PHYSICAL

QUANTITIES
The International System
of Units
BASE QUANTITY BASE UNIT (SI)

Name Symbol Name Symbol

Mass m kilogram kg

Length l meter m

Time t second s

Electric current I Ampere A

Amount of substance n mole mol

Temperature T Kelvin K

Luminosity L candela cd
 Physical Quantities
 A physical quantity is a measurable
property which is precisely define.
 Length is the amount by which two points
are separated.
 Mass is define as a measure of the
amount of matter that a body contains.
 Temperature is a numerical measure of
the hotness or coldness of a body.
 Physical Quantities
 Luminosity is the total amount of energy
radiated each second from the surface of a
source.
 Amount of substance is a measure of the
number of entities present in matter. The
specified entity may be an atom, molecule, ion
etc.
 Electric current is define as the rate of flow of
charge.
 Time is a measure of the interval of an event
or between events.
Homogeneity of equations
 The homogeneity of an equation refers to the
unit on the left hand side of an equation being
equivalent or equal to the unit on the right
hand side of the equation.
 Consider the following equation:
 T = 2(l/g)
 In the equation above T is the periodic time, l
is the length and g is the acceleration due to
gravity.
Homogeneity of equations
 Consider the LHS of the equation: the unit is
second(s)
 The unit of the acceleration due to gravity(g) is
ms-2 and the unit of length(l) is meter(m)
 Consider the RHS of the equation: 2  has no
units. Hence we have (m/ms-2) = s2
 s2 = s,  The equation is homogenous
since the unit on the LHS of the equation is the
same on the RHS of the equation.
 Derived Quantities
 Derived quantities are obtained from other
quantities including base quantities.
DERIVED QUANTITY DEFINING EQUATION DERIVED UNIT

density() Mass/Volume [m/V] kgm-3

pressure (p) Force/area [F/A] Nm-2

velocity(v) Displacement/time [s/t] ms-1

acceleration Change in velocity/time [v/t] ms-2

 Prefix
 This is affix before a unit to produce a new
unit which may be larger or smaller than the
original unit.
MULTIPLES SUB-MULTIPLES

