MEASUREMENT

&
LAWS
UNCERTAINTIES
 Objectives
. State the fundamental units of the SI system.
. Be able to express numbers in scientific notation.
. Appreciate the order of magnitude of various
quantities.
. Perform simple order-of- magnitude calculations
mentally.
 SI UNITS
In order to measure we
need to know or define
the quantity to be
measured and the units
for measuring it.
Units include pounds,
inches, seconds, grams,
centimetres etc.
 SI UNITS
Scientists agreed on one
International System of Units
(Systeme’ Internationale) to be
used to enable
comparison of results.
7 basic units were agreed
upon as follows:
 SI UNITS
Metre
Kilogram
Second
Ampere
Kelvin
Mole
Candela
 The direction of the force depends on the
directions of the field and current.The
Quantity
length
factors affecting
Unit Name
meter
the
Symbol
m
magnitude of the
time force are; second s
mass kilogram kg
a) The current
current ampere flowing
A in the conductor
temperature kelvin K
b)
Luminous The
intensity strength
Amount of substance
candela
mole
of
cd the magnet
mol
c) The length of the conductor in the
magnetic field.
BASIC AND DERIVED
QUANTITIES
Basic physical quantities
cannot be derived from any
other physical quantities.
Derived quantities are
obtained by multiplication
or division of basic physical
quantities.
Examples of derived
quantities are area, volume,
density, pressure etc.
Other physical quantities other have units that
are a combination of the seven fundamental
units.
They have derived units, e.g speed has units of
distance over time, (ms-1), acceleration (ms-2).
Similarly, the unit of force is the newton (N). It
equals the combination kgms-2.
Energy has the joule (J).This is a combination
Nm and so equals (kgm s ).
2 -2

The quantity power has units of energy per unit

of time, (J s-1).This combination is called a watt.
Thus: 1W = 1Nms = 1kgm s
-1 2 -3
 Tips
.
Use italics for quantities : v = 𝞓s/𝞓t
. Use Roman upright for units : s, hr, ft, m, A
. units written out in full always use the lower
case: ter, newton, pascal, ampere, second
me

. W en the symbol for the unit is written, it may b

h e

upper case if named for a person: N, P, A, s

m,
 Tips
. Instead of m/s, IB uses : m s-1
. Instead of kg/ m3 IB uses: kg m-3
. Prefixes are used to ease writing of cumbersome
very large numbers or very small numbers.
 FORCE
The magnitude
METRIC ONof
MULTIPLIERS CURRENT
this forceCARRYING
increases with
CONDUCTOR
increase in currentINand
A MAGNETIC FIELD
therefore field
strength.
Small or large quantities can be expressed in
The force
terms of units is maximum when the angle
between the conductor and the field is 90
thatdegrees.
are related
The force is minimum (zero) when the
to the basic ones
conductor is parallel to the magnetic field.
The force is increased by increasing the
by powers of 10.
length of the conductor in the magnetic field.
 Activity 1:

Test yourself using the following quiz…

Scientific notation means writing a number in the form
a × 10b, where a is decimal such that 1 ≤ a < 10 and b
is a positive or negative integer.The number of digits in
a is the number
Referoftosignificant figures
the worked examples in the
in pg. 3 - 4 number.
Test yourself pg. 6 - 7
- Tsokos

The coefficient (a) is 3.00, the base is 10, the exponent (b) is 8
ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE
Exp 2: KLB pg 77-78
Expressing a quantity as a plain power of 10 gives what
is called the order of magnitude of that quantity.
Example: What’s the order of magnitude for a 3.8 gram
sheet of paper?
3.8 grams = 3.8 x 10-3 kg rounds to 10-3 kg
( 3.8 is closer to 1 than 10), so :
The order of magnitude is 10-3 kg.
N/B:
vOrders of magnitude are numbers rounded off to the
nearest powers of 10.
vOrders of magnitude are used to compare the size of
physical data.
ACTIVITY 2:
vEstimate how many grains of sand are required to fill the volume of the
Earth.
vEstimate the speed with which human hair grows.
vEstimate how long the line would be if all the people on Earth were to
hold hands in a straight line. Calculate how many times it would wrap
around the Earth at the equator.
vEstimate how many apples it takes to have a combined mass equal to
that of an ordinary family car.
vEstimate the time it takes light to arrive at Earth from the Sun. (The
Earth–Sun distance is 1.5 × 1011 m.)
End of lesson 1
thank you
SIG.
 SIGNIFICANT
FIGURES,
STANDARD FORM &
DECIMAL PLACES
 OBJECTIVES
Express numbers to the required number
of significant figures.

Express numbers to the required number

of decimal places.

Express results of calculations to the

correct number of significant figures.
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES.
. Digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are significant
when they appear in a number. ✅
. The number of significant figures is determined
by counting the number of digits from the first
significant figure on the left.
. i.e 651 has 3 significant figures: 6 is the first, 5
is the second and 1 is the third significant figure.
 Cases where zero is
significant.
. Zero is sometimes significant and at times it is
merely used as a place holder.
. 1) When a zero occurs at the left end of a
number, it is not significant. ❎
. i.e Abdifatah’s admission number is 001. This
number has only 1 significant figure.
. The zeros in 0.2, 0.002, 0.000002 are not
significant. They are mere place holders.
 ✅
. cont….
2) If zero occurs between non-zero digits, it is considered significant.

