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Lecture 2 Physics and Physical Measurement

This document discusses key concepts in physics and physical measurement. It defines measurement as comparing an unknown quantity to a standard unit. Physical quantities can be fundamental or derived units. Fundamental units like mass, length, and time are base units defined by the International System of Units (SI). Derived units are quantities like velocity or force that are expressed as combinations of base units. The document also discusses standards of measurement, unit prefixes, conversion of units, sources of error, and the importance of precision and accuracy in physical measurement.

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44 views22 pages

Lecture 2 Physics and Physical Measurement

This document discusses key concepts in physics and physical measurement. It defines measurement as comparing an unknown quantity to a standard unit. Physical quantities can be fundamental or derived units. Fundamental units like mass, length, and time are base units defined by the International System of Units (SI). Derived units are quantities like velocity or force that are expressed as combinations of base units. The document also discusses standards of measurement, unit prefixes, conversion of units, sources of error, and the importance of precision and accuracy in physical measurement.

Uploaded by

chinseuchisomo11
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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PHYSICS AND PHYSICAL

MEASUREMENT

A.M.BANDA
• Measurement
Is the determination of size and magnitude by comparing an
unknown physical quantity with a standard quantity of equal nature
• Physical quantity:
A quantity that can be measured and is able to describe laws of
physics; A physical property that can be quantified by
measurement, expressed as a multiplication of a numerical value
and a unit
• Unit:
A reference/ standard quantity which is used to compare other
quantities of the same nature. These are supposed to be easily
reproduced and are to be accepted internationally
A.M.BANDA
STANDARDS OF MEASUREMENT
• Units are standardized so that scientists are able to express and
compare measurements in a meaningful way.
• Standard units of measurement are fixed and there is uniformity
between anyone that uses them in order to have the same
sense of measurement
• To be useful a standard of measurement must be: invariant,
accessible and reproducible
• Most countries in the world use SI units as a standard of
measurement.
A.M.BANDA
STANDARDS OF MEASUREMENT…….

SI UNIT: International System of Units; from the


original French name Système International d’Unités

Accepted SI format
• ms-1 not m/s
• ms-2 not m/s/s
A.M.BANDA
CLASSIFICATION OF QUANTITIES

Classified into two:


• Fundamental quantities: expressed in
fundamental units
• Derived quantities: Expressed in derived units

A.M.BANDA
FUNDAMENTAL QUANTITIES

Also known as base quantities; quantities which are


independent: do not need other physical quantities for
their measurements.
• Only expressed relative to the procedure used to
measure them.

A.M.BANDA
THE FUNDAMENTALS
FUNDAMENTAL QUANTITY S.I UNIT
Name Symbol Name Symbol
Mass m kilogram kg
Length l metre m
Time t second s
Temperature T kelvin K
Current I ampere A
Amount of a substance n mole mol
A.M.BANDA Luminous Intensity lv candela cd
DERIVED QUANTITIES

Physical quantities that are dependent on base


quantities; expressed in as algebraic combinations of
base quantities; derived from the base quantities.

A.M.BANDA
DERIVED QUANTITIES……
Quantity Name Symbol SI Base units
Area square metre A m2
Volume Cubic metre V m3
Density Kilogram per cubic metre ρ Kg.m-3
Speed/ Velocity Meters per second v m.s -1
Acceleration Meters per second squared a m.s -2
Force Newton N m.kg.s-2
Pressure pascal Pa m-1·kg·s-2
Energy joule J m2·kg·s-2
Power watt W m2·kg·s-3
Voltage, electric potential difference, volt V m2·kg·s-3·A -1
electromotive force
Capacitance Farad F m-2·kg-1·s 4·A 2
Frequency hertz Hz s-1

A.M.BANDA
UNIT PREFIXES

• It is impractical to use the same unit for bigger


quantities and tiny ones as such metric unit
prefixes are used to indicate whether a unit is a
multiple or fraction of the base 10.
• Use of prefixes makes it easier to express very
large or very small quantities
A.M.BANDA
METRIC (SI) PREFIXES

A.M.BANDA
CONVERSION OF UNITS
• Expression of a quantity using a different unit of measurement.

For example 1kWh to J


1kWh = 1kW x 1 h
= 1000W x 60 x 60 s
= 1000 Js-1 x 3600 s
= 3600000 J
= 3.6 x 106 J
A.M.BANDA
More examples for conversion of units??

• 100km/hr

A.M.BANDA
UNCERTAINTY AND ERRORS IN
MEASUREMENT
Uncertainty of measurement:
Is the doubt that exits around the result of a measurement .
• No matter how hard we try to control things, some experimental
error occurs
Error:
Differences between observed (measured) values and the actual
value
A.M.BANDA
CLASSES OF ERROR
1. Systematic error
• Affects measurements by the same amount or proportion as long as
the reading is conducted the same way every time
• Cause a random set of measurements to be spread about a value
rather than being spread about the accepted value
• They influence measurements accuracy: they are precise but not
accurate
• They are not reduced by multiple readings but can be minimized by
identifying the causes and minimizing them and by always comparing
values against standards
A.M.BANDA
CAUSES OF SYSTEMATIC ERROR

• It is mainly caused by observational error, imperfect


instrument calibration and environmental interference
• Forgetting to tare/ zero an instrument gives a
measurement that is usually off by the same amount
• Not reading meniscus at eye will give in accurate
result that is always higher or lower than the actual
A.M.BANDA
value
CLASSES OF ERROR…….
2. Random errors
• They are not precise but cluster around the true value
• Are due to variations in performance of the instrument and the operator
• Repeating the measurements gives a randomly different result
• They affect precision
• Can be minimized by conducting multiple measurements and averaging
the collected data
A.M.BANDA
CAUSES OF RANDOM ERROR

• Change in the environment in between


measurement
• Use of imprecise or unreliable instruments
• Poorly controlled experiments
• etc
A.M.BANDA
PRECISION AND ACCURACY

• It is important to minimize error by being precise


and accurate to get the most reliable results in
physical measurement

A.M.BANDA
ACCURACY

• It is how close a measured value is to the actual/


true/ accepted value.
• An accurate experiment has a low systematic error

A.M.BANDA
PRECISION

• It is how close measured values are to each other


• The measure of the degree of consistency and
agreement among independent measurements
• A precise experiment has a low random error

A.M.BANDA
BOOK AND RESOURCES
• SERWAY
• TOM DANCAN
• YOUNG
• NELKON AND PARKER
• MANCUSTER
• JOURNALS
• ANY OTHER PHYSICS BOOK
A.M.BANDA

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