mob: +92 323 509 4443, email: megalecture@gmail.

com

m
co
e.
General Physics

ur
ct
le
Physical Quantities & Units
ga
me

AS level
w.
ww

Marline Kurishingal

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Physical Quantities

Quantitative versus qualitative

• Most observation in physics are quantitative
• Descriptive observations (or qualitative) are usually imprecise
Qualitative Observations Quantitative Observations
How do you measure What can be measured with the
artistic beauty? instruments on an aeroplane?

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Physical Quantities

m
• A physical quantity is one that can be measured

co
and consists of a magnitude and unit.

e.
Measuring length

ur

70

ct
4.5 m
le
km/h
 ga
me

SI units are
w.

used in
ww

Scientific
works

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Physical Quantities

Are classified into two types:

• Base quantities
• Derived quantities Derived quantity
Base quantity For example : is like
For example : is like the house that was
the brick – the basic build up from a collection
building block of a of bricks (basic quantity)
house

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Definitions :-

• Base quantities • The quantities

m
are the that are

co
e.
quantities on the expressed in

ur
basis of which terms of base

ct
le
other quantities ga quantities are
are expressed. called derived
me
w.

quantities
ww

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SI Units for Base Quantity

• SI Units – International System of Units

Base Quantities Name of Unit Symbol of Unit

length metre m
mass kilogram kg
time second s
electric current ampere A
temperature kelvin K
amount of substance mole mol

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Derived quantity & equations

m
co
• A derived quantity has an equation which links to other quantities.

e.
• It enables us to express a derived unit in terms of base-unit

ur
equivalent.

ct
Example: F = ma ; Newton = kg m s-2

le
ga
P = F/A ; Pascal = kg m s-2/m2 = kg m-1 s-2
me
w.
ww

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Some derived units

Derived quantity Base equivalent units _______
Symbol
 area square meter m²
 volume cubic meter m³
 speed, velocity meter per second m/s or m s-1
 acceleration meter per second squared m/s/s or m s-2
 density kilogram per cubic meter kg m-3
 amount concentration mole per cubic meter mol m-3
 force kg m s-2 Newton
 work/energy kg m2 s-2 Joule
 power kg m2 s-3 Watt
 pressure kg m-1 s-2 Pascal
 frequency s-1 Hertz

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SI Units

m
co
e.
1. Equation: area = length × width

ur
In terms of base units: Units of area = m × m = m2

ct
le
2. Equation: volume = length × width × height
In terms of base units:
gaUnits of volume = m × m × m = m3
me

3. Equation: density = mass ÷ volume

w.
ww

In terms of base units: Units of density = kg m−3

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SI Units

• Work out the derived quantities for:

distance
1. Equation: speed = time
In terms of base units: Units of speed = ms−1
velocity
2. Equation: acceleration = time
In terms of base units: Units of acceleration = ms−2
3. Equation: force = mass × acceleration
In terms of base units: Units of force = kg ms-2

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SI Units

m
• Work out the derived quantities for:

co
For ce

e.
1. Equation: Pressure =

ur
Ar ea
In terms of base units: Units of pressure = Kgm−1 s−2

ct
le
2. Equation: Work = Force × Displacement
In terms of base units:
ga Units of work = Kgm²s−2
me

Wor k done
w.

3. Equation: Power = Time

ww

In terms of units: Units of power = Kgm²s−3

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SI Units – Fill in…

Relation with Base and Special
Derived Quantity Unit
Derived Quantities Name
Momentum

Electric Charge

Potential
Difference

Resistance

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For you to know…

m
co
e.
ur
ct
le
ga
me
w.
ww

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Reference Link – Physical quantities

• http://thinkzone.wlonk.com/Units/PhysQuantit
ies.htm

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1. A physical quantity is a quantity that can be

measured and consists of a numerical magnitude

m
and a unit.

co
2. The physical quantities can be classified into

e.
base quantities and derived quantities.

ur
ct
3. There are seven base quantities: length, mass,
time, current, temperature, amount of

le
substance and luminous intensity.
ga
me
4. The SI units for length, mass, time, temperature
w.

and amount of substance, electric current are

ww

metre, kilogram, second, kelvin, mole and

ampere respectively.

