- 1.

1 SI Units
- Current (SI Unit)→Ampere (A)
- Temperature (SI Unit)→Kelvin (K)
- Amount of substance (SI Unit)→Moles (mol)
- Luminous Intensity (SI Unit)→Candela (cd)
- Prefixes for amount→%LOCAL_FILE%Df-
by1ei55fIqFK_r1vHSs0nqrbTq39wdxEPnK26dJTecxpAZw1u-
MGekTBVCGlrrfEYBTQf6JnCdF1Q2eQDuCuRYWyNprYiX5vn0TgePvkitwVBaNKxSnn
K1O6eEYoP.png
-
- 1.3 Estimation
- Estimation→A skill which physicists must use in order to approximate values of physical
quantities in order to make comparisons, or to check if a value they've calculated is
reasonable
-
- 1.4 Limitations of Physical Measurement
- True Value→The value that would have been obtained in an ideal measurement - the true
value is often unknowable
- Validity→A measurement is valid if it measures what it is supposed to be measuring well.
Depends on both the method and instruments used
- Accuracy→A result is considered accurate if it is judged to be close to the true value,
influenced by random and systematic errors.
- Precision→A quality denoting the consistency between values obtained by repeated
measurement. Influenced only by random effects and can be expressed numerically such as
with standard deviation. A measurement is precise if the answers are clustered closely
together
- Uncertainty→The interval within which the true value can be considered to lie with a
given level of confidence or probability. All measurements will have uncertainty which
comes from variation in the data and subject to systematic or random effects. Should be given
to the same number of significant figures as the data
- Error→The difference between the measurement result and the true value if a true value
is thought to exist. Can be due to both systematic and random effects.
- Resolution→The smallest measuring interval and the source of uncertainty in a single
reading.
- Ways to reduce random errors
 - Take at least 3 repeats and calculate a mean, this method also allows anomalies to be
identified.
- Use computers/data loggers/cameras to reduce human error and enable smaller
intervals.
- Use appropriate equipment, e.g., a micrometre has higher resolution (0.01 mm) than a
ruler (1 mm).
- Systematic Error→Affects accuracy. Occurs due to the apparatus or faults in
experimental method. Causes the same error each time. E.g., Parallax or zero errors
- Ways to reduce systematic errors
- Calibrate apparatus by measuring a known value (e.g. weigh 1 kg on a mass balance),
if the reading is inaccurate then the systematic error is easily identified.
- In radiation experiments correct for background radiation by measuring it beforehand
and excluding it from final results.
- Read the meniscus (the central curve on the surface of a liquid) at eye level (to reduce
parallax error) and use controls in experiments.
- Uncertainty in a reading→+- half the resolution (smallest division)
- Uncertainty in a measurement→at least +- the resolution (1 smallest division)
E.g. a ruler must include both the uncertainty for the start and end value, as each end has
±0.5mm, they are added so the uncertainty in the measurement is ±1mm.
- Uncertainty in digital readings and given values→Either will have the uncertainty quoted
or assumed to be +- half of the last significant digit.
- Uncertainty in repeated data→Half the range (largest - smallest value). Shown as mean
+- range/2
- Combining Uncertainties
- Adding and subtracting→Add the absolute uncertainties
- Multiplying or dividing→Add the percentage uncertainties
- Raising to a power→Multiply the percentage uncertainty by the power
-
- 1.6 Application and Implications of Science
- Implications
- A direct or implied consequence of the knowledge of a particular concept
- Commercial - concerning money
- Legal - concerning the law
 - Ethical - concerning moral principles
- Social - concerning society
-
- 1.7 Role of Scientific Community in Validating New Knowledge
- Knowledge and understanding of any scientific concept changes over time in accordance
to the experimental evidence gathered by the scientific community. However, these pieces of
experimental evidence must first be published to allow them to be peer-reviewed by the
community to become validated, and eventually accepted.
-
- 1.8 How society uses science to inform decision making
- Policy-making - to ensure that government policies are as beneficial to society as possible
- Criminal justice system - evidence is analysed scientifically in order to provide
information about how a crime was carried out
- Everyday life - our scientific knowledge of a healthy lifestyle may inform the choices we
make on a daily basis, e.g. walking to school instead taking the bus in order to get some
exercise.
-
- Repeatability→The precision obtained when measurement results are obtained by a single
operator using a single method over a short timescale. A measurement is repeatable when
similar results are obtained by students from the same group using the same method.
- Reproducibility→The precision obtained when measurement results are obtained by
different operators using different pieces of apparatus