Institute

of Mathematical Sciences and Physics

University of the Philippines Los Baños



Lecture 01:
Introduction to Physics &
Dimensional Analysis

PHYSICS 3 Lecture 1 SEMESTER 18-19| UPLB |

Outline

1. Introduction to Physics
2. Measurement
3. Unit Conversion
4. Dimensional Analysis

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Learning Objectives
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to
1)  Define PHYSICS;
2)  Explain MEASUREMENT;
3)  Implement Unit Conversions in problem solving.
4)  Perform Dimensional Analysis to check for errors in
the final answers.

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I. Introduction to Physics

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I. Introduction to Physics
What is Physics?

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I. Introduction to Physics
Physics as Science
•  SCIENCE
•  from Latin word “scientia” meaning “knowledge”
•  a systematized knowledge derived from observation,
study, facts, and principles.

•  PHYSICS
•  derived from “ta phusika” meaning “natural things”
•  thus, Physics is the “knowledge of nature”.

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I. Introduction to Physics
Physics is everything!
•  Is the science of matter and energy and their interactions
•  Is governed by laws and formalisms that explains the phenomena
of the exotic and of the everyday life
•  Is an experimental science

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I. Introduction to Physics
Physics is everything!

MATTER

ENERGY TIME

SPACE

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I. Introduction to Physics
Characteristic of Physics
§  Search for the truth
§  Creative human activity
§  Investigative
§  Empirical
§  Numerical
§  Changing, cumulative and seeks constancy
§  Encompassing and enduring
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I. Introduction to Physics

How do we study
physics?

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I. Introduction to Physics
Models – Theories – Laws

} MODELS - mental image of a
phenomena in terms of something
we are familiar with.

} THEORIES - attempt to solve a set
of problems, often with
mathematical precision.

} LAWS - concise but general

statements how nature behaves. 11
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I. Introduction to Physics
Why study PHYSICS?
Purely Scientific Sense
Physics, the most fundamental
science, is concerned with the
basic principles of the Universe.

It is the foundation upon which the

other sciences - astronomy, biology,
chemistry and geology – are based.
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I. Introduction to Physics
Why study PHYSICS?
Pragmatic Sense
Physics strengthens quantitative
reasoning and problem solving
skills that are valuable in areas
beyond physics.

You will be equipped with training

that you will be needing as you go
through your major subjects.
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I. Introduction to Physics
Branches of Physics
— Mechanics
— Thermodynamics
— Electricity and Magnetism
— Optics
— Modern Physics
Relativity
Quantum Mechanics
Condensed Matter
Nuclear physics
Astrophysics
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I. Introduction to Physics
q  Mechanics
deals with such ideas as inertia, motion, forces and energy.
q  Thermodynamics
deals with deals with the principles on heat flow, heat transformations and
temperature measurements.
q  Electricity and Magnetism
deals with other aspects of matter and space with emphasis on electric charge
and current.
q  Optics
concerned with the nature and propagation of light
q  Modern Physics
deals extension of physics on the atomic and macroscopic level

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I. Introduction to Physics

How do we establish
physical laws?

Scientific method
Problem. Hypothesis. Experiment. Data gathering.Data analysis. Conclusion
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II. Measurement
SCIENCE AND MEASUREMENT

Physics as experimental science requires

measurement. This is the only way to CREATE
NEW concepts, theories, laws and VERIFY the
existing ones.
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II. Measurement
Describing Physical Phenomenon

PHYSICAL QUANTITY
- any number that is used to describe a physical
phenomenon quantitatively.

Example : length, time, speed, mass, force

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II. Measurement
Nature of Physical Quantities
• Fundamental Quantities – quantities that exist by themselves.
•  time, length, mass, temperature
•  amount of matter, current, luminous intensity

• Derived Quantities – quantities that are dependent on other quantities.

•  area: length and length
•  velocity: length and time
•  acceleration: velocity and time
•  force: mass and acceleration

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II. Measurement
Types of Physical Quantities
• Scalar Quantities - quantities with magnitude ONLY

Example: length, mass, and concentration

• Vector Quantities -quantities with BOTH magnitude and
direction.

Example: velocity, acceleration, and force
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II. Measurement

MEASUREMENT is a technique of determining

UNKNOWN physical quantities (size, degree, amount,
and so forth), and COMPARE it to a known STANDARD.

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II. Measurement
System of Units OTHERS

ü  SI (Système Internationale)
• is the system universally used
by the scientific community
English

• also called as mks system SI

►  One variant of SI is the so called
“Gaussian“ or the cgs system, in
which length (centimetre), mass
(gram), and time (second).

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II. Measurement

Fundamental Quantities and SI Units

Fundamental SI Unit Abbreviation
Quantity
length meter m
mass kilogram kg
time second s
temperature kelvin K
electric current ampere A
amount of substance mole mol
luminous intensity candela cd
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II. Measurement
In Physics 3 we deal mostly with..

