PH 221-1D Spring 2013
Introduction and Measurement
Lecture 1
Chapter 1
(Halliday/Resnick/Walker, Fundamentals of Physics 9th edition)
The Nature of Physics
 The science of physics has developed out of the efforts of men and
women to explain our physical environment. These efforts have
been so successful that the laws of physics now encompass a
remarkable variety of phenomena, including planetary orbits, radio
and TV waves, magnetism and lasers, to name just a few.
 The exciting feature of physics is its capacity for predicting how
nature will behave in one situation on the basis of experimental data
obtained in another situation. Such predictions place physics at the
heart of modern technology and, therefore, can have a tremendous
impact on our lives (e.g. the medical profession uses X-rays,
ultrasonic, and magnetic resonance methods for the obtaining
images of the interior of the human body, and physics lies at the
core of all these).
 Because physics is so fundamental, it is a required course for
students in a wide range of major areas. During studies of physics
you will learn how to see the world through the “eyes” of physics,
reason as a physicist does, and will learn how to apply physics
principles to a wide range of problems.
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Chapter 1
Measurement
In this chapter we will explore the following concepts:
1. Measurement of a physical parameter
2. Units, Systems of units
3. Basic Units in Mechanics
4. Changing units
5. Significant figures
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In Physics we carry out experiments in which we measure physical parameters.
We then try to deduce the relationship between the measured quantities. We
usually express this relationship in the form of a mathematical equation which
we call the “physical law” that describes the phenomenon under study. A
familiar example is Ohm’s law. The experiment in this case consists of
measuring the electric voltage difference V applied across a conductor and the
resulting electric current I that flows through the conductor
If we plot I versus V we get a straight line. This is expressed in the form:
The equation is known as: “Ohm’s Law”
V
R is known as the “resistance” of the conductor
R   Constant
I
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Assume that you step on your bathroom scale and that it reads 120
The number alone is meaningless. It must be accompanied by the units
120 lb is a very different reading from 120 kg!
Conclusion: We measure each physical quantity in its own units, by comparison
with a standard. The unit is a unique name we assign to measures of that quantity
(meter –unit of length). The standard corresponds to exactly 1.0 unit of the
quantity. Does this mean that we have to define units for all parameters?
The answer is no. In mechanics we need to define only three parameters:
These parameters are: Length , Time, and Mass
They are known as: base quantities
Note: For the rest of the non-mechanical parameters we need to define only one
more unit, that of the electric current
In this book we use the International System of Units (SI)
In this system the units for the base quantities are:
Parameter
Unit Name
Symbol
Length
meter
m
Time
second
s
Mass
kilogram
kg
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Powers of Ten and Scientific Notation
In science, very large and very small decimal numbers are conveniently expressed in
terms of powers of ten.
100 = 1
101 = 10
10-1 = 1/10 = 0.1
102 = 100
10-2 = 1/102 = 0.01
103 = 1000
10-3 = 1/103 = 0.001
Example:
Earth’s radius = 6,380,000 m = 6.38 x 106 m
The factor of ten raised to the six power is ten multiplied by itself six times. The
decimal place should be moved six places to the right to obtain the number without
the power of ten.
Numbers expressed with the aid of powers of ten are said to be in scientific notation.
Calculations that involve the multiplication and division of powers of ten are carried
out according to the following general rules:
1/10n = 10-n
10n x 10m = 10n+m
10n/10m = 10n-m
Where n and m are any positive or negative numbers.
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The meter
A
earth
C
equator B
In 1792 the meter was defined to be one ten-millionth of
the distance from the north pole to the equator.
1m
AB
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For practical reasons the meter was later defined as the
distance between two fine lines on a standard meter
bar made of platinum-iridium.
Since 1983 the meter is defined as the length traveled
by light in vacuum during the time interval of
1/299792458 of a second. The reason why this
definition was adapted was that the measurement of
the speed of light had become extremely precise
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Length
Metric System (decimal approach)
All quantities are divided into 10, 100, 1000…
Multiples and submultiples of the meter (m)
Kilometer
1 km = 103 m
Meter
1m
Centimeter
1 cm = 10-2 m
Millimeter
1 mm = 10-3 m
Micron
1 µm = 10-6 m
Nanometer
1 nm = 10-9 m
Angstrom
1 Å = 10-10 m
Fermi
1 fm = 10-15 m
Multiples and submultiples of the foot
Mile
1 mile = 5280 feet = 1609.38 m
Yard
1 yard = 3 ft = 0.9144 m
Foot
1 ft = 0.3048 m
Inch
1 in. = 2.540 cm
The meter is the length traveled by a light wave in a vacuum in a time interval of
1/299,792,458 s
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Some distances and sizes
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Time
Conceptually, time is the measure of the rate at which change occurs.
In 1967, the SI unit of time, the second (s), was defined as the interval required for
9,192,631,770 vibrations of the cesium-133 atom measured via an atomic beam clock.
3000 years ago the Egyptians divided day and night into 12 equal hours.
Babylonian arithmetic used 60 at its number base – began tradition of subdividing things
into 60 equal parts.
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14th century mechanical clock – hour was divided into 60 minutes, 60 sec. = 1 minute
The Second
(1-5)
Initially the second was defined as follows:
1
24  60  60
of the time it takes the earth
to complete a full rotation
1 second 
about its axis
The problem with this definition is that the length of the day is not constant as is
shown in the figure. For this reason since 1967 the second is defined as the
time taken by 9192631770 light oscillations of a particular wavelength emitted by
a cesium-133 atom. This definition is so precise that it would take two cesium
clocks 6000 years before their readings would differ more than 1 second.
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Multiples and Submultiples of the Second
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The kilogram
The SI standard of mass is a platinum-iridium cylinder shown in the figure. The
cylinder is kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris
and assigned a mass of 1 kilogram. Accurate copies have been sent to other
countries.
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The meter, the second, and the kilogram are the fundamental units or base units for
length, time and mass.
Any other physical quantity can be measured by introducing a derived unit
constructed from some combination of the base units.
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Significant Figures
(1-8)
A certain parameter, for example the length L of an object, can be determined
with a varying degree of accuracy. The accuracy depends on the measurement
method and the measuring instrument. If I measure L with a ruler
(smallest division = 1 mm) I can write L as: L = 1.234 m. The length L is given
with four significant figures. It would be meaningless to write L as: L = 1.2345 m
because my ruler cannot measure a fraction of a millimeter. If on the other hand
I use calipers that can measure with an accuracy of 0.1 mm, then I can write
L = 1.2345 m, and L is given with five significant figures.
In a calculation the number of significant figures cannot be larger than the
number of significant figures of the parameters used in the measurement
Example: A car traveling with constant speed v covers a distance d = 123 m
d 123 m
=
=15.5893536 m/s
t
7.89 s
It is meaningless to use 9 significant figures to express v because d and t used
in a time t = 7.89 s. The speed v is given by: v =
to determine v are known with an accuracy of only 3 significant figures
The correct way to express v is: v = 15.6 m/s i.e. with 3 significant figures.
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Ruler
Calipers
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Significant Figures
Measurement is very different from counting, although both associate numbers with
notions. We can count the number of beans in a jar and know it exactly. But we
cannot measure the height of a jar exactly.
There is no such thing as an exact measurement.
Practically, measurements are made to some desired precision that suits the
experimenter’s purposes (often determined by the limitations of the available
instruments).
Example:
A rod whose length is being measured with a ruler.
The object is between 4.1 and 4.2 cm long. Because there are no finer divisions than 1 mm on
the scale, fractions of a millimeter will have to be estimated. We conclude that the rod is 4.15 cm
long. The 4 is certain, as is the 1, but the 5 might be in error as much as ±1 and trying to arrive
at any more figures would be meaningless.
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Changing Units
Quite often we have to change the units of a physical parameter. To do that
we must have the conversion factor between one unit and the other.
Appendix D lists several conversion factors between SI units and other units
Example: Express the highway speed limit of 65 miles per hour in meters per second.
1 mile 1609 m

