St.

Paul University Philippines

Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

BASIC EDUCATION UNIT

PAASCU LEVEL III ACCREDITED
ISO CERTIFIED

LEARNING PLAN 1: MEASUREMENTS, SCALARS AND VECTORS, KINEMATIC

QUANTITIES, UNIFORMLY ACCELERATED MOTION

INTRODUCTION

Physics is the branch of science which deals with matter and its relation to energy.
It involves study of physical and natural phenomena around us. Examples of these phenomena are formation of
rainbow, occurrence eclipse, the fall of things from up to down, the cause of sunset and sunrise, formation of
shadow and many more. The focus of module 1 is about measurements, sources and types of error, vectors and
vector addition, uniformly accelerated linear motion, and free fall. In this module, we will investigate the words
used to describe the motion of objects. That is, we will focus on the language of kinematics. The hope is to gain
a comfortable foundation with the language that is used throughout the study of mechanics. We will study such
terms as scalars, vectors, distance, displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration. These words are used with
regularity to describe the motion of objects. Your goal should be to become very familiar with their meaning.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Differentiate random errors from systematic errors, and vectors from scalar quantities.
2. Interpret displacement and velocity, and velocity and acceleration, respevtively as areas under velocity
vs.time, acceleration vs. time, position vs. time, and velocity vs time curves.
3. Solve, using experimental and theoretical approaches, multiconcept, rich-content problems involving
measurement, vectors, motion in 1D and 2D and Newton's Law.

LESSON PROPER

Systems of Measurement
A measurement is made up of number and a unit. for example the length of a table is 2 meters long. To have
accurate measurements, you must make sure that both the number and unit are correct.

Metric System vs. English System

The metric system is an internationally agreed decimal system of measurement created in France in 1799. The
International System of Units (SI), the official system of measurement in almost every country in the world, is
based upon the metric system.
In the metric system, each basic type of measurement (length, weight, capacity) has one basic unit of measure
(meter, gram, liter). Conversions are quickly made by multiplying or dividing by factors of 10. It is as simple as
moving the decimal point to the right (for smaller prefixes) or to the left (for larger prefixes).
To remember the proper decimal movement, arrange the prefixes from largest to smallest:
While the metric system was lawfully accepted for use in the United States in 1866, the US has not adopted the
metric system as its "official" system of measurement. The US English System of measurement grew out of the
manner in which people secured measurements using body parts and familiar objects. For example, shorter
ground distances were measured with the human foot and longer distances were measured by paces, with one
mile being 1,000 paces. Capacities were measured with household items such as cups, pails (formerly called
gallons) and baskets.
Obviously this system allowed for discrepancies between measurements obtained by different individuals. A
standard was eventually set to ensure that all measurements represented the same amount for everyone.
Conversion Table 1.1: English to Metric System

Example # 1: How many inches are there in 12 m?

Solution: You can see from the given table that there is no direct conversion from inches to meters. You may
relate inches to centimeters by first converting the metric quantities.
1 in = 2.54 cm
100 cm = 1m
From these equalities, you can list the following conversion factors:

1∈ ¿ ¿ 2.54 cm
2.54 cm and 1∈¿ ¿

100 cm 1m
and
1m 100 cm
Using d as the variable to represent the length of 12 m and the appropriate conversion factors, the solution for
the problem is as follows.
 100 cm 1∈ ¿
d = 12 m ( 1m ) ( 2.54 cm )
¿ = 472 in There are 472 in for every 12 m.

Example #2 : Metropolitan Water uses cubic meter (m3) as the unit of a volume of water used in each
household. Determine how many cubic meters are there in a 15 L tank of water.
Solution: Let the volume of the tank be represented by V. Note that the unit equalities that you can use are the
following:
1 L = 1000 ml
1 ml = 1 cm3
100 cm = 1 m
Setting the equation, you have
1000 ml 1cm 3 1m
V = 15 L ( 1L ) ( 1L ) ( 100 cm ) 3
V = 0.0015 m3
Example #3:
The speed of a car as measured by a speedometer is 85 km/h. Convert this unit to cm/s.
Solution: For this case, the unit is expressed in ratio and you need to convert units used in both the numerator
and the denominator. Let v represent the speed of the car. Note the following unit equalities:
1 km = 1000 m
1 m = 100cm
1h = 3600 s
Then you have the following equation:
km 1000 m 100 cm 1h
v= 85
h
( 1 km
) ( 1m
) ( 3600 s )
cm
v = 2361.11 s

