DON MIKE FOUNDATION

PHYSICS 101
Topic 1: Units & Dimensions (Measurements)
What is Physics?
Physics is the fundamental of sciences, engineering and technology.
OR
Physics is the branch of science that explores the physical nature of matter and energy.

What is a Physical Quantity?

A Physical quantity is any measurable property of a substance.

Physical Quantities

Fundamental quantities Derived quantities

These are quantities that DO NOT DEPEND These are quantities that DEPEND on
on any previous measurements fundamental quantities

Examples M E T T A L L S P
Solid angle Plane angle
Mass Time Length
Electric current Luminous intensity
Temperature
Amount of subs

Before we continue,
Systems of Units
 S.I. unit system => kilogram - meter - second (generally recommended/acceptable)

 C.G.S. system => centimeter- gram – second

 F.P.S. system => foot - pound – second

 𝐹𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝐷𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠
𝐾𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 (𝑘𝑔) 𝑀
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠
𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 (𝑚) 𝐿 Basic
𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 (𝑠) 𝑇
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒
𝐾𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛 (𝐾) 𝐾 Fundamental
𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 (𝑚𝑜𝑙)
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑎 (𝑐𝑑)
𝐿𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦
𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒 (𝐴) 𝐴 𝑜𝑟 𝐼
𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 (𝑟𝑎𝑑)
𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 Supplementary
𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 (𝑠𝑡𝑑)
𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒

DERIVED QUANTITIES
The table below summarizes all fundamental quantities and their respective units.

Physical Quantity Formula Unit dimension

1. Speed 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑚𝑠 −1 𝐿𝑇 −1
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

2. Velocity 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑠 −1 𝐿𝑇 −1
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

3. Acceleration 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑚𝑠 −2 𝐿𝑇 −2

𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

4. Force/Tension/Thrust 𝑚𝑋𝑎 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚𝑠 −2 𝑀𝐿𝑇 −2

5. Pressure/Stress 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑁 𝑀𝐿−1 𝑇 −2

= 𝑘𝑔𝑚−1 𝑠 −2
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑚2

6. Work/Energy/Moment/Couple 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑋 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐽 = 𝑁𝑚 = 𝑘𝑔𝑚2 𝑠 −2 𝑀𝐿−2 𝑇 −2

7. Power 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑘𝑔𝑚2 𝑠 −2 𝑀𝐿−2 𝑇 −3

= 𝑘𝑔𝑚2 𝑠 −3
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑠
8. Specific Heat Capacity 𝑄 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑘𝑔𝑚2 𝑠 −2 𝐿2 𝑇 −2 𝐾 −1
= = 𝑚2 𝑠 −2 𝐾 −1
𝑚∆𝜃 𝑚∆𝜃 𝑘𝑔𝑐∆𝜃

9. Coefficient of Viscosity 𝑇𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑁/𝑚2 𝑀𝐿−1 𝑇 −1

= 𝑘𝑔𝑚−1 𝑠 −1
𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑉/𝑙

10. Momentum Mass x Velocity 𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑠 −1 𝑀𝐿𝑇 −1

11. Density 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑘𝑔 𝑀𝐿𝑇 −3

= 𝑘𝑔𝑚−3
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑚3

12. Centripetal Force 𝑚𝑣 2 𝑘𝑔. 𝑚2 𝑠 −2 𝑀𝐿𝑇 −2

= 𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑠 −2
𝑟 𝑚

13. Frequency 1 1 1 𝑇 −1
= = 𝑠 −1
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 𝑇 𝑠

14. Impulse 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑥 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑠 −2 . 𝑠 = 𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑠 −1 𝑀𝐿𝑇 −1

15. Surface Tension 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝐹 𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑠 −2 𝑀𝑇 −2

= = 𝑘𝑔𝑠 −2
𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑙 𝑚

16. Kinetic energy 1 𝐽 = 𝑁𝑚 = 𝑘𝑔𝑚2 𝑠 −2 𝑀𝐿2 𝑇 −2

𝑚𝑣 2
2

17. Average velocity 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑠 −1 𝐿𝑇 −1

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

18. Average acceleration 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑚𝑠 −2 𝐿𝑇 −2

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

19. Instantaneous velocity 𝑑𝑣 𝑚𝑠 −1 𝐿𝑇 −1

𝑑𝑡

20. Instantaneous acceleration 𝑑2 𝑣 𝑚𝑠 −2 𝐿𝑇 −2

𝑑𝑡 2

21. Temperature gradient 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝐾𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛 −1 𝐿−1 𝐾

