Chapter 1 : Introduction &

dimensional analysis
Conversion of units, coordinate
systems; trigonometry

By. Dr. Souraya Goumri-Said

College of Science/Physics department

Physics 205: Mechanics for Life Sciences
 Course Outline
• Introduction
• Standards of Length, Mass and Time
• The Building Blocks of Matter
• Dimensional Analysis
• Uncertainty in Measurement and
Significant Figures
• Conversion of Units
• Coordinate Systems
• Trigonometry
 Standards of Length, Mass and Time

• The goal of physics is to develop theories

based on experiments
• A physical theory, usually express
mathematically and describes how a “given”
system works
• The theory makes predictions about how a
system should work
• Experiments check the theories' predictions
• Every theory is a work in progress
 Standards of Length, Mass and Time

• To describe motion, physicists use three

fundamental quantities: length, mass, and
time.
– length (L) 10-20 m ≤ L ≤ 15 billion light years
– mass (M) 10-31 kg (me) ≤ M ≤ 1052 kg
– time (T) 0 seconds ≤ T ≤ 15 billion years
 Systems of Measurement
• In Physics we employ two main unit systems:
– SI (le systeme international) or MKS system
• international unit system: 1960 Paris Confernce
• standard units of measurement include
– meter (m) for length
– kilogram (kg) for mass
– second (s) for time
– Gaussian or CGS system
• unit system commonly used in electromagnetism
• standard units of measurement include
– centimeter (cm) for length
– gram (g) for mass
– second (s) for time
 The Building Blocks of Matter
• Matter exists on several different size scales:
– Virus ≈ 10-7 m
– Molecule ≈ 10-9 m
– Atom ≈ 10-10 m
– Nucleus ≈ 10-14 m
– Protons & Neutrons ≈ 10-15 m
– Quarks ≈ 10-18 m
– Sub-quark ≈ ???
 Dimensional Analysis
• A dimension of a quantity is the physical nature of that
quantity.
• The fundamental dimensions are expressed by
– “L” for length
– “M” for mass
– “T” for time
• Every quantity can be broken down into these three
fundamentals.
• Only quantities of the same dimension can be
added/subtracted.
• Any two quantities can be multiplied/divided regardless of
their physical dimensions.
 Dimensional Analysis

• When expressing a value in dimensional form,

place it in brackets.
• Examples:

L
[area ]  L  L  L
2
[velocity ] 
T
L
[volume]  L  L  L  L
3
[acceleration] 
T
2
 -Remarks-
• Physical dimensional analysis can be used to
check the validity of an equation.
• In order for an equation to be physically correct, it
must have the same dimensions on both sides.
• Example:
– Is this equation physically possible?
V → [V ] → L → L NO!
x [ x]  T L
T [T ] L T 2

T
 Let’s do some physics!
Problem 1
The period of a simple pendulum, defined as the time for
one complete oscillation, is measured in time units and is
given by

T  2
g

where ℓ is the length of the pendulum and g is the

acceleration due to gravity, in units of length divided by
time squared. Show that this equation is dimensionally
consistent.
 Problem 1 : Solution

Substituting in the fundamental

dimensions,

[l ] L
[T ]   2
 T T
2

[g] L /T
Thus, the dimensions are consistent.
 Conversion of Units

• Within the metric unit

system (SI and CGS), all
quantities are based on
powers of ten.
• Conversion requires simply
moving the decimal.
• Table 1.4 lists several
prefixes for the powers of
ten used in the metric
system.
 Conversion of Units
• Converting between SI and English units requires the use
of conversion factors.
• Examples:
– 1 mile = 1609 meters
– 1 foot = 0.3048 meters
– 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
• Many other conversion factors can be found in the front
cover of your textbook.
• Example:
– Express 60 mph in SI units.

60miles  1609m  1hour 

    26.82m / s
1hour  1mile  3600 s 
 Coordinate Systems
• Any coordinate system is
defined by the following:
– an origin, O (a fixed
reference point)
– a set of scaled, labeled axes
– a method of defining any
point in space in relation to
the origin
• In the Cartesian coordinates
system, any point p is defined
by the ordered pair (x,y).
• Example:
– In this diagram, point Q is
defined by an x-coordinate
(-3) and a y-coordinate (4).
 Coordinate Systems

• In the Polar Coordinates system,

any point p is defined by the
ordered pair (r,θ).
• r is the distance from the origin
O
• θ is the angle between the
reference line and r.
• Cartesian and polar coordinates
are related according to these
equations:

y
x  r cos  y  r sin  r x y
2 2
  arctan
x
 Trigonometry
– Trigonometry is the
mathematical approach to
studying angles.
– According to the Pythagorean
Theorem, the sum of the
squares of the two sides of any
right triangle will always equal
the square of the hypotenuse:

a b  c
2 2 2
 Problem 3
A right triangle has a hypotenuse of length
3.00 m, and one of its angles is 30.0°. What
are the lengths of
(a) the side opposite the 30.0° angle and
(b)the side adjacent to the 30.0° angle?
 Problem 3 : Solution
(a) side opposite = (sin 30.0°)(3.00m)
= 1.5 m

(b) adjacent side = (cos 30.0°)(3.00 m)

= 2.6 m
 Problem 4

In the figure, find

(a) the side opposite θ,
(b) the side adjacent to φ,
(c) cos θ,
(d) sin φ,
(e) tan φ.
 Problem 4 : solution

(a) The side opposite θ is 3.00.

