Sec 3E Science (Physics) Chapter 1

Physical Quantities, Units and Measurement

By the end of the lesson, you should be able to

Physical Quantities

A property that can be measured and is presented with magnitude and unit.
Look into your textbook contents page, what do you think are the quantities that is measured in each chapter? Examples mass, weight, speed, density, time, volume, area, length etc

Qualitative vs Quantitative Description

We can describe our observations qualitatively or quantitatively

Qualitative Descriptive Quantitative Use numbers

Describe the mass of the apple qualitatively. The apple has a large mass. Describe the mass of the apple quantitatively. The apples mass is 50 g.

Quantities, Magnitude, Units

The weight of a coin is 12 g.

unit Physical quantity magnitude

All physical quantities are presented with a magnitude and a unit.

What are physical quantities?

Physical quantities can be classified into base quantities and derived quantities.

Base Quantities and its Unit

Base quantity Base unit Symbol

length
mass time temperature current *Luminous intensity *Amount of substance

metre
kilogram second kelvin ampere candela mole

m
kg s K A cd mol

* Not in syllabus

Derived Quantities
Example of derived quantity: area
Defining equation: area = length width In terms of units: In terms of units: Units of area = m m = m2 Units of volume = m m m = m3 Defining equation: volume = length width height Defining equation: density = mass volume In terms of units: Units of density = kg / m3 = kg m3

Very small and very BIG quantities

The sun is 149 342 000 000 m away from us Bacteria is very small..it is about 0.000 001 m long

A more efficient way of expressing very big or very small number is to do so in scientific notation, using appropriate prefixes .

Prefixes
Prefix Nano Micro Milli Centi Deci Kilo Mega Abbreviation n m c d k M Factor 10-9 10-6 10-3 10-2 10-1 103 106

How to convert unit?

If you are asked to convert a unit with prefix into a unit without unit, Multiply the number by the factor of the unit. E.g.1 400 mg = .g 400 x 10-3 g = 0.4 g 0.025 km = . m 0.025 x 103 m = 25 m

E.g. 2

Now you try!

5500 mg = g 5500 x 10-3 = 5.5 g 0.45 kg = ....g 0.45 x 103 = 450 g 0.004 GB = B 0.004 x 109 = 4 x 106 B 8900 nm = .. m 8900 x 10-9 = 8.9 x 10-6 m

How to convert unit?

If you are asked to convert a unit with prefix into a unit without unit, divide the number by the factor of the unit. E.g.3 3.9 m = . cm 3.9 10-2 = 390 cm E.g. 4 5000 Hz = . MHz 5000 106 = 0.005 MHz

Your turn to try!

250 g = kg 250 103 = 0.25 kg 0.000345 m = .m 0.000345 10-6 = 345 m 45 600 Hz = ..MHz 45 600 106 = 0.0456 MHz 0. 765 A = . mA 0.765 10-3 = 765 A

 What are the order of magnitudes of sizes ranging from a typical atom to the Earth?

Measurement of Length
Instrument Measuring tape Metre rule Vernier calipers Range of measurement Precision 0 to 5 m 0 to 1 m 0 to 15 cm 0.1 cm 0.1 cm 0.01 cm 0.001 cm (or 0.01 mm)

Micrometer screw gauge 0 to 2.5 cm

Readings recorded by these instruments must follow the precision of the

instrument.

E.g. Since the precision of a metre rule is 0.1 cm, all readings taken by a metre rule must be presented with 1 decimal place of a cm. Acceptable readings: 0.5 cm, 12.6 cm. 4.0 cm Not acceptable readings: 12.44 cm, 3 cm, 2.123 cm

Measuring Length Accurately

For accurate length measurement using ruler, the eye should be positioned in line, perpendicular to the point to be read to avoid parallax error.

Parallax error is the error made in reading due to the wrong positioning of the eye. It can occur when reading instruments like measuring cylinder or ammeter etc.

Vernier Calipers

Vernier Calipers

http://members.shaw.ca/ron.blond/Vern. APPLET/index.html

The internal jaws can be used to measure the internal diameter of test tubes or beakers. The outside jaws can be used to measure the thickness of a book or the diameter of a sphere. The depth rod can be used to measure the depth of a test tube or cavity.