Example #4: Convert 0.02515 ft3 to cm3

1 ft = 30.48 cm
30.48 cm 3
0.02515 ft3 =( ) = 712.17 cm3
1 ft
Unit Prefixes
A prefix is a letter or a group of letters added at the beginning of the base word to change its meaning. In
measurement, a unit prefix or metric prefix can be used to make a new unit larger or smaller than the base unit.
Table 1.2 summarizes some unit prefixes
Table 1.2: Prefixes for Powers of 10 Example # 5: Mega (M)
The radius of the Earth is about = 6 400 000 m or 6.4 x 106 m
The radius of the Earth is about 6.4 Mm (6.4 Mega meters)
6.4 Mm = 6.4 x 106 m
Example # 6: Micro (μ)
The size of a smoke particle = 0.00 0002 m or 2 x 10-6 m
The size of a smoke particle = 2 μm (2 micro meters)
2 μm = 2 x 10-6 m
Scientific Notation
Scientific notation is a way of writing very large or very small numbers. A number is written in scientific
notation when a number between 1 and 10 is multiplied by a power of 10. For example, 650,000,000 can be
written in scientific notation as 6.5 ✕ 108.
Example # 7: Express 1000 and 0.001 in powers of 10.
1000 can be written as 103
1 0 0 0.
Step 1: 1.000
If the given number is greater than 1, move the decimal point to the left. Place the
decimal point before the left most non-zero digit.
Step 2: 103
Count the number of times that you moved the decimal point. That will be written as the
power.

0.001 can be written as 10-3

Step 1: 000.1
If the given is less than 1, move the decimal point to the right until you reach the first
non-zero digit. Place the decimal point after the first non-zero digit.

Step 2: 10-3
Count the number of times that you moved the decimal point. That will be written as the
power. The negative sign indicates that the figure is less than 1.

Uncertainty in Measurement

Certain digits – ones that the measuring instruments can give you
Least counts – smallest marked division in the measuring instruments
Uncertain digits – estimated

Example # 8: In the figure presented, what is the volume

reading for the cylinder?

Solution:
Certain digit is 20
Least Count is 1

Therefore, the reading must be reported as 21.8 ± 0.1 ml

Precision and Accuracy Figure 1.1

Precision – Represents how close or consistent Accuracy – The closeness of a measured value to
the independent measurements of the same the expected or true value of a physical quantity.
quantity are to one another.
Example # 10:
Example # 9:
Note that precision is not the same as accuracy. For example, a digital watch that reports a time 0f 04:22:05
A.M. is very precise because time is given to the second. But if the watch runs several minutes slow, then this
value is not accurate. On the other hand, grandfather clock might be very accurate (that is, it gives the correct
time), but if it has no second hand, then it is not very precise. A valuable measurement should be both precise
and accurate.

Figure 1.2. A comparison of accuracy and precision explained through a game of darts

Sources and Type of Errors

Random Errors – results from unpredictable or inevitable changes during data measurement.
Systematic Errors – usually came from the measuring instrument or in the design of the experiment itself

Describing Accuracy and Precision

Percent Error Percent Difference

- When there is an expected or - how far apart the different measured values
true value of a quantity - Indication of precision
- Indication of accuracy
x 1−x 2
Percent Error =
x−xT
x 100% % Diff = x 1+ x 2 x 100%
xT 2

xT – true accepted value x1 and x2 are measured values

x – measured value

Example # 11:
Joshua uses his thermometer and finds the boiling point of ethyl alcohol to be 75o C.  He looks in a reference
book and finds that the actual boiling point of ethyl alcohol is 80oC.  What is his percent error?

