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 Units of Measurement
All physical quantities in the International System of Units (SI) are expressed
in terms of combinations of seven fundamental physical units, which are units
for: length, mass, time, electric current, temperature, amount of a substance,
and luminous intensity.
SI Units: Fundamental and Derived Units There are two major systems of units
used in the world: units acronym for the French Le Systeme Internationa d’
Unites, also known as the metric system), and English units (also known as
the imperial system). English units were historically used in nations once ruled
by the British Empire. Today, the United States is the only country that still
uses English units extensively. Virtually every other country in the world now
uses the metric system, which is the standard system agreed upon by
scientists and mathematicians.
Some physical quantities are more fundamental than others. In physics, there
are seven fundamental physical quantities that are measured in base or
physical fundamental units: length, mass, time, electric current temperature,
amount of substance, and luminous intensity. Units for other physical
quantities (such as force, speed, and electric charge) described by
mathematically combining these seven base units. In this course, we will
mainly use five of these: length, mass, time, electric current and temperature.
The units in which they are measured are the meter, kilogram, second, ampere,
kelvin, mole, and candela. All other units are made by mathematically
combining the fundamental units. These are called derived units.
Metric Prefixes. Physical
objects or phenomena
may vary widely. For
example, the size of
objects varies from
something very small (like
an atom) to something
very large (like a star). Yet
the standard metric unit
of length is the meter. So,
the metric system includes
many prefixes that can be
attached to a unit. Each
prefix is based on factors
of 10 (10, 100, 1,000, etc.,
as well as 0.1, 0.01, 0.001,
etc.).

The metric system is

convenient because
conversions between
metric units can be
done simply by
moving the decimal
place of a number.
This is because the
metric prefixes are
sequential powers of
10. There are 100
centimeters in a
meter, 1000 meters in
a kilometer, and so
on. Another
advantage of the
metric system is that
the same unit can be
used over extremely
large ranges of values
simply by switching to
the most-appropriate
metric prefix. For
example, distances in
meters are suitable for building construction, but kilometers are used to
describe road construction. Therefore, with the metric system, there is no need
to invent new units when measuring very small or very large objects—you just
have to move the decimal point (and use the appropriate prefix .
Unit Conversion and Dimensional Analysis
A conversion factor relating meters to kilometers. A conversion factor is a
ratio expressing how many of one unit are equal to another unit. A conversion
factor is simply a fraction which equals 1. You can multiply any number by 1
and get the same value. When you multiply a number by a conversion factor,
you are simply multiplying it by one.
1 foot/12 inches = 1 to convert inches to feet,
1 meter/100 centimeters = 1 to convert centimeters to meters,
1 minute/60 seconds = 1 to convert seconds to minutes
Scientific notation is a way of writing numbers that are too large or small to
be conveniently written as a decimal. For example, consider the number
840,000,000,000,000. t’s a rather large number to write out. The scientific
notation for this number is 8.40 × 1014.
x × 10y
In this format x is the value of the measurement with all placeholder zeros
removed. In the example above, x is 8.4. The x is multiplied by a factor, 10y,
which indicates the number of placeholder zeros in the measurement.
Placeholder zeros are those at the end of a number that is 10 or greater, and at
the beginning of a decimal number that is less than 1. In the example above,
the factor is 1014. This tells you that you should move the decimal point 14
positions to the right, filling in placeholder zeros as you go. In this case, moving
the decimal point 14 places creates only 13 placeholder zeros, indicating that
the actual measurement value is 840,000,000,000,000. Numbers that are
fractions can be indicated by scientific notation as well. Consider the number
0.0000045. Its scientific notation is 4.5 × 10–6. Its scientific notation has the
same format
x × 10y
Here, x is 4.5. However, the value of y in the 10y factor is negative, which
indicates that the measurement is a fraction of 1. Therefore, we move the
decimal place to the left, for a negative y. In our example of 4.5 × 10 –6, the
decimal point would be moved to the left six times to yield the original number,
which would be 0.0000045.
 ACCURACY VS. PRECISION
Accuracy. It is how close a measurement is to the correct value for that
measurement. For example, let us say that you are measuring the length of a
standard piece of bond paper. The packaging in which you purchased the
paper states that it is 11 inches long, and suppose this stated value is correct.
You measure the length of the paper three times and obtain the following
measurements: 11.1 inches, 11.2 inches, and 10.9 inches. These
measurements are quite accurate because they are very close to the correct
value of 11.0 inches. In contrast, if you had obtained a measurement of 12
inches, your measurement would not be very accurate. This is why measuring
instruments are calibrated based on a known measurement. If the instrument
consistently returns the correct value of the known measurement, it is safe for
use in finding unknown values.
Precision. It states how well repeated measurements of something generate the
same or similar results. Therefore, the precision of measurements refers to how
close together the measurements are when you measure the same thing several
times. One way to analyze the precision of measurements would be to
determine the range, or difference between the lowest and the highest
measured values. In the case of the printer paper measurements, the lowest
value was 10.9 inches and the highest value was 11.2 inches. Thus, the
measured values deviated from each other by, at most, 0.3 inches. These
measurements were reasonably precise because they varied by only a fraction
of an inch. However, if the measured values had been 10.9 inches, 11.1 inches,
and 11.9 inches, then the measurements would not be very precise because
there is a lot of variation from one measurement to another. The measurements
in the paper example are both accurate and precise, but in some cases,
measurements are accurate but not precise, or they are precise but not
accurate. Let us consider a GPS system that is attempting to locate the position
of a restaurant in a city. Think of the restaurant location as existing at the
center of a bull’s-eye target. Then think of each GPS attempt to locate the
restaurant as a black dot on the bull’s eye.
Errors. In measurement are unavoidable due to several factors and it can be

