General Physics Module 1: Measurement

What I Know

1. 0.5 kilogram
1 kilogram = 1000 grams
500 grams/ 1000 kg= 0.5 kg
2. B. 10.16 cm
1 inch= 2.54 cm
4 * 2.54= 10.16 cm
3. C. second
4. B. Kelvin
Celsius-Celsius is defined as a system of measuring temperature where water
freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees. A temperature scale developed by
Anders Celsius where water freezes at 0 degree is an example of Celsius.
Kelvin- The kelvin, symbol K, is the SI base unit of temperature, named after the Belfast-
born and University of Glasgow based engineer and physicist William Thomson, 1st Baron
Kelvin. The Kelvin scale is an absolute thermodynamic temperature scale that uses absolute
zero as its null point.
Fahrenheit-Fahrenheit scale is a temperature scale that is based on the freezing point of

water at 32°F and the boiling point of water at 212°F.

Rankine-absolute temperature scale

Fahrenheit scale is called the Rankine (°R) scale. These scales are related by the
equations K = °C + 273.15, °R = °F + 459.67, and °R = 1.8 K. Zero in both the Kelvin
and Rankine scales is at absolute zero.
5. D. nano
6. B. micro
7. B. metric the metric system is based upon powers of ten, which is convenient because:
A measurement in the metric system that is represented by a rational number remains a
rational number after metric unit conversion.
8. A. 4.186
9. C. 7
 length, mass, time, electric current, temperature, amount of substance, and light
intensity.
10. A. dimensional analysis
11. D. inches
12. A. candela
13. B. 0.0010
14. D. amount of substance.
Mol is the unit for mole
15. A, 101,325

Length- most necessary measurement in daily situations. Length is defined as the straight-line
distance between two points along an object. The SI unit of length is the meter, while the
cgs system of units takes the centimeter as the base unit.

Measurement units:

Meters (m)

Kilometers (km)

Yard

Centimeter (cm)

Inch

Foot

Millimeter(mm)

1 Foot =12 inches=304.8 mm

1 cubit= 18 inches

1 yard = 2 cubits

Cubit-The basic unit of length in both civilizations

A measurement is composed of a magnitude/number and a unit.

Ex. 3 meters.

3- magnitude/ number
Meters- unit

Units (British/English system of units):

pound (for force)

yard (for length)

ounce (for volume)

Units (based on powers of 10; preferred in science as metric system):

1 kilometer (km) is equal to 103 meters (m)

1 megaohms (MΩ) is equal to 106 ohms (Ω).

The metric system was first introduced by an international conference in France in 1960.
The said conference created the SI, which stands for Système international d’unités or the
International System of Units.

7 Base units (metric units):

Physical Quantity Unit Name Symbol

Mass Kilogram kg
Length Meter m
Time Second s
Amount of substance Mole mol
Temperature Kelvin K
Electric Current Ampere A
Luminous Intensity Candela cd
When multiple base units are combined from the seven base units, they form the derived units.
Examples of derived units are volume (m3), which is the product of length, width, and height.

Unit Prefixes

A prefix is a letter or combination of letters attached at the beginning of a base word to change its
meaning. In measurement, a unit prefix or metric prefix is applied to make a unit larger or smaller
than the base unit.

Power of Ten Prefix Abbreviation

10 ^12 tera T
 10^9 giga G
10^6 mega M
10^3 kilo K
10^-2 centi c
10^-3 milli m
10^-6 micro µ
10^-9 nano n
Example 1: A capsule’s mass of sodium ascorbate is 7540 cg. Express this mass in grams.

Solution: Recall that c is the abbreviation for centi (10-^2).

Therefore 7540 cg = 7540(10-^2)

g = 7540(0.01)

g = 75.4 grams

Dimensional Analysis- Many physics problems require converting one unit to another. This process is
called dimensional analysis. In order to start dimensional analysis, one must establish a unit equality
or conversion factor that shows the equivalent amounts of different units.

Unit Equivalent Unit

1 inch (in) 2.54 centimeters (cm
1 gallon (gal) 3.788 liters (L)
1 calorie (cal) 4.186 joules (J)
1 atmosphere (atm) 101,325 pascals (Pa)
1 foot (ft) 12 inches
1 mile (mi) 5,280 feet
1 slug 14.59 kg
1 newton (N) 0.2248 lb
1 electronvolt (eV) 1.602x10-19 J
 Volume Unit Conversion

1 milliliter 0.001 liter

1 centiliter 0.01 liter

1 deciliter 0.1 liter

1 decaliter 10 liters

1 hectoliter 100 liters

1 kiloliter 1000 liters

1 cubic inch 1.639 × 10 – 2 liters

1 gallon 3.785 liters

1 cubic foot 28.316 liters

 Length Unit Conversion

1 millimetre 0.001 metre

1 centimetre 0.01 metre

1 decimetre 0.1 metre

1 decametre 10 metres

1 hectometre 100 metres

1 kilometre 1000 metres

1 inch 2.54 × 10−2 metres

1 foot 0.3048 metres

1 angstrom 1 x 10-10 metres

1 fermi 1 x 10-15 metres

1 light year 0.946 × 1016 metres

1 mile 1.609344 kms

 

Mass Conversion

1 milligram 0.001 gram

1 centigram 0.01 gram

1 decigram 0.1 gram

1 decagram 10 gram

1 hectogram 100 gram

1 kilogram 1000 grams

1 stone 6350.29 grams

1 pound 453.592 grams

1 ounce 28.3495 grams

 
 Time Unit Conversion

1 minute 60 seconds

1 hour 60 minutes / 3600 seconds

1 day 24 hours

1 week 7 days

1 year 365 days

 

Energy Unit Conversion

1 BTU (British thermal unit) 1055 Joule

1 erg 1×10−7 Joule

1 foot-pound 1.356 Joule

1 calorie 4.186 Joule

1 kilowatt-hour 3.6×106 Joule

1 electron volt 1.602×10−19 Joule

1 liter atmosphere 101.13 Joule

 

Area Unit Conversion

1 sq. inch 6.4516 x 10-4 square metre

1 sq. foot 9.2903 x 10-2 square metre

1 acre 4.0468 x 103 square metre

1 hectare 1 x 104 square metre

1 sq. mile 2.5888 x 106 square metre

1 barn 1 x 10-28 square metre

 

Power Unit Conversion

 1 erg/sec 1 x 10-5 watt

1 BTU/hr 0.2930 watt

1 foot-pound/ sec 1.356 watt

1 horsepower 745.7 watt

1 calorie/ sec 4.186 watt

 

Force Unit Conversion

1 dyne 1 x 10-5 Newton

1 pound 4.448 Newton

 

Density Unit Conversion

1 slug/ cubic ft 515.4 kilogram/ cubic metre

1 pound/ cubic in 2.768 x 104 kilogram/ cubic metre

 

Viscosity Unit Conversion

1 poise 0.1 kg/m.s

1 slug/ft 4.79 x 101 kg/m.s