Given: x = 75o C Find: % Error

xT = 80 o C

Solution:
x−xT
% Error = x 100%
xT
= 75° C - 80 o C
X 100
80 o C
= | - 6.25 % |

Example # 12:
Suppose you obtained a value of 9.95 m/s2 for acceleration due to the gravity (g) in an experiment. To compare
this with the result of 10.2 m/s2 from the second trial of the same experiment, you would calculate the percent
difference to be
Given : x1 = 9.95 m/s2
x2 = 10.2 m/s2

9.95−10.2
% diff = 9.95+ 10.2 x 100
2

% diff = | - 2.48 % |

SCALARS AND VECTORS

Building Vocabulary
1. Mechanics - the study of the motion of objects.
2. Kinematics - is the science of describing the motion of objects using words, diagrams, numbers, graphs,
and equations.
3. Scalars are quantities that are fully described by a magnitude (or numerical value) alone.
Ex. Distance ( 2 meters)

4. Vectors are quantities that are fully described by both a magnitude and a direction.
Ex. Displacement ( 2m , East)

Representing Vectors

Vector quantities are often represented by scaled vector diagrams. Vector

diagrams depict a vector by use of an arrow drawn to scale in a specific direction.
Vector diagrams used to depict the forces acting upon an object. Such diagrams
are commonly called as free-body diagrams.

• a scale is clearly listed

• a vector arrow (with arrowhead) is drawn in a specified direction. The vector arrow has a head and
a tail.
• the magnitude and direction of the vector is clearly labeled. In this case, the diagram shows the
magnitude is 20 m and the direction is (30 degrees West of North).

Describing Directions of Vectors

Vectors can be directed due East, due West, due South, and due North. But some
vectors are directed northeast (at a 45 degree angle); and some vectors are even
directed northeast, yet more north than east. Thus, there is a clear need for some form
of a convention for identifying the direction of a vector that is NOT due East, due
West, due South, or due North. There are a variety of conventions for describing the
direction of any vector. The two conventions that will be discussed and used in this
unit are described below:
Two illustrations of the second convention (discussed above) for identifying the direction of a vector are shown
below.

Observe in the first example that the vector is said to have a direction of 40 degrees. You can think of this
direction as follows: suppose a vector pointing East had its tail pinned down and then the vector was rotated an
angle of 40 degrees in the counterclockwise direction. Observe in the second example that the vector is said to
have a direction of 240 degrees. This means that the tail of the vector was pinned down and the vector was
rotated an angle of 240 degrees in the counterclockwise direction beginning from due east. A rotation of 240
degrees is equivalent to rotating the vector through two quadrants (180 degrees) and then an additional 60
degrees into the  third quadrant.

ONLINE HELP
For more information on physical descriptions of motion,
scan the code to direct you in the Physics Classroom
Tutorials.

Addition of Vectors Using Graphical Method

Suppose you want to walk from one point to another in a city with uniform square blocks, as pictured in Figure
1.3. The straight-line path that a helicopter might fly is blocked to you as a pedestrian, and so you are forced to
take a two-dimensional path, such as the one shown. You walk 14 blocks in all, 9 east followed by 5 north.
What is the straight-line distance?

Note: We shall use the notation that a boldface symbol, such as D, stands for a vector. Its magnitude is
represented by the symbol in italics, D, and its direction by θ.

Figure 1.3. A person walks 9 blocks

east and 5 blocks north. The
displacement is 10.3 blocks at an
angle 29.1º north of east
 Figure 1.4. To describe the resultant
vector for the person walking in a
city considered in Figure 1.3
graphically, draw an arrow to
represent the total displacement
vector D. Using a protractor, draw a
line at an angle θ relative to the east-
west axis. The length D of the arrow
is proportional to the vector’s
magnitude and is measured along the
line with a ruler. In this example, the
magnitude D of the vector is 10.3

Vector Addition: Head-to-Tail Method

The head-to-tail method is a graphical way to add vectors, described in Figure 4 below and in the steps
following. The tail of the vector is the starting point of the vector, and the head (or tip) of a vector is the final,
pointed end of the arrow.

Figure 1.5. Head-to-Tail Method: The head-to-tail method of graphically adding vectors is illustrated
for the two displacements of the person walking in a city considered in Figure 1.3. (a) Draw a vector
representing the displacement to the east. (b) Draw a vector representing the displacement to the north.
The tail of this vector should originate from the head of the first, east-pointing vector. (c) Draw a line
from the tail of the east-pointing vector to the head of the north-pointing vector to form the sum or
resultant vector D. The length of the arrow D is proportional to the vector’s magnitude and is
measured to be 10.3 units. Its direction, described as the angle with respect to the east (or horizontal
axis) θ is measured with a protractor to be 29. 1º.
Step 1.  Draw an arrow to represent the first vector (9 blocks to the east) using a ruler and protractor

Step 2. Now draw an arrow to represent the second vector (5 blocks to the north). Place the tail of the second
vector at the head of the first vector.