random or systematic
depending on how
measurements are
made.
 RANDOM ERRORS OR SYSTEMATIC
ERRORS
Random errors. It usually results from the experimenter’s inability to take the
same measurement in exactly the same way to get exactly the same number.
-is referred to as “noise”, because it blurs the true value (or the “signal”) of
what’s being measured. Keeping random error low helps you collect precise
data.

Some common sources of random error include:

 natural variations in real world or experimental contexts.

 imprecise or unreliable measurement instruments.
 individual differences between participants or units.
 poorly controlled experimental procedures.

There are two types of random errors

1. Observational: When the observer makes consistent observational
mistakes (such not reading the scale correctly and writing down values
that are constantly too low or too high)
2. Environmental: When unpredictable changes occur in the environment
of the experiment (such as students repeatedly opening and closing the
 door when the pressure is being measured, causing fluctuations in the
reading).

Reducing random error

Take repeated measurements

A simple way to increase precision is by taking repeated measurements and
using their average. For example, you might measure the wrist circumference
of a participant three times and get slightly different lengths each time. Taking
the mean of the three measurements, instead of using just one, brings you
much closer to the true value.

Increase your sample size

Large samples have less random error than small samples. That’s because the
errors in different directions cancel each other out more efficiently when you
have more data points. Collecting data from a large sample increases precision
and statistical power.

Control variables
In controlled experiments, you should carefully control any extraneous
variables that could impact your measurements. These should be controlled for
all participants so that you remove key sources of random error across the
board.
Systematic Error
The constant error occurs in the experiment because of the imperfection of the
mechanical structure of the apparatus is known as the systematic error. The
systematic errors arise because of the incorrect calibration of the device.
- means that your measurements of the same thing will vary in predictable
ways: every measurement will differ from the true measurement in the same
direction, and even by the same amount in some cases.

-also referred to as bias because your data is skewed in standardized ways that

hide the true values. This may lead to inaccurate conclusions.

The error is mainly categorized into three types.

 Instrumental Error
 Environmental Error
 Observational Error

Instrumental Error- happens when the instruments being used are

inaccurate, such as a balance that does not work.

1. Misuse of the apparatus.

2. Imperfection in the mechanical structure of the apparatus.
3. The error occurs because of the loading effect.

1. Instrumental: When the instrument being used does not function properly

causing error in the experiment (such as a scale that reads 2g more than the
actual weight of the object, causing the measured values to read too
high consistently)

2. Environmental: When the surrounding environment (such as a lab) causes

errors in the experiment (the scientist cell phone's RF waves cause the geiger
counters to incorrectly display the radiation)

3. Observational: When the scientist inaccurately reads a measurement

wrong (such as when not standing straight-on when reading the volume of a
flask causing the volume to be incorrectly measured)

4. Theoretical: When the model system being used causes the results to be

inaccurate (such as being told that humidity does not affect the results of an
experiment when it actually does)
1.
The
random error happens because any disturbances occur in the surroundings
like the variation in temperature, pressure or because of the observer who
takes the wrong reading.

2. The systematic error arises because of the mechanical structure of the

apparatus. The complete elimination of both the errors are impossible.