Units, Physical Quantities,

and Vectors
Muhammad Afnan Habibi
 Lesson Summary
• Three Fundamental Quantities of Physics
• The Difference between Scalars and Vectors
• Components of a Vector
• Unit Vectors
• Multiplying Vectors
 Nature of Physics
• Physics is an experimental science. Physicists observe the phenomena of
nature and try to find patterns that relate these phenomena. These
patterns are called physical theories or, when they are very well
established and widely used, physical laws or principles.
• To develop a physical theory, a physicist has to learn to ask appropriate
questions, design experiments to try to answer the questions, and draw
appropriate conclusions from the results.
• Legend has it that Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) dropped light and heavy
objects from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa (Fig. 1.1a) to find out
whether their rates of fall were the same or different. If we drop the feather
and the cannonball in a vacuum to eliminate the effects of the air, then
they do fall at the same rate.
 Solving Physics Problems
• Identify the target variables of the problem such as the speed
at which a projectile hits the ground, the intensity of a sound made
by a siren, or the size of an image made by a lens.
• Choose the equations that you’ll use to solve the problem. Make
sure that the variables you have identified correlate exactly with
those in the equations. If appropriate, draw a sketch of the situation
described in the problem.
• Study the worked examples to see what’s involved in this step. This
is where you do the math.
• Compare your answer with your estimates, and reconsider things if
there’s a discrepancy.
 Idealized Model
• In everyday conversation we
use the word “model” to mean
either a small-scale replica,
such as a model railroad, or a
person who displays articles of
clothing (or the absence
thereof).
• In physics a model is a
simplified version of a physical
system that would be too
complicated to analyze in full
detail. Fig 1. To simplify the analysis of (a) a
baseball in flight, we use (b) an idealized
model.
 Standards and Units
• Experiments require measurements, and we generally use numbers
to describe the results of measurements. Any number that is used to
describe a physical phenomenon quantitatively is called a physical
quantity. For example, two physical quantities that describe you are
your weight and your height. Some physical quantities are so
fundamental that we can define them only by describing how to
measure them. Such a definition is called an operational definition.
• When we measure a quantity, we always compare it with some
reference standard. Such a standard defines a unit of the quantity.
The
system of units used by scientists and engineers around the world is
commonly called “the metric system,” but since 1960 it has been
known officially as the International System, or SI
 Time
• In 1967, time is based on an atomic
clock, which uses the energy
difference between the two lowest
energy states of the cesium atom.
When bombarded by microwaves of
precisely the proper frequency,
cesium atoms undergo a transition
from one of these states to the other.
One second (abbreviated s) is
defined as the time required for
9,192,631,770 cycles of this
microwave radiation.

Fig 2. Measuring the

second
 Lenght
• In November 1983, the length
standard was changed again so that
the speed of light in vacuum was
defined to be precisely 299,792,458
m/s. Hence the new definition of the
meter (abbreviated m) is the distance
that light travels in vacuum in
Fig 3. Measuring the meter
1/299,792,458 second. This provides
a much more precise standard of
length than the one based on a
wavelength of light.
 Mass
• The standard of mass, the kilogram
(abbreviated kg), is defined to be the
mass of a particular cylinder of platinum–
iridium alloy kept at the International
Bureau of Weights and Measures at
Sèvres, near Paris.
• An atomic standard of mass would be
more fundamental, but at present we
cannot measure masses on an atomic
scale with as much accuracy as on a
macroscopic scale. The gram (which is Fig 4. The international standard
not a fundamental unit) is 0.001 kilogram. kilogram is the metal object carefully
enclosed within these nested glass
containers.
 Unit Prefixes
• Once we have defined the fundamental units, it is easy to
introduce larger and smaller units for the same physical
quantities.
• The names of the additional units are derived by adding a
prefix to the name of the fundamental unit. For example,
the prefix “kilo-,” abbreviated k, always means a unit
larger by a factor of 1000; thus
• 1 kilometer = 1 km = 103 meters = 103 m
1 kilogram = 1 kg = 103 grams = 103 g
1 kilowatt = 1 kW = 103 watts = 103 W
Table 1. Some Units of Length, Mass, and Time