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Homogeneity of an equation
• An equation is homogeneous if quantities
on BOTH sides of the equation has the
same unit.
• E.g. s = ut + ½ at2
• LHS : unit of s = m
• RHS : unit of ut = ms-1xs = m
• unit of at2 = ms-2xs2 = m
• Unit on LHS = unit on RHS
• Hence equation is homogeneous

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Non-homogeneous

• P = ρgh2

m
•

co
LHS ; unit of P = Nm-2 = kgm-1s-2

e.
• RHS : unit of ρgh2 = kgm-3(ms-2)(m2) = kgs-2

ur
• Unit on LHS = unit on RHS

ct
• Hence equation is not homogeneous

le
ga
me
w.
ww

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Homogeneity of an equation

• Note: numbers has no unit

• some constants have no unit.
• e.g. ,

• A homogeneous eqn may not be physically

correct but a physically correct eqn is definitely
homogeneous

• E.g. s = 2ut + at2 (homogenous but not correct)

• F = ma (homogeneous and correct)

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Magnitude

m
• Prefix : magnitudes of physical quantity range

co
from very large to very small.

e.
ur
• E.g. mass of sun is 1030 kg and mass of electron

ct
is 10-31 kg.

le
ga
• Hence, prefix is used to describe these
me
magnitudes.
w.
ww

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Significant number

• Magnitudes of physical quantities are often

quoted in terms of significant number.
• Can you tell how many sig. fig. in these
numbers?
• 103, 100.0 , 0.030, 0.4004, 200
• If you multiply 2.3 and 1.45, how many sf should
you quote?
• 3.19, 3.335 , 3.48
• 3.312, 3.335, 3.358

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The rules for identifying significant figures

The rules for identifying significant figures when

writing or interpreting numbers are as follows:-

m
co
e.
• All non-zero digits are considered significant. For

ur
example, 91 has two significant figures (9 and 1), while

ct
123.45 has five significant figures (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).

le
• Zeros appearing anywhere between two non-zero digits
ga
are significant. Example: 101.1203 has seven significant
me

figures: 1, 0, 1, 1, 2, 0 and 3.
w.

• Leading zeros are not significant. For example, 0.00052

ww

has two significant figures: 5 and 2.

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The rules for identifying significant figures (cont)

• Trailing zeros in a number containing a decimal

point are significant. For example, 12.2300 has
six significant figures: 1, 2, 2, 3, 0 and 0. The
number 0.000122300 still has only six
significant figures (the zeros before the 1 are not
significant). In addition, 120.00 has five
significant figures since it has three trailing
zeros.

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• Often you will be asked to estimate some

m
magnitudes of physical quantities around you.

co
e.
• E.g. estimate the height of the ceiling, volume of

ur
an apple, mass of an apple, diameter of a strand

ct
of hair,

le
ga
me
Reference link :
w.

http://www.xtremepapers.com/revision/a-
ww

level/physics/measurement.php

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Estimates of physical quantities
• When making an estimate, it is only reasonable to give
the figure to 1 or at most 2 significant figures since an
estimate is not very precise.

Physical Quantity Reasonable Estimate

Mass of 3 cans (330 ml) of
1 kg
Pepsi
Mass of a medium-sized car 1000 kg
Length of a football field 100 m
Reaction time of a young man 0.2 s

• Occasionally, students are asked to estimate the area

under a graph. The usual method of counting squares
within the enclosed area is used.

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Convention for labelling tables and graphs
• The symbol / unit is indicated
at the italics as indicated in the

m
data column left.

co
t/s v/ms−1 • Then fill in the data with pure

e.
0 2.5 numbers.

ur
1.0 4.0 • Then plot the graph after

ct
2.0 5.5 labelling x axis and y axis

le
ga
me
[Illustration with sample graph
on left]
w.
ww

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Prefixes
• For very large or very small numbers, we can use
standard prefixes with the base units.
• The main prefixes that you need to know are
shown in the table. (next slide)

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Prefixes

m
• Prefixes simplify the writing of very large or very

co
small quantities

e.
ur
Prefix Abbreviation Power

ct
nano n 10−9

le
micro  10−6
milli ga m 10−3
me
centi c 10−2
w.

deci d 10−1
ww

kilo k 103
mega M 106
giga G 109
Tera ? ??
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Prefixes

• Alternative writing method

• Using standard form
• N × 10n where 1  N < 10 and n is an integer

This galaxy is about 2.5 × 106 The diameter of this atom

light years from the Earth. is about 1 × 10−10 m.
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Scalars and Vectors

m
• Scalar quantities are quantities that have

co
magnitude only. Two examples are shown below:

e.
ur
Measuring Mass Measuring Temperature

ct
le
ga
me
w.
ww

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Scalars and Vectors

• Scalar quantities are added or subtracted by using

simple arithmetic.
Example: 4 kg plus 6 kg gives the answer 10 kg

6 kg
4 kg

+ =
10 kg

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Scalars and Vectors

m
• Vector quantities are quantities that have both

co
magnitude and direction

e.
ur
ct
le
A Force ga
Magnitude = 100 N
me

Direction = Left
w.
ww

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Scalars and Vectors

• Examples of scalars and vectors

Scalars Vectors
distance displacement
speed velocity
mass weight
time acceleration
pressure force
energy momentum
volume
density
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Direction of vector

m
co
e.
ur
ct
le
ga
me
w.
ww

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Scalars and Vectors

Adding/Subtracting Vectors using Graphical
Method
• Parallel vectors can be added arithmetically