Step 3.  If there are more than two vectors, continue this process for each vector to be added. Note that in our
example, we have only two vectors, so we have finished placing arrows tip to tail.

Step 4. Draw an arrow from the tail of the first vector to the head of the last vector. This is the resultant, or the
sum, of the other vectors.
Step 5. To get the magnitude of the resultant, measure its length with a ruler. (Note that in most calculations, we
will use the Pythagorean theorem to determine this length.)

Step 6. To get the direction of the resultant, measure the angle it makes with the reference frame using a
protractor. (Note that in most calculations, we will use trigonometric relationships to determine this angle.)

The graphical addition of vectors is limited in accuracy only by the precision with which the drawings can be
made and the precision of the measuring tools. It is valid for any number of vectors.

ONLINE HELP
For more examples of adding vectors using graphical
method scan the code to direct you on the website.

Addition of Vectors Using Analytical Method

The analytical method of vector resolution involves using

trigonometric functions to determine the components of the vector. 
Now in this part of lesson 1, trigonometric functions will be used to

Opposite side
e
determine the components of a single vector. Trigonometric functions t enus
o c
can be used to determine the length of the sides of a right triangle if hyp b
an angle measure and the length of one side are known.
The basic concept of trigonometry are important in the analytical θ a
method. Consider a right triangle with sides a and b, and hypotenuse Adjacent side
c. The lengths of these sides are related through Pythagorean Theorem
c 2 = a2 + b2

With reference to one of the angles (θ) of the right triangle, you can write a number of ratios of the sides of the
following

opposite side adjacent side opposite side

sin θ = cos θ = cos θ =
hyponenuse hyponenuse adjacent side

Example # 13
When the two vectors are added head-to-tail as shown below, the resultant is the hypotenuse of a right triangle.
The sides of the right triangle have lengths of 11 km and 11 km. The resultant can be determined using the
Pythagorean theorem; it has a magnitude of 15.6 km. The solution is shown below the diagram.

Example # 14
A student drives his car 6.0 km, North before making a right hand turn and driving 6.0 km to the East. Finally,
the student makes a left hand turn and travels another 2.0 km to the north. What is the magnitude of the overall
displacement of the student?
Step 1
Like any problem in physics, a successful solution begins with the development of a mental picture of the
situation. The construction of a diagram like that below often proves useful in the visualization process.

Step 2
When these three vectors are added together in head-to-tail fashion, the resultant is a
vector that extends from the tail of the first vector (6.0 km, North, shown in red) to
the arrowhead of the third vector (2.0 km, North, shown in green). The head-to-tail
vector addition diagram is shown below.

Step 3
As can be seen in the diagram, the resultant vector (drawn in black) is not the
hypotenuse of any right triangle - at least not of any immediately obvious right
triangle. But would it be possible to force this resultant vector to be the
hypotenuse of a right triangle? The answer is Yes! To do so, the order in which
the three vectors are added must be changed. The vectors above were drawn in the
order in which they were driven. The student drove north, then east, and then
north again. But if the three vectors are added in the order 6.0 km, N + 2.0 km, N
+ 6.0 km, E, then the diagram will look like this:

Step 4
After rearranging the order in which the three vectors are added, the resultant vector is now the hypotenuse of a
right triangle. The lengths of the perpendicular sides of the right triangle are 8.0 m, North (6.0 km + 2.0 km) and
6.0 km, East. The magnitude of the resultant vector (R) can be determined using the Pythagorean theorem.

R2 = (8.0 km)2 + (6.0 km)2

R2 = 64.0 km2+ 36.0 km2
R2 = 100.0 km2
R = SQRT (100.0 km2)
R = 10.0 km

Step 5
The mnemonic SOH CAH TOA is a helpful way of remembering which function
to use. In this problem, we wish to determine the angle measure of theta (θ) and we
know the length of the side opposite theta (θ) - 6.0 km - and the length of the side
adjacent the angle theta (θ) - 8.0 km.