Fig 5. Some typical lengths in the

universe. (f) is a scanning tunneling
microscope image of atoms on a
crystal surface; (g) is an artist’s
impression.
 The British System
• Finally, we mention the British system of units. These units
are used only in the United States and a few other countries,
and in most of these they are being replaced by SI units.
British units are now officially defined in terms of SI units, as
follows:
• Length: 1 inch = 2.54 cm (exactly)
Force: 1 pound = 4.448221615260 newtons (exactly)
• The newton, abbreviated N, is the SI unit of force. The British
unit of time is the second, defined the same way as in SI. In
physics, British units are used only in mechanics and
thermodynamics; there is no British system of electrical units.
 Unit Consistency
• We use equations to express relationships among physical
quantities, represented by algebraic symbols. Each algebraic
symbol always denotes both a number and a unit. For
example, d might represent a distance of 10 m, t a time of 5 s,
and v a speed of 2 m/s.
• An equation must always be dimensionally consistent. You
can’t add apples and automobiles; two terms may be added
or equated only if they have the same units. For example, if a
body moving with constant speed travels a distance d in a
time t, these quantities are related by the equation d = v t
 Example of Unit Conversion
𝑚𝑖 𝑚𝑖 1609 𝑘𝑚 1000 𝑚 1ℎ
a) 763.0
ℎ
= 763.0
ℎ 1 𝑚𝑖 1 𝑘𝑚 3600 𝑠
=
341.0 𝑚/𝑠
2.54 𝑐𝑚 3
b) 1.84 𝑖𝑛.3 = 1.84 𝑖𝑛.3 1 𝑖𝑛.
= 3.02 𝑐𝑚3
1𝑚 3
c) 3.02 𝑐𝑚3 = 3.02 𝑐𝑚3 100 𝑐𝑚
= 3.02 × 10−5 𝑚3
 Vectors
• When a physical quantity is described by a single number, we
call it a scalar quantity. In contrast, a vector quantity has
both a magnitude (the “how much” or “how big” part) and a
direction in space. Calculations that combine scalar quantities
use the operations of ordinary arithmetic.
• To understand more about vectors and how they combine, we
start with the simplest vector quantity, displacement.
Displacement is simply a change in the position of an object.
Displacement is a vector quantity because we must state not
only how far the object moves but also in what direction.
Fig 6. Displacement as a vector quantity. A displacement is always a straight-line segment directed
from the starting point to the ending point, even if the path is curved.

Fig 7. The meaning of vectors that have the same magnitude and the same or opposite
direction.
 Vector Addition
• Suppose a particle undergoes a displacement 𝐴Ԧ followed by a
second displacement 𝐵. The final result is the same as if the particle
had started at the same initial point and undergone a single
displacement 𝐶.Ԧ We call displacement the vector sum, or resultant,
of displacements and We express this relationship symbolically as
• 𝐶Ԧ = 𝐴Ԧ + 𝐵 = 𝐵 + 𝐴Ԧ
• When there are three displacement, 𝐴, Ԧ 𝐵, 𝐶,
Ԧ The vector sum is:
• 𝑅 = (𝐴Ԧ + 𝐵) + 𝐶Ԧ = 𝐷 + 𝐶Ԧ , or
• 𝑅 = 𝐴Ԧ + (𝐵 + 𝐶)
Ԧ = 𝐴Ԧ + 𝐸
Vector Subtraction and Scalar Multiplication
• We can subtract vectors as well as add them. To see how,
recall that vector −𝐴Ԧ has the same magnitude as but the
opposite direction. We define the difference 𝐴Ԧ − 𝐵 of two
vectors 𝐴Ԧ and 𝐵 to be the vector sum of 𝐴Ԧ and −𝐵 :
𝐴Ԧ − 𝐵 = 𝐴Ԧ + (−𝐵)
• A scalar used to multiply a vector may also be a physical
quantity. For example, you may be familiar with the
relationship:
𝐹Ԧ = 𝑚𝑎Ԧ
 Components of Vectors
• We can represent any vector lying in the xy-plane
(Cartesian Coordinate) as the sum of a vector parallel to
the x-axis and a vector parallel to the y-axis. Suppose 𝐴Ԧ is
equal to the summation vectors of 𝐴Ԧ𝑥 and 𝐴Ԧ𝑦 :
𝐴Ԧ = 𝐴Ԧ𝑥 + 𝐴Ԧ𝑦
• The angle between vector 𝐴Ԧ and the positive x-axis is θ. If
θ is measured, then from the definition of the trigonometric
functions,
𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑦
= 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 𝑎𝑛𝑑 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
𝐴 𝐴
 Unit Vectors
• A unit vector is a vector that has a magnitude of 1, with
no units. Its only purpose is to point—that is, to describe a
direction in space.
𝐴Ԧ = 𝐴Ԧ𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝐴Ԧ𝑦 𝑗Ƹ
• The resultant 𝑅 of two vector 𝐴Ԧ and 𝐵, which are 3 axes
applied, is:
𝐴Ԧ = 𝐴Ԧ𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝐴Ԧ𝑦 𝑗Ƹ + 𝐴Ԧ𝑧 𝑘෠ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵 = 𝐵𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝐵𝑦 𝑗Ƹ + 𝐵𝑧 𝑘෠
𝑅 = (𝐴𝑥 + 𝐵𝑥 )𝑖Ƹ + (𝐴𝑦 + 𝐵𝑦 )𝑗Ƹ + (𝐴𝑧 + 𝐵𝑧 )𝑘෠
𝑅 = 𝑅𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + 𝑅𝑦 𝑗Ƹ + 𝑅𝑧 𝑘෠
 Products of Vector
• The scalar product of two vectors 𝐴Ԧ and 𝐵 is denoted by
𝐴Ԧ ∙ 𝐵. Although 𝐴Ԧ and 𝐵 are vectors, the quantity is a
scalar.
𝐴Ԧ ∙ 𝐵 = ABcosφ = 𝐴Ԧ 𝐵 cosφ
• The vector product of two vectors 𝐴Ԧ and 𝐵 also called
the cross product, is denoted by 𝐴Ԧ × 𝐵. As the name
suggests, the vector product is itself a vector. If 𝐶Ԧ = 𝐴Ԧ ×
𝐵, the magnitude is: 𝐶 = A𝐵sinφ
• The direction of 𝐶Ԧ is following the right-hand rule.