4N
6N 4N
2N

2N 2N

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Scalars and Vectors

Adding Vectors using Graphical Method

m
• Non-parallel vectors are added by graphical

co
means using the parallelogram law

e.
– Vectors can be represented graphically by arrows

ur
 20.0 N

ct
5.0 cm

le
Direction = right
ga
– The length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the
me
vector
w.

– The direction of the arrow represents the direction of the

vector
ww

– The magnitude and direction of the resultant vector can be

found using an accurate scale drawing

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Vector addition

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Vector operation

• Vector problem must be solved vectorically

m
co
unlike scalar quantity.

e.
ur
• E.g. 3 N + 4 N = 5 N

ct
le
ga
me

5N
w.

4N
ww

3N
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Addition using drawing method

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Reference link : Vector addition

m
co
• http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/vector

e.
ur
s/u3l1b.cfm

ct
le
ga
me
w.
ww

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Subtraction using drawing method

• if D = A – B

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Scalars and Vectors

m
• The parallelogram law of vector addition states

co
that if two vectors acting at a point are

e.
represented by the sides of a parallelogram

ur
drawn from that point, their resultant is

ct
represented by the diagonal which passes through

le
that point of the parallelogram
ga
me
w.
ww

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Coplanar vectors

• When 3 or more vectors need to be added, the

same principles apply, provided the vectors are
all on the same plane i.e. coplanar
• To subtract 2 vectors, reverse the direction i.e.
change the sign of the vector to be subtracted,
and add

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Change in a Vector

m
Case 1

co
• If an object changes it's direction but not speed, then

e.
velocity vector will only change its direction but not

ur
magnitude.

ct
Case 2

le
• If an object changes it's direction and also speed, vector
ga
will change its direction as well as magnitude. So the
me

change in the vector would be final minus initial.

w.
ww

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Components of a Vector
• Any vector directed in two dimensions can be thought of
as having an influence in two different directions. That
is, it can be thought of as having two parts. Each part of a
vector is known as a component.

• 2N + 4N = 6N (2N and 4N are the components of 6N)

• The components of a vector depict the influence of that

vector in a given direction. The combined influence of
the two components is equivalent to the influence of the
single vector. The single vector could be replaced by the
two components.
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Components of a Vector

m
• Any vector can be thought of as having two

co
different components. The component of a

e.
ur
single vector describes the influence of

ct
that vector in a given direction.
le
ga
• 3N +4N = 7N (3N and 4N are the components of 7N)
me
w.
ww

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Resolution of vectors
• Resolving vectors into two perpendicular components

A vector can be broken down into components, which

are perpendicular to each other, so that the vector sum of
these two components, is equal to the original vector.

Splitting a vector into two components is

called resolving the vector. It is the reverse of using
Pythagoras' theorem to add two perpendicular vectors,
and so adding the two components will give you the
original vector.

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Resolution of vectors
• Resolving vectors into two perpendicular components

m
co
• Resolving a vector requires some simple trigonometry. In the

e.
diagram, the vector to be resolved is the force, F for angle A;

ur
ct
 the horizontal component of F :
 the vertical component of F :

le
ga
me
w.
ww

Note that the two components do not have to be horizontal and

vertical. The angle can be changed to any required direction, and
both components will still be perpendicular to each other

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Resolution of vectors
• Resolving vectors into two perpendicular components

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In short…

•Vectors addition and

m
co
subtraction can be

e.
ur
performed using diagram

ct
le
method or the resolve and
ga
me

recombine method
w.
ww

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Reference links – Vector Resolution

• http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/vector
s/u3l1d.cfm
• http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/vector
s/U3l1e.cfm

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1. Scalar quantities are quantities that only have

m
magnitudes

co
2. Vector quantities are quantities that have both

e.
magnitude and direction

ur
3. Parallel vectors can be added arithmetically

ct
le
4. Non-parallel vectors are added by graphical
ga
means using the parallelogram law.
me

5. Vectors addition and subtraction can be

w.

performed using diagram method or the resolve

ww

and recombine method

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Youtube videos links with explanation on :

General Physics - Physical quantities

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuoQUv7bY
2Y
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmy85_Ew
L0Y&feature=related

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m
co
e.
ur
ct
le
ga
me
w.
ww

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