𝑚 𝐾
𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑚

22. Tensile stress 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑠 −2 𝑀𝐿−1 𝑇 −2

= 𝑘𝑔𝑚−1 𝑠 −2
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑚2

23. Tensile strain 𝐸𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑚 𝑁𝑜 𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛

(𝑛𝑜 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡)
𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑚
24. Young’s Modulus 𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝐹/𝐴 𝐹 𝑀𝐿−1 𝑇 −2
= = 𝑘𝑔𝑚−1 𝑠 −2
𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑒/𝑙 𝐴

25. Bulk Modulus 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑘𝑔𝑚−1 𝑠 −2 𝑀𝐿−1 𝑇 −2

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑚3
𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑚3

∆𝑃 𝐹/𝐴 = 𝑘𝑔𝑚−1 𝑠 −2
= ∆𝑣 = ∆𝑣
𝑉 𝑉

26. Shear Modulus 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝐹/𝐴 𝐹 𝑀𝐿−1 𝑇 −2

= = 𝑘𝑔𝑚−1 𝑠 −2
𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 ∆𝑥/ℎ 𝐴

27. Energy density 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝐽 𝑁𝑚 𝑁 𝑀𝐿−1 𝑇 −2

= =
𝑉𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑚3 𝑚3 𝑚2

= 𝑘𝑔𝑚−1 𝑠 −2

28. Electromotive Force 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑔𝑚2 𝑠 −3 𝑀𝐿2 𝑇 −3 𝐼 −1

𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐼

= 𝑘𝑔𝑚2 𝑠 −3 𝐼 −1

From the table above, some quantities have the same Units &
Dimensions. See the categories below
1. Speed & Velocity

2. Impulse & Momentum

3. Pressure, Stress, Young’s modulus, Bulk modulus, Shear modulus & Energy density

4. Force, Thrust, Tension, Reaction, Weight

5. Work, Energy, Moment, Torque, Couple & Quantity of heat

 YOU NEED THE FOLLOWING TOO

𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑆𝑦𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑙

𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑅 𝑂ℎ𝑚 Ω

𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖. 𝑒. 𝑋𝑐 𝑜𝑟 𝑋𝐿 𝑂ℎ𝑚 Ω

𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑍 𝑂ℎ𝑚 Ω

𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝐺 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑂ℎ𝑚 Ω−1 𝑜𝑟 (Ω)−1

𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝐶 𝐹𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝐹

𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝐿 𝐻𝑒𝑛𝑟𝑦 𝐻

𝑃𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓. (𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒) 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠 𝑉

𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑥, 𝜙 𝑊𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑊

𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝐹𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑, 𝐵 𝑊𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑊 𝑚−2

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 − 𝑘𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛 𝑊 𝑚−1 𝑘 −1 or 𝑊/𝑚. 𝑘

APPLICATION OF PREFIXES IN CONVERSIONS

The standard PREFIXES are be divided into MULTIPLES & SUBMULTIPLES of units.

MULTIPLES SUB-MULTIPLES
𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑎 (𝐷) 101 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖 (𝑑) 10−1
𝐻𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜 (𝐻) 102 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖 (𝑐) 10−2
𝐾𝑖𝑙𝑜 (𝐾) 103 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖 (𝑚) 10−3
𝑀𝑒𝑔𝑎 (𝑀) 106 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜 (𝜇) 10−6
𝐺𝑖𝑔𝑎 (𝐺) 109 𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑜 (𝑛) 10−9
𝑇𝑒𝑟𝑎 (𝑇) 1012 𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑜 (𝑝) 10−12
𝑃𝑒𝑡𝑎 (𝑃) 1015 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑡𝑜 (𝑓) 10−15
𝐸𝑥𝑎 (𝐸) 1018 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑜 (𝑎) 10−18