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Key Points - Topic 01 Working As A Physicist - Edexcel Physics A-Level

This document provides an overview of key concepts in Edexcel Physics A-Level including: - The seven SI base units including mass, length, time, temperature, amount of substance, current, and units derived from them. - Unit prefixes that are used to express very large or small values, such as tera, mega, kilo, milli, and nano. - Significant figures and how they are used in calculations and measurements. - Types of experimental errors like random and systematic errors. - Key terms related to experiments such as precision, accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility. - The process by which new scientific knowledge is validated and accepted by the scientific community.

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Dusty Clane
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87 views8 pages

Key Points - Topic 01 Working As A Physicist - Edexcel Physics A-Level

This document provides an overview of key concepts in Edexcel Physics A-Level including: - The seven SI base units including mass, length, time, temperature, amount of substance, current, and units derived from them. - Unit prefixes that are used to express very large or small values, such as tera, mega, kilo, milli, and nano. - Significant figures and how they are used in calculations and measurements. - Types of experimental errors like random and systematic errors. - Key terms related to experiments such as precision, accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility. - The process by which new scientific knowledge is validated and accepted by the scientific community.

Uploaded by

Dusty Clane
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Edexcel Physics A-level

Topic 1: Working as a Physicist


Key Points

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SI Base Units
The base units are the set of seven units of measure from which all other SI
units can be derived. The ones you need to know are:

• Mass: Kilogram (kg) • Current: Amps (A)


• Length: Metre (m) • Temperature: Kelvin (K)
• Time: Second (s) • Amount of Substance: Mole (mol)

All other units can be expressed in terms of the base units. For example:
1 J = 1 kgm2s-2
1 V = 1 kgm2s-3A-1

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Unit Prefixes
Unit prefixes should be used when stating very large or very small values, in
order to avoid the use of large amounts of zeros or standard form. You need to
know the following prefixes:

T, tera: 1012 m, milli: 10-3


G, giga: 109 μ, micro: 10-6
M, mega: 106 n, nano: 10-9
k, kilo: 103 p, pico: 10-12
c, centi: 10-2 f, femto: 10-15

You can convert between prefixes and standard form. For example:
620 nm = 620 x 10-9 m = 6.20 x 10-7 m
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Significant Figures
Your calculated quantities should be given to the same number of significant
figures as the value with the least number of significant figures used in the
calculation.

In tables, data should be written to the same number of significant figures.


However, when the data has a large range (e.g it crosses several multiples of
10), the same number of decimal places should be used to avoid changing the
accuracy.

The number of decimal places of the logarithm of a value should be the same
as the number of significant figures of the value. For example, ln(61) should be
quoted as 4.11

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Experimental Key Terms
Random error: Measurements vary due to unpredictable circumstances. They cannot be corrected and
can only be mitigated by making more measurements and calculating a new mean.
Systematic error: Measurements differ from the true value by a consistent amount each time. They can
be corrected by using a different technique to take measurements and calibrating measuring instruments.
Precision: How close measurements are to each other and the mean.
Accuracy: How close a measurement is to the true value.
Repeatable: When the original experimenter repeats the investigation using the same method and
equipment and obtains the same results.
Reproducible: When somebody else repeats the investigation or the investigation is performed using
different equipment or techniques and the same results are obtained.
Resolution: The smallest change in a quantity being measured that gives a perceptible change in the
reading.

Physical measurements are limited by the resolutions of measuring instruments and errors in
measurements.

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Estimation of Physical Quantities
You can estimate the order of magnitude of physical quantities.
Examples include:

Radius of proton: 10-15 m


Radius of atom: 10-10 m
Height of human: 100 m
Radius of earth: 107 m

Estimation is a skill physicists must use in order to approximate the values


of physical quantities, in order to make comparisons, or to check if a value
they’ve calculated is reasonable.
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Benefits and Risks of Science
Throughout the course, you should consider the benefits and risks
that different scientific applications have on society. One of the major
areas where this prevalent is when considering nuclear physics:

● Nuclear radiation such as gamma rays can be used to target and kill
cancerous cell
● Radioactive tracers are regularly used in medical treatments
● Nuclear energy from fission is a very effective method of energy
production, that doesn’t contribute to global warming but that
does pose a risk of a nuclear disaster

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Validating new knowledge
Knowledge and understanding of any scientific concept changes over
time in accordance to the experimental evidence gathered by the
scientific community. However, these pieces of experimental evidence
must first be published to allow them to be peer-reviewed by the
community to become validated, and eventually accepted.

Once new knowledge has been accepted by the scientific community, it


can be used to inform the decisions made by society. For example,
investigations into the effectiveness and safety of a certain drug will allow
doctors to decide whether the benefits outweigh the risks and whether
they should administer that drug to their patients.

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