05/02/2025

Measurements & Kinematics

Prof. Janet Cabading Turaray

Chapter I. Physics and Measurement

Physics is a branch of science that deals with the study of matter and
energy and their interactions.
Matter is anything that occupies space and has mass.
Main objective of Physics:
To find fundamental laws that govern natural phenomena and to use
them to develop theories that can predict results of future experiments.

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Mathematics is the language in Physics

-The fundamental laws in developing theories are
expressed in the language of Mathematics.
(Ex. a=F/m)
Physics is an experimental science. It is based
on experimental observations and quantitative
measurement.
In Physics, we deal with measurable quantities.

Fundamental Quantities and Fundamental Units

They are independent Physical Quantity that is not possible to express in
other Physical Quantity.

Fundamental Quantities or Base Quantities Fundamental Units or Base Units

Length Meter (m)
Mass Kilogram (kg)
Time Second (s)
Thermodynamic Temperature Kelvin (K)
Electric Current Ampere (A)
Luminous Intensity Candela (cd)
Amount of Substance Mole (mol)

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DERIVED QUANTITIES AND THEIR UNITS

- COMBINATIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL QUANTITIES
Examples of Derived Quantities Derived Units
Area (Area = Length x Width) 𝒎𝟐
Volume (Volume = Length x width x height) 𝒎𝟑
Force (Force = mass x acceleration) kg.m/𝒔𝟐 or Newton (N)
Pressure (Pressure = Force/ Area) N/𝒎𝟐
Speed (Speed = distance travelled/time) m/s
Density (Density = mass/volume) kg/𝒎𝟑

Standard of Length, Mass and Time

• Length
Standard 1 meter = The distance travelled by light in a vacuum during a
time of 1/299792 458 second.
• Mass
Standard 1 kilogram = the mass of a specific platinum-iridium alloy cylinder
kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Sevres, France.
• Time
Standard 1 second = the time required for 9,192,631,770 of vibrations of
Cesium atoms.

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Measurement – the process of determining an

unknown quantity by using a standard
quantity.
• For example: Take a book and use a ruler to find its length.
Suppose that the length of the book is 20cm.
• You underwent through the process called Measurement where:
- The unknown Physical Quantity is the length of the book.
- The ruler is the standard quantity.
- 20 is the magnitude.
- cm is the unit.

Systems of Units
1. Metric System or System Internationale (SI)
Examples: CGS, MKS
For length – meter, centimeter
For mass - gram, kilogram
2. English System
Examples: FPS
For length – foot, inch, mile, yard
For mass - pound

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Systems of Units
1. CGS Unit System
Length Mass Time
centimeter gram second

2. FPS Unit System

Length Mass Time
foot pound second

3. MKS Unit System

Length Mass Time
meter kilogram second

Metric Prefixes for Powers of Ten

Prefix Symbol Numerical Value Example
atto a 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟖 0.000 000 000 000 000 015 m = 15x 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟖m = 15 am
femto f 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟓 0.000 000 000 000 015 m = 15x 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟓 m = 15 fm
pico p 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟐 0.000 000 000 010 F = 10 x 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟐𝐅 = 10 pF --(F=Farad)
nano n 𝟏𝟎−𝟗 0.000 000 250 C = 250 x 𝟏𝟎−𝟗 𝐂 = 250 nC --(C=Coulomb)
micro μ (mu) 𝟏𝟎−𝟔 0.000 050 C = 50 x 𝟏𝟎−𝟔 𝐂 = 50 μC
milli m 𝟏𝟎−𝟑 0.25 m = 250 x 𝟏𝟎−𝟑 𝐦 = 250 mm
centi c 𝟏𝟎−𝟐 0.01 m = 1x 𝟏𝟎−𝟐 𝐦= 1 cm
kilo k 𝟏𝟎𝟑 10 000 g = 10 x 𝟏𝟎𝟑 g = 10 kg
mega M 𝟏𝟎𝟔 1 500 000 Hz = 1.5 x 𝟏𝟎𝟔 Hz = 1.5 MHz
giga G 𝟏𝟎𝟗 1 050 000 000 W = 1.05 x 𝟏𝟎𝟗 W= 1.05 GW
tera T 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟐 1 000 000 000 000 eV = 1 x 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟐 𝐞𝐕 = 1TeV
peta P 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟓 1 500 000 000 000 000 m = 1.5 x 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟓 𝐦 = 1.5Pm
exa E 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟖 1 500 000 000 000 000 000 m = 1.5 x 𝟏𝟎𝟏𝟖 𝐦 = 1.5Em

