Senior High School – Grade 12

Science (Specialized Subject)

1 Units of Measure

According to Pythagorean teachings, numbers

are the universal archetype, “the principle, source,
and root of all things”. Pythagorean philosophers
believed that numbers were the elements of all
beings and the universe as a whole is composed of
the qualities (polarity, harmony, and proportion) of
these numbers.
Numbers have the power to reflect the essential
nature of reality. Our physical world – the events that
occurs, the things that exist, can all be described
through numbers. By obtaining numerical
information about our environment, we were able to
understand and predict its future behavior.
The science of physics has developed out of the
efforts of men and women to explain our physical
environment. This encompasses the importance of
quantifying the properties of our physical world.
 At the end of this module, you are expected to:
1. Solve measurement problems involving conversion of units
2. Express measurements with correct significant figures and in scientific notation
3. State uncertainties in measurements of physical quantities
4. Estimate errors from multiple measurements of physical quantities

Highlights
Lesson 1: Measurements
1. Units of Measurements
▪ Fundamental Quantities
▪ Systems of Measure
2. The Role of Units in Problem Solving
▪ Unit Conversions
3. Significant Figures and Scientific Notations
▪ Scientific Notations
▪ Rules for Significant Figures
▪ Significant Figures in Calculations
4. Effects of Instruments in Measurement
▪ Accuracy vs. Precision
▪ Uncertainties in Measurements
▪ Errors in Measurements
Today’s animation relies on computers and mathematical concepts such as trigonometry and vectors. These mathematical
concepts are useful in dealing with the laws of Physics
Kang, Jason.(n.d.). Rock Lee vs. Gaara. In Print. https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/moose/rock-lee-vs-gaara/
 1.1 Units of Measurements

“When you can measure what you are speaking about and expressed it in numbers, you know
something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers,
your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge,
but you have scarcely, in your thoughts, advanced to the stage of Science. ”

- Lord Kelvin, 1883

Physics begins with measurements. A Measurement is the assignment of numerical value to

an object’s physical properties. It is the quantification of the physical properties of our physical world.
Physics experiments involve the measurement of the variety of quantities, and a great deal of effort
goes into making these measurements as accurate and as reproducible as possible. The first step
toward ensuring accuracy and reproducibility is defining the units in which the measures are made.

For example:
If I were to describe the size of my shoe as 9,
you wouldn’t actually know how long my shoe
was because there is no context to what 9
represents (see figure 1.a). This measure would
only make sense if there is a unit of measure that
goes along with it (see figure 1.b).
Figure1.a Figure1.b
Source: http://clipart-library.com/free/shoes-clipart-png.html

Thus, in measurement, we also have to assign units to the numerical quantity to convey the
relative size or magnitude of the property.

What are the different physical properties to which we apply measurement?

Physical properties are physical characteristics which can be observed and be measured
without changing the composition of an object or a substance. These properties are quantifiable
through the use of the different measuring device. Such measurable properties are the fundamental
quantities to which we apply measurement. Fundamental Quantities are basic quantities that are
independent from one another. It includes the measure of length, mass, time, temperature, electric
charge, luminous intensities, and amount of substance.
 1.1 Units of Measurements

In order to have accurate and reproducible ways to define the magnitude of the different
quantities, scientists have developed various systems of measure. This system is made up of units
of measure, which are the standardized amounts of various physical quantities.
Two systems of measure are widely used in different countries: the English System and the
Metric System. Each system is represented by the abbreviations of its three basic units for length,
mass, and time. The metric system has two variations: the mks (meter, kilogram, second) and the
cgs (centimeter, gram, second) systems. On-the-other-hand, English system is otherwise known
as the fps (foot, pound, second) system.
The SI System is the international system of measure.SI System of Units, from the French
Le Système International d’Unités, is the modern form of the metric system. It is the system of
units that the General Conference on Weights and Measures has agreed upon and is legally
enforced in almost all parts of the world.
SI Units corresponding to the fundamental quantities are called base or fundamental units.
The SI fundamental units are meter, kilogram, second, kelvin, ampere, candela, and mole. Table 1.1
summarizes the definition of the Seven Fundamental Quantities and its SI Units.