Tangent(Θ) = Opposite/Adjacent
Tangent(Θ) = 6.0/8.0
Tangent(Θ) = 0.75
Θ = tan-1 (0.75)
Θ = 36.869 …°
Θ =37°

NOTE
The resultant is independent by the order in which they are added. Adding vectors A + B + C gives the same
resultant as adding vectors B + A + C or even C + B + A. As long as all three vectors are included with their
specified magnitude and direction, the resultant will be the same. This property of vectors is the key to the
strategy used in the determination of the answer to the above example problem.
Example # 15
Max plays middle linebacker for South's football team. During one play in last Friday night's game against New
Greer Academy, he made the following movements after the ball was snapped on third down. First, he back-
pedaled in the southern direction for 2.6 meters. He then shuffled to his left (west) for a distance of 2.2 meters.
Finally, he made a half-turn and ran downfield a distance of 4.8 meters in a direction of 240° counter-clockwise
from east (30° W of S) before finally knocking the wind out of New Greer's wide receiver. Determine the
magnitude and direction of Max's overall displacement.

Step 1
As is the usual case, the solution begins with a diagram of
the vectors being added.

Step 2 Step 3

Step 4
Now our vector addition problem has been
transformed from the addition of two nice vectors
and one nasty vector into the addition of four nice
vectors.

Step 5
With all vectors oriented along are customary
north-south and east-west axes, they can be
added head-to-tail in any order to produce a
right triangle whose the hypotenuse is the
resultant. Such a diagram is shown at the
right.

The triangle's perpendicular sides have lengths of 4.6 meters and 6.756 meters.
The length of the horizontal side (4.6 m) was determined by adding the values of
B (2.2 m) and Cx (2.4 m). The length of the vertical side (6.756… m) was
determined by adding the values of A (2.6 m) and Cy (4.156… m). The resultant's
magnitude (R) can now be determined using the Pythagorean theorem.
R2 = (6.756… m)2 + (4.6 m)2
R2 = 45.655… m2 + 21.16 m2
R2 = 66.815… m2
R = SQRT(66.815… m2 )
R = 8.174 … m
R = ~8.2 m
The direction of the resultant can be determined by finding the angle that the resultant makes with either the
north-south or the east-west vector. The diagram at the right shows the angle theta (Θ) marked inside the vector
addition triangle. This angle theta is the angle that the resultant makes with west. Its value can be determined
using the tangent function. The tangent function (as in TOA) relates the angle value to the ratio of the lengths of
the opposite side to the adjacent side. That is,
tangent(Θ) = (6.756… m)/(4.6 m) = 1.46889…
Θ = tan-1 (1.46889…) = 55.7536… °Θ = ~56°
This 56° angle is the angle between the resultant vector (drawn in black above) and the westward direction. This
makes the direction 56° south of west. The direction of the resultant based on the counter-clockwise from east
convention (CCW) can be determined by adding 180° to the 56°. So the CCW direction is 236°.

ONLINE HELP
For more examples of adding vectors using analytical
method scan the code to direct you on the website.

KINEMATIC QUANTITIES
Position, Time, Distance, Displacement, Speed, Average Velocity, Instantaneous Velocity

Describing motion is the focus of a field of physics called mechanics. Mechanics is basically the study of
motion. It has two general parts – Kinematics and Dynamics. Kinematics is the mathematical description of
motion. You can describe motion using kinematic quantities such as position, speed, and acceleration.
Dynamics, on the other hand, is the study of the causes of motion. For example, when an object falls, you can
say that gravity is the cause of its falling motion.

Position
- it is the location of a body in space with reference to a fixed point

Distance
- The total length of the path the body has taken
- It is a scalar quantity

Displacement
- Defined as the shortest length between the initial position and the final position of an object
- It is a vector quantity

Speed
- Describing how fast or how slow a body moves
d
- v=
t

Instantaneous Speed
- Speed at an instant
- Speed at a particular moment

Average Speed
- Ratio of the total distance covered and the total amount of time traveled
d
- vave =
t
Velocity
- velocity is a vector quantity; it is direction-aware.
- It is the rate at which the position changes. The average velocity is the displacement or position change
(a vector quantity) per time ratio.