.
i.e Laura’s admission number 202 has 3 significant figures.

0.002004, 2.004 and 20.04 have 4 significant figures each.

.

. 3) If zero occurs at the right hand end of a number and after a

decimal point, it is always significant. ✅
. i.e 8.00 has 3 significant figures.
.
cont….
4) If zero occurs at the right hand end of an integer,
it is not significant unless it is a rounded off value. ❎
. i.e Abdulmalik’s admission number is 100. This

number is 1 significant figure.

.
Can you guess how many significant figures are
there in Najma’s position number 010?
. Can you round off 99 to 1 significant figure?
 Arrange the following from the
highest to the lowest number of
significant figures.
. 15631.00
. 200000000 . 500.0
. 0.5 . 170
. 0.00013050 . 10.0007650
. 101000
. 0.000310
 diamond 9….
1
. Round off
237.5006250 to 2 3
the stated number
of significant
4 5 6
figures in the
diamond 9 as
shown:
7 8

9
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES
The number of digits used to express a number
carries information about how precisely the number
is known.
Refer to the worked examples in pg. 3 - 4
Test yourself pg. 6 - 7
- Tsokos
 Correct the following
numbers to 3 decimal places
then write the answer in
standard form.
. 0.08672912
. 0.00786984
. 732.1
. 23.100625
 Activity 2:

Test yourself using the following quiz…

How many significant ✍🏻
figures are in:
. 201
. 0.887
. 0.000054
. 0.100
. 900
. 2010
Home learning: Watch this video:
End of lesson 2
thank you
 1.2
UNCERTAINTIES
and
errors
LAWS
 Objectives
. Distinguish between accuracy and precision.

. Distinguish between random and systematic

uncertainties.

. Work with absolute, fractional and percentage

uncertainties.
 TYPES OF UNCERTAINTY
There are two main types of uncertainty or error
in a measurement.
They can be grouped into systematic and
random.
We may say that random uncertainties are
almost always the fault of the observer, whereas
systematic errors are due to both the observer
and the instrument being used.
GAME OF DARTS
 Systematic errors
. Biases measurements in the same direction;
always too large or too small i.e measurement
with zero errors, measurements that do not factor
in friction, temperature, parallax etc.
 Random errors
. A spread of values, some too small, some too
large.
. The average value gives a better estimate of the
measurement.
. The uncertainty can be calculated using the
standard deviation or half the range of values
 Question
The diameter of a steel ball is to be measured using a
micrometer caliper. The following are sources of error:

1 The ball is not centred between the jaws of the caliper.2 The
jaws of the caliper are tightened too much.3 The temperature of
the ball may change during the measurement.
4 The ball may not be perfectly round.
Determine which of these are random and which are systematic
sources of error.
 Answer
Sources 3 and 4 lead to unpredictable results, so they are random
errors.
Source 2 means that the measurement of diameter is always
smaller since the calipers are tightened too much, so this is a
systematic source of error.
Source 1 certainly leads to unpredictable results depending on how
the ball is centred, so it is a random source of error. But since the
ball is not centred the ‘diameter’ measured is always smaller than
the true diameter, so this is also a source of systematic error.
ANALOGUE INSTRUMENTS
The uncertainty in reading an instrument is ± half of the
smallest width of the graduations on the instrument.

DIGITAL INSTRUMENTS
We may take the reading error to be the smallest
division that the instrument can read.
 Take the reading:

M
 Take the reading:

M
 ACCURACY AND PRECISION
A measurement is said to be accurate if the systematic
error in the measurement is small.
This means in practice that the measured value is very
close to the accepted value for that quantity.
A measurement is said to be precise if the random
uncertainty is small.
This means in practice that when the measurement was
repeated many times, the individual values were close
to each other.
comment on the accuracy and precision:
 Propagation of uncertainties

For L = (28.3 ± 0.4) cm, we have that:

Best estimate/mean value = 28.3cm
Absolute uncertainty = 0.4cm
Fractional uncertainty =0.4/28.3 = 0.0141
Percentage uncertainty = 0.0141×100 = 1.41%
The absolutePropagation
uncertainty in
ofaddition and subtraction is
uncertainties
the sum of the absolute uncertainties of the quantities
involved.

The fractional uncertainty in multiplication and

division is the sum of the fractional uncertainties of the
quantities involved.

The fractional uncertainty in roots and powers is the

fractional uncertainty of the quantity multiplied by the
absolute value of the power.
 Activity
Propagation of uncertainties
The side a of a square, is measured to be (12.4 ± 0.1)
cm. Find the perimeter P of the square including the
uncertainty.
The sides of a rectangle are measured to be
a=2.5cm±0.1cm and b=5.0cm±0.1cm. Find the area A
of the rectangle.
A quantity Q is measured to be Q = 3.4 ± 0.5. Calculate
the uncertainty in a) 1/Q and b) Q2.
Propagation of uncertainties
Propagation of uncertainties
Propagation of uncertainties
End of lesson 3
thank you