Vernier Calipers

Using Vernier Calipers

Hence a vernier calipers can measure small length accurate to 2 decimal places in cm. How to read write down main scale reading Add vernier scale reading Main scale 2.1? cm + 0.04 cm 2.14 cm

Vernier scale

Qn 1

2.15 cm

Qn 2

1.04 cm

Qn 3

3.19 cm

Qn 4 & 5

2.74 cm

4.04 cm

Micrometer Screw Gauge

http://www.upscale.utoronto.ca/PVB/Harrison/Micrometer/Flash/MicSimulation.html

Precautions when Using a Micrometer

1. Never tighten thimble too much, use rachet for final adjustments. 2. Clean the ends of the anvil and spindle before making a measurement (Any dirt on either of surfaces could affect the reading) 3. Check for zero before using and correct the zero error if any.

Using Micrometer Screw Gauge

Hence a micrometer screwgauge can measure small length accurate to 2 decimal places in mm. How to read write down main scale (sleeve) reading Add thimble scale reading Sleeve scale Thimble scale 4.5? mm + 0.12 mm 4.62 mm

Precautions

Never tighten the thimble too much Clean the ends of the anvil and spindle before measurement Check for zero error

Qn 1

7.32 mm

Qn 2

7.63 mm

Qn 3

7.00 mm

Qn 4 & 5

2.73 mm

8.57 mm

Measurement of Time
Precision of a digital stopwatch is 0.01 s

minutes

Milli-seconds

seconds

Reading shown on the stopwatch = 5 minutes 53.62 s

Period of a Simple Pendulum

The time taken for a pendulum to complete one oscillation is called the pendulum's period.
For the pendulum on the right, one oscillation is from A to B then back to A again.

Factors affecting period of pendulum

The length of the pendulum is measured from the top of the string to the middle of the bob

When the length of the pendulum increases, the period increases. The period is not affected by the size of the bob and the angle of displacement. For good experimental technique, always keep the angle of displacement to less than 10o)

Period of Pendulum

Period = 0.35 x 4 = 1.40 s

Ticker Tape Timer

An electrical device making use of the oscillations of a steel strip to mark short intervals of time Steel strip vibrates 50 times a second and makes 50 dots a second on a paper tape being pulled past it

Ticker-tape Timer
Time interval between two consecutive dots is 0.02 s. If there are 10 spaces on a pieces of tape, time taken is 10 0.02 s = 0.20 s Counting of the dots starts from zero. A 10dot tape is shown below.

Ticker Tape

Start of ticker tape

A to B - Dots are close together therefore the object is moving slowly. E to F - Dots are further apart therefore the object is moving with a high speed.

In the ticker tape shown above, the dots are getting further apart. This means that the object is moving faster

How to calculate speed from tickertape

A ticker-tape that makes 50 dots per second is used to determine the speed of a moving object. Determine the speed of the moving object.

Distance = 20 cm Time taken for 50 dots = 1 s 10 dots = 10/50 = 0.2 s Speed = distance / time = 20 / 0.2 = 100 cm/s

Scalar and Vectors

Scalar A physical quantity with magnitude only Vector A physical quantity with magnitude and direction

How to remember which quantity has direction?

Vector

Vectors
Vector quantities are quantities that have both magnitude and direction

A Force

Magnitude = 100 N Direction = Left

Scalars and Vectors

Examples of scalar and vector quantities Scalars distance speed mass time pressure energy temperature Vectors displacement velocity weight acceleration force moment of a force

Vectors
Vectors can be represented graphically by arrows. The length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the vector. The direction of the arrow indicated the direction of the vector.

Adding Vectors in a straight line

Parallelogram Law of Vector Addition

If two vectors acting at a point are represented by the sides of a parallelogram drawn from that point, their resultant is represented by the diagonal which passes through that point of the parallelogram.

Triangle Method of Vector Addition

Example of how to add vectors

Triangle Method of Vector Addition