Table 1.1 Fundamental Quantities and SI Units

Quantity Unit Symbol Description
One meter is the distance traveled by light in a medium
Length meter m
during a time interval of 1/299792458 of a second.
One kilogram is the standard platinum-iridium cylinder kept
Mass kilogram kg at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in
France.
One second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the
Time second s radiation corresponding to the transition between two
hyperfine levels of the ground state of cesium-133 atoms.

One kelvin is the fraction of 1/273.16 of the triple point of

Temperature Kelvin K
water.

One ampere is the constant current flowing in each of two

Electric long parallel wires, 1.0 m apart, that would produce
Ampere A
Current between these wires a force equal to 2 x 10-7 newton per
meter of length of each wire.

One candela is the luminous intensity in a given direction of

Luminous a source that emits a monochromatic radiation of frequency
candela cd
Intensity 540 x 1012 Hz and that has a radiant intensity in that
direction of 1/683 watts per steradian.

One mole is the amount of substance that contains as

Amount of
mole mol many atoms or molecules as there are atoms in 0.012 kg of
Substance
carbon-12.
Source: SI Brochure. The International System of Units (SI), 8th edition, 2006; updated in 2014.
 1.1 Units of Measurements
Units of fundamental quantities are also known as the base units. Base units help in defining
a more complex units known as the Derived quantities/units – a combination of any of the
fundamental quantities/base units. The most common fundamental quantities used in defining
derived quantities are shown in table 1.2.

Table 1.2 Most Common Fundamental Quantities Used in Defining

Derived Quantities
Quantity Mathematical Label Base SI Units/ Measure
Length l, x Meter (m)

Mass m Kilogram (kg)

Time t Second (s)

Temperature T Kelvin (K)

*Note: mathematical labels are the symbols used in equations and formulas.

Examples:
Let’s study the following examples of derived quantities

• Area – product of two measures of length

= (l)(w) = (m)(m) = m2
• Volume – product of three measures of length
= (l)(w)(h) = (m)(m)(m) = m3
• Acceleration – ratio between length or distance and the square of time
𝑚
𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦(𝑉) 𝑠
𝑎= 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒(𝑡)
= 𝑠
= m/s2

• Force – product of mass and acceleration

𝑚
F= (mass)(acceleration) = (𝑘𝑔)( 𝑠 ) = kg ▪ m/s2 = Newton
𝑠
• Pressure – ratio between force and area
𝑚
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒(𝐹) (𝑘𝑔)( 𝑠𝑠 ) 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑡𝑜𝑛
𝑃= = = = N/m2
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎(𝐴) (𝑚)(𝑚) 𝑚2

• Density – quotient of mass and volume (usually written using cgs system)
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 (𝑚) 𝑔 𝑔
𝜌 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 (𝑣) =
(𝑐𝑚)(𝑐𝑚)(𝑐𝑚)
= 𝑐𝑚3
 1.1 Units of Measurements

Other than the fundamental SI quantities and their units, here are other quantities recognized in
the system as well, shown in Table 1.3.

Table 1.3 Common SI Units

Derived quantities build upon the different combinations of fundamental quantities or what
we call base units. For the items below, identify whether the SI Unit needed to describe
the following scenarios as Base Units or Derived Units.
1. The speed of gliding down the zipline of Embarcadero. _______________
2. Power consumed by the province of Albay. _______________
3. Height of Mayon Volcano _______________
4. Low water pressure in Legazpi. _______________
5. Distance from Sawangan Park to BUCEILS. _______________
 1.2 The Role of Units in Problem Solving

The value of the different fundamental and derived quantities is sometimes composed of very
large or very small numbers. In such cases, it is convenient to introduce larger or smaller units that
are related to the normal units by multiples of 10. These multiples are denoted by the prefixes
recommended by the General Conference on Weights and Measures. Below is the summary of the
SI Prefixes and its unit equivalent.

*note: meter is used as an example of base unit

Source: https://wildcountryfinearts.com/metric-table/

Metric units can be modified by these prefixes, allowing for the formation of numerous possible
SI Units of measurements. For instance, a millisecond is a time unit formed by adding the prefix
milli- means one-thousandth (1/1000-th) to the base unit second. So, a millisecond (ms) is a small
measure of time equivalent to one-thousandth (0.001) of a second.
All these prefixes are decimal based, leading to statements like…

1000 meter (m) = 1 x 103 meter = 1 kilometer (km)

-3
0.001 meter (m) = 1 x 10 meters = 1 millimeter (mm)
3
1000 grams (g) = 1 x 10 grams = 1 kilogram (kg)
0.001 gram (g) = 1 x 103 gram = 1 milligram (mg)
 1.2 The Role of Units in Problem Solving

The SI prefixes can be used to easily convert between a given quantity in one unit and the
same amount expressed in a related unit. Since the metric system is a decimal system, most
conversions involve multiplying or dividing by some power of 10. You can think of this as the
movement of a decimal point to the left or to the right of the quantity (see figure 4 for example).

