L) never occur unless L is dimensionless

Conversion of Units
**When units are not consistent, you may need to convert to
appropriate ones

= Conversion of one unit of measure into another equivalent unit of

measure
***Can be treated like algebraic quantities that can cancel each other out
So, always include units for every quantity, you can carry the units
through the entire calculation

Example:
350 kilometers = ? meters ?
Answer:
Order-of-Magnitude & Estimation
Order of Magnitude:
= an estimate given as a power of ten
used to make very approximate comparisons and
reflect very large differences
If two numbers have the same order of magnitude,
they are about the same size
But if we compare the surface of an orange with that of
the earth the surface of the earth is many orders of
magnitude larger than that of the orange

Estimation:
It is often sufficient for an estimation to be within an order of
magnitude of the value in question

Example:
Earth is approximately 1 107 meters in diameter. Which of the
following could be Earths diameter?
A) 1,271,543 meters C) 127,154,300 meters
B) 12,715,430 meters D) 1,271,543,000 meters

Answer: B

Uncertainty in Measurements
No measurement is exact
There is always some uncertainty due to limited instrument
accuracy & difficulty reading results
Example:
It would be difficult to measure the
width of this piece of wood to better
than a millimeter
 There is uncertainty in every measurement
This uncertainty carries over through the calculations
So, need a technique to account for this uncertainty
We will use rules for significant figures to approximate the
uncertainty in results of calculations

Significant Figures
= digits that carry meaning contributing to its measurement result
tell you how precise a measured value
**When we carry out calculations, we often get the result as a number with many
digits. We usually do not need them all.
Zeroes sandwiched between non-zero
Example:
digits are always significant
1. Let's round off 64,492 to:
i.e.: 205 3 s.f
(a) 1 significant figure 60,000 @ 6 104
(b) 2 significant figures 64,000 @ 6.4 104
Zeroes that come before all non-zero
(c) 3 significant figures 64,500 @ 6.45 104 digits are never significant
(d) 4 significant figures 64,490 @ 6.449 104 i.e.: 0.0023 2 s.f
(e) 5 significant figures 64,492 @ 6.4492 104
Zeroes that come after non-zero digits:
2. Let's round off 92.810576 to: a) 83,000 2 s.f not significant
a) 1 significant figure 90 b) 83,000. 5 s.f significant
b) 3 significant figure 92.8 c) 83.000 5 s.f significant
c) 5 significant figure 92.810
** 14 not has same s.f with 14.0
d) 6 significant figure 92.8106
2 s.f 3 s.f
3. Let's round off 0.0046753 to:
a) significant figure 0.005 @ 5 10-3
b) 2 significant figure 0.0047 @ 4.7 10-3
c) 4 significant figure 0.004675 @ 4.675 10-3

Rounding Rules if there is number 5:

Examine the first figure that will be dropped:
If it is <5: drop it & all figures to the right of it
If it is >5: increase by 1 the figure before it; drop it & all figures to the
right of it
If it is =5: round the figure before it to be nearest EVEN (0,2,4,6,8);
drop it & all figures to the right of it
Example:
i. 62.5347 rounded to 4 s.f: 62.53
ii. 3.78721 rounded to 3 s.f: 3.79
iii. 726.835 rounded to 5 s.f: 726.84
iv. 24.8514 rounded to 3 s.f: 24.8
v. 2.0495 rounded to 4 s.f: 2.050

Operations with Significant Figures

Addition & subtraction:
Example 1: Example 2:

Lt = 1.85 m

look at decimal places of the numbers

d.p of final answer = d.p of the number with the LEAST d.p

Multiplication & division:

Example 1:

Lt = 0.307
Example 2:

look at significant figures of the numbers

s.f of final answer = s.f of the number with the LEAST s.f
Examples:
i. 2.42 + 1.1 = 3.52 3.5
ii. 3.233 3.2 = 0.033 0.0
iii. 2.5 3.42 = 8.55 8.6
iv. 62,881 97 = 648.257732 650

***Only the final answer is rounded!!!

No rounding numbers in the intermediate steps of the calculation

Precision & Accuracy

Precision = a measurement of how reproducible an answer is with

some piece of equipment
Will get same answer when repeating the measurement

Precision of an Instrument
= the smallest unit that the instrument can measure
- Example:

Accuracy = a measurement of how correct a measured value is

If something weighs 150 grams and you measure the weight as
130 grams, its not a very accurate measurement
depend on the number of significant figures: higher s.f gives
more accurate answer
 *** Precise measurements dont need to be accurate.
*** Accurate measurements must be precise.

Extra Notes:

Propagation of
Uncertainties

Guide to use Vernier calliper

 Guide to use Micrometer Screw Gauge

**Guide to check ZERO ERROR for:

a) Vernier calliper
b) Micrometer screw gauge: