Ch1-Units and Measurements

Chapter 1
PHYSICS QUANTITY
AND UNIT SYSTEM
Dr. Siti Noraiza binti Ab Razak
Department of Science &

Mathematics, CeDS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
– The objectives of this chapter is to impart students:
– With the basic knowledge in measurements and units
– With the concept of measurements and units in engineering
course.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
– After completing this chapter, students should be able to:
– Identify the units of measurement based on SI base units
– Formulate the based units to generate derived units
– Adapt the measurement accurately with its units, scientific notation
and uncertainty depending on the measurement tool used
– Use an accurate measurement in its scientific units’ notation and
uncertainty for any measurement tools
DAK13003 Sem1 20182019
MEASUREMENTS
– Definition: the estimation of the magnitude of some
attributes of an object, such as length and weight,
relative to a unit of measurement.
– Usually involves using a measuring instrument, such as
a ruler or weighing scale, which is calibrated to compare
to the object to some standard, such as a meter or
kilogram respectively.
– Physical quantity: a quantity that can be measured by
a scientific instrument.
– Example of scientific instruments: meter rule, balance,
ammeter, stopwatch, thermometer etc.
BASE & DERIVED QUANTITIES
– International System of Units (SI Units):
– Standard units used by scientists all over the world
– Base quantities:
– quantities that cannot be derived.
– Also known as fundamental quantities
Base quantity Units
Time Seconds (s)
Mass Kilogram (kg)
Length Meter (m)
Temperature Kelvin (K)
Amount of substance Mole (Mol)
Electric current Ampere (A)
Light intensity Candela (cd)
– Derived quantity:
– Obtained from the derivation of the base quantity
– a combination of two or more base quantities
Derived quantity Name Symbol
Area Square meter m2
Volume Cubic meter m3
Speed, velocity Meter per second ms-1
Acceleration Meter per second square ms-2
Mass density Kilogram per cubic meter kgm-3
Current density Ampere per square meter Am-2
Magnetic field strength Ampere per meter Am-1
Amount of substance Mole per cubic meter Molm-3
concentration
Luminance Candela per square meter cdm-2
DAS14103 sem1session20172018
– Example of special names and symbols:
Derived SI Derived Unit

Quantity Name Symbol Expression Expression
(other SI (in SI Unit)
Unit)
Frequency Hertz Hz - s-1
Force Newton N - kgms-1
Pressure Pascal Pa Nm-2 kgm-1s-2
Energy, work, heat Joule J Nm kgm2s-2
Power Watt W Js-1 kgm2s-3
Electric charge Coulomb C - sA
Potential difference Volt V WA-1 kgm2s-3A-1
UNITS AND STANDARDS
 SI Units
– Système International / International System of Units
– A set of convenient units that have been widely
accepted in both everyday commerce and in science
– The modern, revised form of the metric system
– Was developed in Paris, 1960 at the 11th General
Conference on Weights and Measures.
 Two base unit systems:
– Metric system
– Imperial system
– Metric system comprises of two systems:
– Centimetre-gram-second (cgs) system
– Meter-kilogram-second (mks) system
– Imperial system:
– Also known as British Engineering System
– Used the units of feet-pound-second (British
Units)
– Is no longer implemented in most measurement
since the use of SI units.
DEFINITION OF BASE UNITS
Base Quantity Units (Symbol) Definition
Time Seconds (s) the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of
the radiation corresponding to the
transition between the two hyperfine
levels of the ground state of the cesium-
133 atom
Mass Kilogram (kg) 1kg equals to the mass of the
international prototype of the kilogram
Length Meter (m) the length of the path travelled by light in
vacuum during a time interval of 1/299
792 458 of a second
Temperature Kelvin (K) the fraction 1/273.16 of the
thermodynamic temperature of the triple
point of water
Base quantity Units (symbol) Definition
Amount of Mole (Mol) the amount of substance of a system
substance which contains as many elementary
entities as there are atoms in 0.012
kilogram of carbon-12
Electric current Ampere (A) that constant current which, if maintained
in two straight parallel conductors of
infinite length, of negligible circular cross-
section, and placed 1 meter apart in
vacuum, would produce between these
conductors a force equal to
2x107 newton per meter of length
Light intensity Candela (cd) the luminous intensity, in a given
direction, of a source that emits
monochromatic radiation of frequency
540 x 1012 hertz and that has a radiant
intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt
per steradian
SCALAR AND VECTOR
– Scalar Quantities:
– A quantity that has a magnitude only, no directional
component
– Example: time, speed, temperature, volume
– Vector Quantities:
– A quantity that has both magnitude and direction
– Example: acceleration, force, displacement
SCIENTIFIC NOTATION AND
PREFIXES
– Scientific notation:
– A shorter method to express very large or very small
numbers
– Based on power of the base number 10
– Example:
123 000 000 000 = 1.23 x 1011
*The number 1.23 = coefficient
1 ≤ coefficient < 10
*The number 1011 = scientific notation raised to a power of
11.
Prefix modifiers of the metric system that are multiples of 10.
Prefix Symbol Factor Numer Factor Word Factor
Power
Tera T 1 000 000 000 000 Trillion 1012
Giga G 1 000 000 000 Billion 109
Mega M 1 000 000 Million 106
Kilo k 1 000 Thousand 103
Hecto h 100 Hundred 102
Deca da 10 Ten 101
Deci d 0.1 Tenth 10-1
Centi c 0.01 Hundredth 10-2
Milli M 0.001 Thousandth 10-3
Micro μ 0.000001 Millionth 10-6
Nano n 0.000000001 Billionth 10-9
Pico p
0.000000000001 Trillionth 10-12
Example 1.3:
Write these values into the scientific notation:
a) 7 040 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 kg
b) 0.000 000 000 000 635 m
c) 456 852 569 534 ms-2
Solution:
a) 7.04x1024kg
b)
c)
APPROXIMATION & COMPARISON
VALUE
– Absolute error:
The magnitude of the difference between the exact value
and the approximation
– Relative error:
– The absolute error divided by the magnitude of the exact
value (ratio)
Exact value = 50 Absolute error = 50 – 49.9

Approximation = 49.9 = 0.1
Relative error  0.1  0.002
50
UNIT CONVERSION
– Need to be done in some circumstances e.g. to perform an

operation, or to compare the value of a quantity.
– The original measurement must be multiplied with a conversion
factor.
– Conversion factor: a ratio of units that is equal to unity (1).
– Example: 1kg 1000 g
1 1
1000 g 1kg
– These ratio can be used as conversion factor.
Example 1.5:
- Which is greater: 45 kg or 4500 g?
- Write down these quantities in SI units:

a) 40 mg
b) 35 cm2
c) 56 mm3
Example 1.6:
A man makes a 27.0 km trip in 16 minutes.
a. How far was the trip in miles?

b. If the speed limit was 55 miles per hour, was the
driver speeding?
Example 1.7:
The mass of a solid cube is 856 g, and each edge has a

length of 5.35 cm. Determine the density ρ of the cube in
basic SI units.
Example 1.8:
Someone is 2.00 yard tall. Using the fact that 1 inch is
exactly 2.54 cm, how tall is the person in centimeters?
Given 1 yard = 3 feet and 1 feet = 12 inch.
Answer: 182.88cm
EXERCISE:
1. A paint sprayer can paint a surface at the rate of 6.00 gal/h.

Express this rate in liter per minute (L/min). Given 7.48 gal
= 0.0283 m3 and 1 L = 1 x 10-3 m3.
2. An acre is defined such that 640 acre = 1 miles2. How many
square meters (m2) are there in an acre? Given 1 mile =
1609 m.
3. A geologist finds that a rock sample has a volume of 2.4 in3.
Express this volume in cubic centimeters (cm3) and cubic
meters (m3). Given 1 in = 2.54 cm.

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Chapter 1

Dr. Siti Noraiza binti Ab Razak

Department of Science &

Derived SI Derived Unit

Exact value = 50 Absolute error = 50 – 49.9

– Need to be done in some circumstances e.g. to perform an

- Write down these quantities in SI units:

a. How far was the trip in miles?

The mass of a solid cube is 856 g, and each edge has a

1. A paint sprayer can paint a surface at the rate of 6.00 gal/h.

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