} Time :
Standard : 1 second
Definition : the time required for the 9 192 631 770 cycles of Cs – 133 atom

} Length
Standard : 1 meter
Definition : the distance traveled by light in vacuum in during a time interval of
1/299 792 458 of a second

} Mass
Standard : 1 kilogram
Definition : The mass of the International kilogram prototype kept at the France’s
International Bureau of Weights and Measure
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II. Measurement
MEASUREMENT AND INSTRUMENTS

— Measuring instruments, when calibrated in terms of the

standard, give a very good approximation of the
standard!
Ò  Remember to choose measurement instruments wisely - not all
instruments that can measure length, can actually measure length.

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II. Measurement
•  Prefixes in Measurements

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II. Measurement
Example:
An aspirin tablet contains 325 mg of acetylsalicylic acid.
Express this mass in grams.
Solution:
Given:
Recall that prefix “milli” implies 10-3, so
m = 325 mg

m = 325 mg = 325 x 10-3g
Find: = 0.325 g

m (grams)=?

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II. Measurement
Precision vs Accuracy
Precise
but not
Accurate
Precise and
Accurate

Not precise,
not Accurate Accurate
but not
precise

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III. Unit Conversion

} When units are not consistent, you may need to

convert to appropriate ones

} Units can be treated like algebraic quantities that
can cancel each other out

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TRIVIA!

September 23, 1999, communication with the spacecraft was lost as the
spacecraft went into orbital insertion, due to ground-based computer
software which produced output in non-SI units of pound (force)-
seconds (lbf·s) instead of the SI units of newton-seconds (N·s) specified
in the contract between NASA and Lockheed.
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III. Unit Conversion

} Three Types of Unit Conversion

1. Straightforward Linear Conversion

Example:
1 mile = 1609 m = 1.609 km
1 ft = 0.3048 m = 30.48 cm
1 m = 39.37 in = 3.281 ft
1 in = 0.0254 m = 2.54 cm
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III. Unit Conversion

} Three Types of Unit Conversion

2. Chain Conversion 1 mi = 1609 m
1 h = 60 min
15 mi / h = _______m / s 1 min = 60 s

mi ⎛ 1609m ⎞⎛ 1h ⎞⎛ 1 min ⎞ m
⇒ 15 ⎜ ⎟⎜ ⎟⎜ ⎟ ≈ 6.704166
h ⎝ 1mi ⎠⎝ 60 min ⎠⎝ 60 s ⎠ s

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III. Unit Conversion

} Three Types of Unit Conversion

3. Power Conversion

a.) 21 in2 = ____ cm2 1 in = 2.54 cm

b.) 100 m2 = _____ cm2 1 m = 100 cm

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IV. Dimensional Analysis
Dimensional analysis is a process of
algebraic manipulation of physical
quantities, considering only the
dimensions.

§  Dimension denotes the physical

nature of a quantity.
§  Dimensions can be treated as
algebraic quantities.
Makes sense?
§  Always remember that equations
should always be dimensionally
consistent.
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IV. Dimensional Analysis

Quantity Dimension Unit

length L meter (m)

mass M kilogram (kg)
time T second (s)

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IV. Dimensional Analysis
• OBJECTIVES:

• To determine the dimensions and SI units

of the quantity.
• T o determine if the equation is
dimensionally correct or incorrect.

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IV. Dimensional Analysis
• To determine the dimensions and SI units
of the quantity.
Physical Quantities Dimensions SI Units
1. volume L3 m3
2. acceleration (velocity/time) L/T2 m/s2
3. density (mass/volume) M/L3 kg/m3
4. force (mass × acceleration) M • L/T2 kg m/s2

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IV. Dimensional Analysis
• T o determine if the equation is
dimensionally correct or incorrect.

Equations Dimensions
1. pressure (force/area) M·L-1·T-2
2. work (force x distance) M·L2/T2
3. gravitational potential energy M·L2/T2
(Eg=mgh)
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IV. Dimensional Analysis
Example
Determine the dimension of the following quantities:
a. v = at
b. x = xo + vot + (½) a t2
c. D = m/V
where
[a] = L/T2 [t] = T
[vo] = L/T [xo] = L
[m] = M [V] = L3
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IV. Dimensional Analysis
Example:
Determine the dimension of the quantity called kinetic
energy (KE) given that

1 2 [ m] = M ; L
KE = mv ; [v ] =
2 T
2 2
⎛ L ⎞ ML
⇒ KE = M × ⎜ ⎟ = 2
⎝T ⎠ T
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IV. Dimensional Analysis
Example:
Determine the dimension of the Universal Gravitational constant G
using the Law of Universal Gravitation.

Given: FG = ma
m1m2 L
[a] = 2
FG = G 2 T
r [r ] = L
[G ] = [?]
[ m] = M
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Test Yourself:
1. Given mv = Ft, where m is mass, v is speed, F is force, and t is time,
what are the dimensions of each side of the equation? Is the equation
dimensionally correct?
2. Given H = mCDT, where H is in joules, m in kilograms, and DT in kelvin,
what are the SI units and dimensions of C?
3. Given P = kADT/l, where A is the area, DT is difference in
temperature, l is length, and k is a constant with SI units of watts per
(metre·kelvin), what are the SI units for P (rate of thermal energy flow)?
4. Given E = a l sin (bt), where E is energy, l is length and t is time:
(a) What are the dimensions and SI units of b?
(b) What are the dimensions and SI units of a?

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