1
1609 m 1 mile
1 hour 3600 s

1
1 hour = 3600 s. The converion factors can be written as :
3600 s 1 hour
The method is called chain link conversion
1 mile = 1609 m. The converion factors can be written as :
We use one of the two forms of the conversion factor that eliminates the units
we wish to change and introduces the new units.
In our example:
65
miles 
miles   1609 m  1 hour 
m
  65

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


hour 
hour   1 mile  3600 s 
s
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The role of units in problem solving
Since any quantity, such as length, can be measured in several different units, it is
important to know how to convert from one unit to another.
Example: Someone is 2.00 yard tall. Using the fact that 1 inch is exactly 2.54
cm, how tall is the person in centimeters?
Reasoning: When converting between units we write down the units explicitly in the
calculations and treat them like any algebraic quantity. In particular we will take
advantage of the following algebraic fact: Multiplying or dividing an equation by a
factor of 1 does not alter the equation.
Solution:
-Since 3.00 feet = 1.00 yard, it follows that (3.00 feet)/(1.00 yard) = 1
-Since 12.0 inches = 1.00 foot, it follows that (12.0 inches)/(1.00 foot) = 1
-Since 2.54 cm = 1.00 inch, it follows that (2.54 cm)/(1.00 inch) = 1
-Using these factor to multiply the equation:
“Height = h = 2.00 yards” we find that
h = (2.00 yd)(1)(1)(1) = (2.00 yd) * (3.00 ft)/(1.00 yd) * (12.0 in)/(1.00 ft) * (2.54 cm)(1 inch) = 182.88 cm
After rounding to three significant figures: h = 183 cm
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Units as a problem solving aid
• Guides the use of conversion factors
•Provides an internal check to eliminate certain kinds of errors if the units are carried
along during each step of the calculation and treated like any algebraic factor.
Example:
The tank of a car contains 2.0 gallons of gas to start with and that gas is added at a rate of 7.0
gallons/minute. The total amount of gas in the tank 96 seconds later can be obtained by adding the
amount put into the tank to the amount present initially.
Total amount =
Initial amount of gas + Gas added =
2.0 gallons + (7.0 gallons/min)(96 sec) =
2.0 gallons + 672 gallons * sec/min ≠ 2.0 + 672 = 674
because the units for the two added terms are not the same
Solution:
Total amount =
2.0 gallons + 7.0 gallons/min * 1 min/60 sec * 96 sec =
2.0 gallons + 11 gallons = 13 gallons
•Only quantities that have exactly the same units can be added or subtracted.
•The procedure of carrying along the units serves as automatic reminder to convert all data in
calculations into a consistent set of units.
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Dimensional Analysis
•In physics, the term dimensional analysis is used to refer to the physical nature of a
quantity and the type of unit used to specify that quantity.
•Dimensional analysis is used to check mathematical relations for the consistency of
their dimensions.
Example: A car starts from rest and accelerates to a speed “v” in a time “t”. We wish to
calculate distance ‘x’ traveled by the car, but we are not sure whether the correct relation
is x = ½vt2 or x = ½vt.
•We can determine the correct relation by checking the quantities on both sides of the
equation to see if they have the same dimensions. If the dimensions are not the same,
the relation is incorrect.
x = ½vt2 cannot be correct
x = ½vt
[L] = [L/T] * [T]2 = [L][T]
[L] = [L/T] * [T] = [L]
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