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Measurement-and-Units/Metric-System/conceptBuilderHelp/help1
Figure 4.

How do we perform unit conversion?

1. Write down the quantity to be converted with its units explicitly.
2. Identify and write down the conversion factor with the unit you want on top and the unit you
want to replace at the bottom. (note that a conversion factor is a numerical fraction or ratio that
can be used as a multiplication factor)
3. Multiply the original quantity by the conversion factor
4. Treat all units as algebraic quantity. In particular, after the numerical calculation, perform
also the operation to the units, then eliminate similar units that appears from both the
numerator and the denominator of the quantity.
5. Write down your final answer by equating or stating the equivalence between the converted
units. If it is a word problem, include a statement which describes what the converted value
means.
 1.2 The Role of Units in Problem Solving

Sample Problem Set 1.

1. Convert 55 kilometers to meters.
2. Convert 12 grams to kilograms
3. Convert 30 seconds to milliseconds
Solutions:
1. 55 km to _____ meters

Step 1: Write down the quantity with its units. Our original quantity is
55 km
Step 2: Identify and write down the conversion factor
We want to convert km to m, since there are 1000 m in 1 km, we use this as our
conversion factor. Write down the unit you want to replace at the denominator of the
fraction.
𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎𝒎
𝟏 𝒌𝒎
Step 3: Multiply the given quantity with the conversion factor
𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒎 𝒌𝒎 ∙ 𝒎
𝟓𝟓𝒌𝒎 × = 𝟓𝟓 𝟎𝟎𝟎
𝟏 𝒌𝒎 𝒌𝒎
Step 4: Treat all units as algebraic quantity. Eliminate units if necessary
In our previous step, notice that after multiplying the original quantity with the
conversion factor, the units are also combined. If there are similar units from both
the denominator and numerator, eliminate the units
𝒌𝒎 ∙ 𝒎
𝟓𝟓 𝟎𝟎𝟎 = 𝟓𝟓 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒎
𝒌𝒎
Step 5: Write down the equivalence of the original and converted value.
55 km = 55 000 m
This means that, there is 55 000 meters in 55 kilometers.

Solutions to items 2 and 3 are shown below.

 1.2 The Role of Units in Problem Solving

2. 12 grams to _______ kilograms

1𝑘𝑔
Given: 12 g Conversion factor:
1000𝑔
𝟏𝒌𝒈
𝟏𝟐 𝒈 = 𝟏𝟐𝒈 ×
𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒈
𝒈 ∙ 𝒌𝒈
= 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟏𝟐 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟏𝟐 𝒌𝒈
𝒈
Final Answer:
𝟏𝟐 𝒈 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟏𝟐 𝒌𝒈
3. 30 seconds to _______ milliseconds

1000 𝑚𝑠
Given: 30 s Conversion factor:
1𝑠
𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒎𝒔
𝟑𝟎 𝒔 = 𝟑𝟎 𝒔 ×
𝟏𝒔
𝒔 ∙ 𝒎𝒔
= 𝟑𝟎 𝟎𝟎𝟎 = 𝟑𝟎 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒎𝒔
𝒔
Final Answer:

𝟑𝟎 𝒔 = 𝟑𝟎 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒎𝒔

Any quantity, such as length, can be measured in several systems of units. For instance, most
of the quantities in different physical laws are derived quantities. For example, newton is a derived
𝑚
quantity of length, mass, and time expressed as 𝑘𝑔 2. In some cases, you may be asked to express
𝑠
it in cgs, requiring you to convert kilograms to grams, and meters to centimeters.
Example:
The SI unit of force is newton, represented by a capital letter N. One newton of force gives
a 1.0 kg body an acceleration of 1.0 m/s2. 1 N is equal to 1 kg ▪ m/s2. A smaller unit of
force is the dyne. If 1 dyne = 1 g ▪ cm/s2, how many dynes are there in 1 N?