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Exercises. Express the following quantities

in terms of prefixes for powers of ten.
1. Frequency = 100 500 Hz = 100.5 x 𝟏𝟎𝟑 Hz =100.5 kHz
2. Power = 350 000 000 W = 350 x 𝟏𝟎𝟔 W= 350 MW
3. Charge = 0.000 001 67 C = 1.67 x 𝟏𝟎−𝟔 C = 1.67 μC

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Conversion of Units
This involves multiplication and division. If you do your conversion
correctly, unwanted units will cancel.
To carry out a conversion we must keep in mind two rules:
1. Units are treated in an equation in exactly the same way as any
algebraic quantity and maybe multiplied and divided by one another.
2. Multiplying or dividing a quantity by 1 does not affect its value.
Example:
𝒌𝒎
1. Express a length of 347 km in meters. Note: 1km = 1000m ; 𝒌𝒎 = 1
𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒎
347 km x = 347,000 m answer
𝟏 𝒌𝒎

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2. Convert 20 minutes to seconds. Note that 1 min = 60s

𝟔𝟎 𝒔
20 min x 𝟏 𝒎𝒊𝒏 = 1,200 s

3. Convert 10 𝒇𝒕𝟐 to 𝒊𝒏𝟐 . Note that 1 ft = 12 in

𝟏𝟐 𝒊𝒏 𝟐
10 𝒇𝒕𝟐 x { }
𝟏 𝒇𝒕

(𝟏𝟐 𝒊𝒏)𝟐
= 10 𝒇𝒕𝟐 x (𝟏𝒇𝒕)𝟐

𝟏𝟒𝟒 𝒊𝒏𝟐
= 10 𝒇𝒕𝟐 x = 1,440 𝒊𝒏𝟐
𝟏𝒇𝒕𝟐

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4. A car is moving at a constant speed of 90 km/h. What is its

speed in m/s? 1km = 1000m , 1h = 3600s
𝟗𝟎 𝒌𝒎 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎𝒎 𝟏𝒉
x x = 25 m/s
𝒉 𝟏𝒌𝒎 𝟑𝟔𝟎𝟎𝒔

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Exercises. Convert the units of the following quantities:

1. 50 m/𝒔𝟐 = ______ km/𝒉𝟐
2. 500 kg.m/𝒔𝟐 = __ g.cm/𝒔𝟐
3. 50 rev/min = ___ rev/s
Solutions:
𝟓𝟎𝒎 𝟏𝒌𝒎 (𝟑𝟔𝟎𝟎𝒔)𝟐
1. x x
𝒔𝟐 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎𝒎 (𝟏𝒉)𝟐
𝟓𝟎 𝟏𝒌𝒎 (𝟑𝟔𝟎𝟎)𝟐𝒔𝟐 𝒌𝒎
= x x = 648,000
𝒔𝟐 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝟏𝒉𝟐 𝒉𝟐

𝟓𝟎𝟎𝒌𝒈.𝒎 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎𝒈 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝒄𝒎

2. x x =5 x 𝟏𝟎𝟕g.cm/𝒔𝟐
𝒔𝟐 𝟏𝒌𝒈 𝟏𝒎
𝟓𝟎 𝒓𝒆𝒗 𝟏 𝒎𝒊𝒏
3. x = 83.33 rev/s
𝒎𝒊𝒏 𝟔𝟎 𝒔

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Kinematics
Kinematics is the branch of mechanics concerned with
objects in motion, but not with the forces involved.

Scalars and Vectors

Scalar or Scalar Quantity – a quantity having magnitude
only. Examples: mass, length, speed, work, etc.
Vector or Vector Quantity - a quantity having both
magnitude and direction. Examples: displacement,
velocity, force, momentum, etc.

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