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Lecture 2 - Units and Measurements.

This document provides an introduction and overview of key mathematical concepts in physics, including units, trigonometry, vectors, and dimensional analysis. It discusses the subfields of introductory physics such as mechanics, thermal physics, electricity and magnetism. It also covers the important base quantities in the SI system of units and derived quantities. Examples of unit conversions and dimensional analysis are provided.

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173 views27 pages

Lecture 2 - Units and Measurements.

This document provides an introduction and overview of key mathematical concepts in physics, including units, trigonometry, vectors, and dimensional analysis. It discusses the subfields of introductory physics such as mechanics, thermal physics, electricity and magnetism. It also covers the important base quantities in the SI system of units and derived quantities. Examples of unit conversions and dimensional analysis are provided.

Uploaded by

amany
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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C HAPTE R 1

Introduction and
Mathematical Concepts
Units: Unit conversion, Dimensional
Analysis

Trigonometry
Vectors
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1.1 The Nature of Physics


What is physics?

1.1 The Nature of Physics


Physics is the study of the fundamental laws of
nature.

1.1 The Nature of Physics


Physics is the study of the fundamental laws of
nature.
Physics is the study of energy, matter and their
mutual relationship.

1.1 The Nature of Physics


Physics is the study of the fundamental laws of
nature.
Physics is the study of energy, matter and their
mutual relationship.
The beauty of physics is its capacity for
predicting how nature will behave in one
situation on the basis of experimental data
obtained in another situation.

Sub-Fields of Physics
Introductory physics is divided into the following
sub-fields:
Mechanics
Thermal physics
Wave motion and sound
Electricity and magnetism
Light and optics
Modern physics

Sub-Fields of Physics
Introductory physics is divided into the following
sub-fields:
Mechanics
Our focus will be on these two fields
Thermal physics
Wave motion and sound
Electricity and magnetism
Light and optics
Modern physics

Base (Fundamental) Quantities and units


Quantity
Mass
Time
Length
Temperature
Electric current
Amount of
substance
Luminous
intensity

Units
kilogram
second
meter
Kelvin
Ampere

Symbol
kg
s
m
K
A

mole

mol

candela

cd

Derived quantities
All other quantities are derived from base
quantities e.g.
Area = length x height x width
Minute = 1 x 60 seconds
Weight = mass x gravity
Force, Energy, Power, Pressure etc.

Unit consistency is important


Always use units in your calculations.
When a problem requires calculations using
numbers with units, always write the numbers
with the correct units and carry the units
through the calculation. (Use the same system of
units. The recommended is SI units System.)

Units
System
SI

CGS

SI stands for the French phrase "Le Systeme International d'Unitus."


CGS - centimeter (cm), gram (g), and second.

Units
System
SI
Length meter (m)

CGS

BE

centimeter (cm) foot (ft)

SI stands for the French phrase "Le Systeme International d'Unitus."


CGS - centimeter (cm), gram (g), and second.

Units
System
SI
Length meter (m)
Mass

CGS

BE

centimeter (cm) foot (ft)

kilogram (kg) gram (g)

slug (sl)

SI stands for the French phrase "Le Systeme International d'Unitus."


CGS - centimeter (cm), gram (g), and second.
BE - British Engineering.

Units
System
SI
Length meter (m)

CGS

BE

centimeter (cm) foot (ft)

Mass

kilogram (kg) gram (g)

slug (sl)

Time

second (s)

second (s)

second (s)

SI stands for the French phrase "Le Systeme International d'Unitus."


CGS - centimeter (cm), gram (g), and second.
BE - British Engineering.

Prefixes

Exercises-Conversion of Units
Volume of a box is 30.2 cm3. Express the units
in m3. An inch is equal to 2.540 cm. Express
your volume in inches. (1 m=100 cm)
A car is moving with a speed of 36km/h.
Express the speed in m/s. (1 Km=1000 m)
The density of gold is 19.3 g/cm3.What is this
value in kilograms per cubic meter? (1 Kg=
1000 g)

Challenge
A guidebook describes the rate of climb
of a mountain trail as 120 meters per
kilometer. How can you express this as a
number with no units?

More exercises
(1 inch = 2.54 cm = 25.4 mm)
1 mile = 1.60934 Km=1609.34 m
1. A fish tank is 20 inches by 12 inches by 12
inches. What is its volume in mm3?
2. The speed of light is 3 x 108 m/s. What is
the speed of light in cm/s. What is the
speed of light in miles/year?

Dimensional Analysis
In physics, the term dimension is used to
refer to the physical nature of a quantity and
the type of unit used to specify it.
Length- L (m), Width L (m), Depth-L (m)
Mass-M (Kg), (g)
Time-T (s)
2
2
Area = L (m )

Volume = L3 (m3 )
Velocity = L/T (m/s)

Example 1

So x has dimensions of length.

Example 2

Exercise 1

Exercise 1

Exercise 2
If y is measured in meters (m), t is the time (s) and v
is the speed (m/s), what are the dimensions of C, D
and E where y= Ct2 Dv+E
A. All three are dimensionless
B. L/T2 and T, constant
C. 1/T, T and T2
D. T/M, M/T and M/T2
.

Exercise 3
In an equation y=mx+c; y and x have dimensions of
length and c is constant. What are the dimensions of
m?
A. Mass
B. Length
C. Time
D. m is Dimensionless
.

Exercises

Exercises

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