Multiple Prefix Symbol Sub-multiple Prefix Symbol

103 kilo k 10-3 milli m

106 mega M 10-6 micro 

109 giga G 10-9 nano n

1012 tera T 10-12 pico p

 Applications of Prefix
 Hertz(Hz) is the unit of frequency.
109 Hz = 1 GHz
 Volt(V) is the unit of potential difference or
voltage.
1012 V = 1 TV
 Meter(m) is the unit of length.
106 µm = 1 m
 Farad(F) is the unit of capacitance.
1012 pF = 1 F
 Important Terms
 Accuracy refers to the closeness of the
measured value to the true value of a quantity.
 Precision refers to repeated measurements
being recorded which are similar or identical.
 Sensitivity is the response of the measuring
instrument to a small change.
 Range is the difference between the largest
and smallest value that can be recorded by
the measuring instrument.
 Measurement
 Any measurement recorded should be
expressed according to the number of
significant figures.
 Error is define as any uncertainty in a
measurement that is recorded.
 The errors that can occur in any measurement
are categorized into two groups. These are
random error and systematic error.
 Random Error
 Random errors are errors which are due to the
experimenter. The magnitude of this error will
vary. In order to minimise this error it is best
to record several measurements and then
determine the average. Examples of random
error include reaction time and parallax error.
 Parallax error
 Parallax error results when your line of sight is
not exactly align with what you are recording.
It is important in taking any measurement to
align oneself as exactly as possible to
eliminate or reduce this error.
Parallax error
 Systematic error
 Systematic errors are errors which are of the
same magnitude. It may be due to a poorly
calibrated instrument or an instrument which
has a zero error. To eliminate this error the
instrument would have to be recalibrated or
changed. Included in this type of error would
be a digital stop-watch running slowly or too
quickly.
 Measurement
 The suitability of a particular instrument for
carrying out a particular measurement can be
judged on the basis of sensitivity, accuracy,
precision and range.
 In the measurement of temperature, various
thermometers are used however not all are
suitable. It depends on the need and the
situations which such measurement are
required.
 Standard Form(Scientific
Notation)
 Any measurement can be expressed in
standard form. Standard form was
developed to represent very large values
or very small values.
 A general expression for standard form is
the following:
 A × 10n where n is an integer and
1  A  10
 Significant Figures
 The first significant figure is the first digit from
the left other than 0. Example in the number
0.06189 the first significant figure is 6.
 Note that the number 2390000 has only three
significant figures.
 If a measurement is approximated to specific
number of significant figures then the digit
following the final significant figure is of
importance.
 If this digit is left than 5 then the final significant
figure remains the same.
 Significant Figures
 If the digit is 5 or greater than 5 then to the final
significant figure 1 would be added.
 In doing any computation the final result is
determined by the number(measurement) with
the least number of significant figures.
 Consider the following measurement:
2.3684238 m. If this is approximated to three
significant figures the answer would be 2.37 m.
If instead the approximation was four significant
figures the answer would be 2.368 m.
 Error Analysis
 When using any laboratory instrument the error
in the measurement is the smallest amount that
can be recorded with that specific measuring
instrument.
 In evaluating the error in derived quantities the
following rules are used.
 Sum rule: Q = a + b where a and b quantities
and Q is the derived quantity.
Then the absolute error in Q can be calculated
in the following manner: Q = (a + b)
 Error Analysis
 Difference Rule: Q = a  b Then the absolute
error in Q is calculated in the following manner:
Q =  ( a + b)
 Product Rule: Q = ab Then the fractional error
in Q is calculated in the following manner: Q/Q
=  [ (a/a) + (b/b)]
 Quotient Rule: Q = a/b Then the fractional error
in Q is calculated in the following manner: Q/Q
=  [ (a/a) + (b/b)]
 Fractional error is also relative error.
 Error Analysis
 Consider the following equation:
 Q = abm/cn
 Then the fractional error in Q would be
obtained using the rules prior and taking
the exponents into account.
 Q/Q =  [ (a/a) + m(b/b) + n(c/c)]
 The percentage error is obtain by
multiplying the fractional error by 100.
 Error Analysis
 Example 1: Find the maximum possible error in
the measurement of the force on an object of
mass m travelling in a circle of radius r with a
speed v. The equation to determine the force is
F = mv2/r The following is also given, m =3.5
kg  0.1 kg, v = 20 ms-1  1 ms-1 and r = 12.5 m
 0.5 m.
 Error Analysis
 Solution to example 1
F/F =  [ (m/m) + 2(v/v) + (r/r)]
F = F[ (m/m) + 2(v/v) + (r/r)]
F = 3.5(20)2/12.5
F = 110 N
F = 110[ (0.1/3.5) + 2(1/20) + (0.5/12.5)]
F = 110[ 0.03 + 0.1 + 0.04]
F = 110(0.17) =  19 N
Ans F = 19 N
 Error Analysis
 It should be noted that constants have no error.
 Example 2: Given that a body has an initial
velocity u = (200  10) ms-1, an acceleration a =
(12  2) ms-2 and in covering a certain
distance(s) it takes a time(t) = (6.0  0.2) s
Calculate (i) distance travelled if
s = ut + at2/2
(ii) error in the distance travelled.
 Error Analysis
 Solution to example 2
(i) s = ut + at2/2
s = (200 × 6.0) + (12) × (6.0)2/2
s = 1200 + 220 = 1400 m
(ii) let B = ut and C = at2/2
then s = (B + C)
B/B = [ (u/u) + (t/t)]
B = 1200 m
B = 1200[ (10/200) + (0.2/6.0)]
 Error Analysis
B =  1200[ 0.05 + 0.03]
B =  96 m
C/C =  [ (a/a) + 2(t/t)]
C = 220 m
C =  220[ (2/12) + 2(0.2/6.0)]
C =  220[ 0.2 + 0.06] =  57 m
s =  [ 96 + 57] =  150 m
 Graphs
 When plotting graphs of experimental data ensure
that your axes are appropriately labelled with units
where required.
 Always plot points either using a  or 
 Where there is a linear correlation, then a line of ‘best
fit’ should be drawn, ideally using a transparent ruler.
 In drawing a line of ‘best fit’, all points should be
considered. N.B It is possible to draw a line of ‘best
fit’ which goes through none of the points.
 Graph
 The gradient of the
straight line graph can
be obtained using the
following formula
y2  y1
 m
x2  x1
 Remember that a
gradient can have a unit.
 Graph
 It is also important to recall the general equation
of a straight line where a linear relationship is
obtained graphically.
 Y = MX + C where M represents the gradient
and C is the intercept ( where the line cuts the y-
axis only)
 In the previous slide suppose the relationship
between the braking distance and the mass of
the vehicle was the following: s = km
 Then base upon the graph drawn the intercept
would be zero.
 Graph
 However by comparing s = km with Y = MX
then s would correspond to y and m to X this
implies by calculating the gradient k would
be found.
 Since the gradient = rise / run then the unit
for the gradient would be m/kg or mkg-1
which would also be the unit for k.
 The unit for k could also be obtained by
transposing s = km,  k = s/m