Uniform Circular Motion

- When an object is moving in a circle with constant speed, the direction between these motion is always
changing (tangent to the circular path). Therefore its speed is constant but its velocity is changing.

Acceleration
- The rate at which velocity changes with time; the change in velocity may be magnitude or direction or
both.
- A body accelerates, whenever there is a change in speed, a change in direction, or a change in both
speed and direction
Δv v f −vo
- a= =
Δt Δt

Calculating Average Speed and Average Velocity

Example # 16
The physics teacher walks 4 meters East, 2 meters South, 4 meters West, and
finally 2 meters North. The entire motion lasted for 24 seconds. Determine the
average speed and the average velocity.

Answer:
The physics teacher walked a distance of 12 meters in 24 seconds; thus, her
average speed was 0.50 m/s. However, since her displacement is 0 meters, her average velocity is 0 m/s.
Remember that the displacement refers to the change in position and the velocity is based upon this position
change. In this case of the teacher's motion, there is a position change of 0 meters and thus an average velocity
of 0 m/s.

Example # 17
Use the diagram to determine the average
speed and the average velocity of the skier
during these three minutes.

Answer:
The skier has an average speed of
(420 m) / (3 min) = 140 m/min
and an average velocity of
(140 m, right) / (3 min) = 46.7 m/min, right

Example # 18
In the 1980’s, one of Asia’s fastest running women was a Filipino athlete named Lydia de Vega. In the 100
meter dash event in 1986 in Seoul, South Korea, She was clocked 11.53 s. Find he average speed.

Solution
d
v ave =
t
100 m
v ave =
11.53s
v ave = 8.67 m/s
Calculating Acceleration

Example # 19
In 2.5 s a car increases its speed from 60 km/h to 65 km/h while a bicycle goes from rest to 5 km/h. Which
undergoes the greater acceleration? What is the acceleration of each vehicle?

Solution:
v f −vo 65 km/h−60 km/h 5 km/h
Acceleration car = = = 2.5 s = 2 km/h•s
Δt 2.5 s

v f −vo 5 km/h−0 km/h 5 km/h

Acceleration bike = = = 2.5 s = 2 km/h•s
Δt 2.5 s

Although the velocities involved are quite different, the rate of change of velocity is the same. Hence the
acceleration is equal.

UNIFORMLY ACCELERATED MOTION

If you drop a stone and a feather on Earth, the stone will hit the ground first. However, if you do the same thing
on the moon, they will hit the ground at the same time. Does this sound unbelievable? This kind of motion is the
topic for this module.

Defining Uniform Accelerated Motion

For many practical applications such as falling objects and skidding cars, the acceleration of these bodies is
nearly constant. This means that their velocities change in time at constant rate. This shows uniformly
accelerated motion (UAM).

Deriving Kinematic Equations

You can derived the four kinematic equations that relate d, v, a, and t for uniformly accelerated motion.
(1) v = v0 + at
(2) d = (v + v0 /2) t
(3) d = v2 – v02 / 2a
(4) d = v0t + ½ at2

Example # 20
As an engineer, you were asked to design a runway for airport. An airplane that will use this airfield must reach
a speed of 30.0 m/s before takeoff and should accelerate at 2.00 m/s2.
a. How much time does it take this airplane to reach the takeoff speed?
b. What must be the minimum length of the runway for the aircraft to reach this speed?

Solution:
In each part, the technique is to choose the UAM equation that relates the four variables (three known and one
unknown)

Given: v = 30 m/s b. d = v2 – v02 / 2a

v0 = 0 m/s d = (30 m/s)2 – (0 m/s)2
a = 2 m/s2
2 (2 m/s2)
Solution: d = 225 m
a. v = v0 + at
t = v - v0 / a Need MORE Examples??
t = 30 m/s – 0 m/s / 2 m/s2 Scan the QR code for more
t = 15 s Kinematics Problems with
Solutions.
Free Fall Motion in One Dimension

A free falling object is an object that is falling under the sole influence of gravity. Any object that is being acted
upon only by the force of gravity is said to be in a state of free fall. There are two important motion
characteristics that are true of free-falling objects:
 Free-falling objects do not encounter air resistance.
 All free-falling objects (on Earth) accelerate downwards at a rate of 9.8 m/s/s (often approximated as 10
m/s/s for back-of-the-envelope calculations)

Recall from an earlier lesson that acceleration is the rate at which an object changes its velocity. It is the ratio of
velocity change to time between any two points in an object's path. To accelerate at 9.8 m/s/s means to change
the velocity by 9.8 m/s each second.