Given: Our original quantity is 1 N and we were asked to convert it into dyne
1 N = _____ dyne
𝒎 𝒄𝒎
1 𝒌𝒈 = _____ 𝒈
𝒔𝟐 𝒔𝟐
 1.2 The Role of Units in Problem Solving

Conversion factor: since both are derived quantities, there might be more
than one unit that has a need to be converted. In this case, we need to
identify the conversion factor for converting kg to g and m to cm. The
conversion factors are shown below.
1000𝑔
For kg to g -
1𝑘𝑔
100𝑐𝑚
For m to cm -
1𝑚
Solution:
𝒌𝒈 ∙ 𝒎 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒈 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝒄𝒎 𝒄𝒎
𝟏𝑵=𝟏 𝟐 × × = 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒈 𝟐
𝒔 𝟏 𝒌𝒈 𝟏𝒎 𝒔
Final Answer:
There are 100 000 dynes in 1 N
𝒄𝒎
𝟏 𝑵 = 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝒈
𝒔𝟐
𝟏 𝑵 = 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒅𝒚𝒏𝒆𝒔

Converting to English (fps) System is rather an inconvenient system because the units bear
irregular ratio to one another. For instance, in some countries they make use of the fps system in
measuring the length. In 1 meter there are 3.281 feet, this number is used as the conversion ratio
for converting meters to feet and vice versa.
Example:
Limunsudan waterfalls in Iligan City is the highest two-tiered
waterfall in the Philippines, with a combined drop of 270.0 m
(see figure 5). Express this drop in feet.

Given: 270.0 meters = _____ feet

Conversion factor: Since 3.281 ft is 1 meter, it follows that
the conversion faction be
3.281 𝑓𝑡
1𝑚
Solution:
𝟑. 𝟐𝟖𝟏 𝒇𝒕
𝟐𝟕𝟎. 𝟎 𝒎 = 𝟐𝟕𝟎. 𝟎 𝒎 = 𝟖𝟖𝟓. 𝟖𝟔 𝒇𝒕 Figure 4. Limunsudan Waterfall in Iligan is the
𝟏𝒎 highest 2-tired waterfall in the Philippines
Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YvWLzekkjqk/TqijFi-
PNDI/AAAAAAAADYs/eAiuBr8XQDM/s1600/limunsudan_falls.jpg
 1.2 The Role of Units in Problem Solving

Final Answer:
The combined drop of Limunsudan waterfalls expressed in feet is 885.86 ft

𝟐𝟕𝟎. 𝟎 𝒎 = 𝟖𝟖𝟓. 𝟖𝟔 𝒇𝒕

Figure 5 Summarize some of the most common conversion factors you might use in our
future discussions.

Figure 5. Common Conversion Factors

 1.2 The Role of Units in Problem Solving

Express the following units in the desired unit of measure.

1. Express the speed limit of 65 miles/hour in terms of meters
/second.
2. An athlete maintains his Body Mass Index (BMI) to normal
(see figure 6 BMI). His mass measures 75 kg and has a
height of 1.85 m. If BMI is defined by the equation below,
find the body mass index of the athlete in lbs/in2. Did he
maintain a normal BMI? Figure 6. Body Mass Index

*note: there’s no need to submit answers concept builders as these are practice problem. Also,
answers to concept builders will be send tomorrow.

Activity No. 1 Units of Measure

Direction: Convert the following values into the desired units.
1. Nanotechnology is a term that embraces the use of materials in the order of a
nanometer. What is 2.0 nanometers in (a) meters and (b) centimeters?
2. A student sees a newspaper ad for an apartment that has 1330 square feet (ft2) of
floor space. How many square meters of area are there?
3. Onoda eneter the Le Tour de Filipinas. He reaches a speed of 34.0 miles per hour
(mi/h) on the flat sections of the road. What is his speed in terms of (a) kilometers per
hour; and (b) meters per second?
Cutnell, J. & Johnson, K. (2009). Physics, 8th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Silverio, A.A.(2007). Exploring Life through Science: Physics. Phoenix Publishing House Inc.
Pythagoreanism.(2021). Pythagoreanism: Number, Cosmos, and Harmony. Website.
https://science.jrank.org/pages/10928/Pythagoreanism-Number-Cosmos-Harmony.html
ProEdify.(2016).Units of Measure: Scientific Measurements and SI System [video file]. YouTube.
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/15584170/draw-sphere-on-timage-control-of-delphi