(b) The side adjacent to φ = 3.00.
(c) cos θ = 4/5 = 0.8.
(d) sin φ = 4/5 = 0.8.
(e) tan φ = 4/3 = 1.33.
Trigonometry formula (Useful for review)
 Vectors and scalars

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 Vectors and scalars
• A scalar quantity can be described by a single
number.
• A vector quantity has both a magnitude and a
direction in space.
• In this book, a vector quantity is represented in

boldface italic type with an arrow over it: A.
• The magnitude of A is written as A or |A|.


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Vectors and scalars
Vector quantities need both magnitude (size) and
direction to completely describe them.

The magnitude of any number is usually

called its "absolute value" denoted by |x|.
Generally denoted by an arrow over the letter

Scalar quantities are completely described by magnitude only

• THE SIMPLEST VECTOR IS A ONE DIMENSIONAL VECTOR
• ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE
• CAN BE EITHER POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE
• THE VECTOR A
• POINTING IN THE POSITIVE X- DIRECTION
• THE VECTOR –A
• SAME MAGNITUDE AS VECTOR A, BUT IN THE NEGATIVE
X-DIRECTION
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 Drawing vectors—Figure 1.10
• Draw a vector as a line with an arrowhead at its tip.
• The length of the line shows the vector’s magnitude.
• The direction of the line shows the vector’s direction.
• Figure 1.10 shows equal-magnitude vectors having the
same direction and opposite directions.

𝐴)= 𝐴=|⃗
( 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ⃗ 𝐴|

Two vectors are equal if they

have the same magnitude and
the same direction

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 Adding two vectors graphically—Figure 1.11
• Two vectors may be added graphically using either the parallelogram
method or the head-to-tail method.

or by simply And it doesn't

joining them matter which order
head-to-tail we add them, we
get the same result

If vectors and are both drawn with their tails at the same point, vector is the
diagonal of a parallelogram constructed with and as two adjacent sides.

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 Adding two vectors graphically—Figure 1.12
Only when two vectors and are parallel does the magnitude of their sum
equal the sum of their magnitudes:

When and are antiparallel, the magnitude of their sum equals the
difference of their magnitudes:

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 Adding more than two vectors graphically

• To add several vectors, use the head-to-tail method.

• The vectors can be added in any order.

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 Subtracting vectors
• Figure 1.14 shows how to subtract vectors.

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 Multiplying a vector by a scalar

• If c is a scalar, the

product cA has
magnitude |c|A.

• Figure 1.15 illustrates

multiplication of a vector
by a positive scalar and a
negative scalar.

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 Components of a vector

Breaking vector into 2 components

𝐴 𝑦 = 𝐴 sin 𝜃

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𝐴𝑥 = 𝐴cos 𝜃
 Positive and negative components—Figure 1.18

• The components of a vector can

be positive or negative numbers,
as shown in the figure.

the cosine of an
angle in the the first quadrant
second quadrant (between 0° and 90°),
is negative

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 Finding components—Figure 1.19

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 Finding components—Figure 1.19
• A) We can calculate the components of a vector from its
magnitude and direction.

• B) We must use the angle

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 Calculations using components
• We can use the components of a vector to find its magnitude
Ay
and direction: A  Ax  Ay and tan 
2 2
A x

’s magnitude and direction are related to its components through

the Pythagorean theorem and the definition of the tangent

𝐴= √ 𝐴 + 𝐴 2
𝑥
2
𝑦

tan 𝜃 =
𝐴𝑦
−1 𝐴𝑦
𝐴𝑥 𝜃=tan ( )
𝐴𝑥

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 Calculations using components
• We can use the components of a
set of vectors to find the components
of their sum:
Rx  Ax  Bx  Cx , Ry  Ay  By  Cy 

• Refer to Problem-Solving
Strategy 1.3.

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 Unit vectors—Figures 1.23–1.24
• A unit vector has a magnitude of 1 with no units.
• Unit vectors provide a convenient notation for
many expressions involving components of
vectors
• The unit vector î points in the +x-direction,
k
j points in the +y-direction, and k points in the
j

+z-direction.
• Any vector can be expressed in terms of its
components as
k
A =Axî+ Ay  + Az k. j
j

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 Example

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 The scalar product
The scalar product of two vectors and is denoted by Because of this
notation, the scalar product is also called the dot product. Although and
are vectors, the quantity is a scalar.
To define the scalar product we draw the two vectors and with their tails
at the same point

Figure 1.25b shows the projection of the vector onto the direction of this
projection is the component of in the direction of and is equal to

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 The scalar product
The scalar product is a scalar quantity, not a vector, and it may be
positive, negative, or zero.

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 The scalar product

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 Calculating a scalar product

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 Calculating a scalar product

[Insert figure 1.27 here]

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 Calculating a scalar product-solution

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 The vector product—Figures 1.29–1.30
The vector product of two vectors and also called
the cross product, is denoted by

To define the vector product , we draw the two

vectors and with their tails at the same point (Fig.
right). The two vectors then lie in a plane.
We define the vector product to be a vector
quantity with a direction perpendicular
to this plane (that is, perpendicular to both and
and a magnitude equal to
 
| A B |  AB sin

This figure shows this right-hand

rule and describes a second way to
think about this rule.

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 The vector product—Figures 1.29–1.30

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 Calculating the Vector Product Using Components
If we know the components of and we can calculate the components
of the vector product using a procedure similar to that for the scalar
product. The vector product of any vector with itself is zero

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 Calculating the Vector Product Using Components

The vector product can also be expressed in determinant

form as

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