If the velocity and time for a free-falling object being dropped from a position
of rest were tabulated, then one would note the following pattern.
Time (s) Velocity (m/s)
0 0
1 - 9.8
2 - 19.6
3 - 29.4
4 - 39.2
5 - 49.0

Observe that the velocity-time data above reveal that the object's velocity is
changing by 9.8 m/s each consecutive second. That is, the free-falling object has an acceleration of

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
1. Convert the following quantities into the desired units. Show the complete series of conversion factors
needed.
a. 28.5 L = μm3
b. 80 km/h = ft/s
c. 24Gg = lb

2. Express the following numbers in scientific notation.

a. 1 230 045 600 000
b. 000 876 735
c. 958 672 000 000 x 10-6

3. Four of your classmates measured the same volume of water. They all made three trials and tabulated
their results in the table below. Suppose the accepted value is 9.20mL, how would you describe their
measurements in terms of accuracy and precision?

Trial Class A Class B Class C Class D

1 10.15 mL 6.30 mL 9.20 mL 9.20 mL

2 7.25mL 6.35 mL 9.25mL 9.22mL
3 9.55 mL 6.32 mL 9.30mL 9.21mL
 4. Shelby measured the volume of a cylinder and determined it to be 54.5 cm3. The teacher told her that she
was 4.25% too high in her determination of the volume. What is the actual volume of the cylinder?

5. Two trials were performed in an experiment to determine the latent heat of vaporization (LV) of water at
100°C. The values of LV of water obtained were 532 cal/g and 536 cal/g. Find the percent difference
between the two values.

6. To test your understanding of this distinction, consider the following quantities listed below. Categorize
each quantity as being either a vector or a scalar.
a. 5 m
b. 30 m/sec, East
c. 5 mi., North
d. 20 degrees Celsius
e. 256 bytes
f. 4000 Calories

7. Use the graphical technique for adding vectors to find the total displacement of a person who walks the
following three paths (displacements) on a flat field. First, she walks 25.0 m in a direction 49.0º north of
east. Then, she walks 23.0 m heading 15.0º north of east. Finally, she turns and walks 32.0 m in a
direction 68.0° south of east.

8. During her recent trip to the grocery store, Claire de Iles walked 28 m to the end of an aisle. She then
made a right hand turn and walked 12 m down the end aisle. Finally, she made another right hand turn
and walked 12 m in the opposite direction as her original direction. Determine the magnitude of Claire's
resultant displacement using analytical method. (The actual direction - east, west, north, south are not
the focus.)

9. A car accelerates from rest to a speed of 36 km/h in 20 seconds. What is the acceleration of the car in
m/s2? (2pts)

10. A feather is dropped on the moon from a height of 1.40 meters. The acceleration of gravity on the moon
is 1.67 m/s2. Determine the time for the feather to fall to the surface of the moon.

VALUES INTEGRATION

An object in motion stays in motion, An object at rest stays at rest. Simply put, if you don’t change, the
circumstances in your life won’t either. Which means you must exert the force of yourself onto your life. Make
a change and push the direction of your life to where you see yourself in the future. If you don’t you will stay
exactly where you are, it’s how things work. Which means take action now. The minute you feel motivated to
do something, do it. Many people make the mistake of telling themselves, “I’ll do it later” when in reality, what
are the chances you are going to change your mind down the line. Aren’t you going to be the same person,
won’t you still have the same beliefs, wants, and mindsets? Chances are if you said no before, you will say it
again.

Save yourself a lot of time wasted by just taking ONE step.

REFERENCES
1. Arevalo, R. (2017). General Physics 1. Philippines: DIWA Learning System Inc.
2. Hewitt, P. (1998). Conceptual Physics (8th Edition). Philippines: Busy Book Distributors
3. Lumen Physics. (n.d). Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/physics/
4. Physics Classroom.(2020). Retrieved from https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1DKin/Lesson-
1/Scalars-and-Vectors