Lesson 1: Systems of measurements

Contents: International System Conversion of Units Dimension of Physical quantities Introduction Most scientists make measurements using the International System of Units (System International dUnites or SI for short). The SI unit starts with seven base units and all the other units are derived from them. Lengths: ength is the distance between two !oints. The basic unit of length is metre. The meter is the length of the !ath traveled by orange light in vacuum during a time interval of "#$%% &%$ '() of a second. Measuring ta!es* metre rules or rulers are used to measure length in the laboratory.

Mater +uler

Measuring Ta!es

" km (kilometer) " cm (centimeter)

, , ,

" - "./ m " - ".0$ m " - ".0/ m " - ".01 m " - ".0% m

, , , , ,

"... m ..." m ...." m ..... .." m ..... ... .." m

" mm (millimeter)

" m (micrometer) , " nm (nanometer) ,

Mass: Mass is the 2uantity of matter in a body and it is different from weight. The basic unit of mass is kilogram. The kilogram is the unit of mass3 it is e2ual to the mass of a !latinum alloy ke!t at the 4ffice of 5eight and Measures in 6aris. In the laboratory* the mass of the ob7ect can be found using a beam balance or electronic balance.

Digital Balance

A Beam Balance

"T "g

(tonne) (gram)

, , ,

" - "./ kg " - ".0/ kg " - ".01 kg

, , ,

"... kg ...." kg ..... .." kg

" mg (milligram)

Time: In old clocks such as 89randfather: clock use the beats of the !endulum to run the clock where as modern digital watches use the vibrations made by a 2uart; crystal. The basic unit of time is seconds. It is e2ual to the duration of % "%$ 1/" &&. !eriods of the radiation corres!onding to the transition between the two hy!erfine levels of the ground state of the cesium "// atom. In the laboratory we use sto!watch for measuring the time.

Stopwatch

" ms " s " ns

(millisecond) (microsecond) (nanosecond)

, , ,

" - ".0/ s " - ".01 s " - ".0% s

, , ,

...." s ..... .." s ..... ... .."s

Volume: The volume of any solid* li2uid* !lasma* vacuum or theoretical ob7ect is how much three0dimensional s!ace it occu!ies* often 2uantified numerically. <olumes of some sim!le sha!es* such as regular* straight0edged and circular sha!es can be easily calculated using arithmetic formulas. The volume of any sha!e can be determined by dis!lacement.

To measure volume of irregular solid* insert the ob7ect into a known volume of water in a measuring cylinder. The increase in volume gives the volume of the irregular ob7ect.

" cm/ "l " ml

(cubic centimtre) (litre) (milliliter)

, , ,

" ml "... cm/ " - ".0/ l

(millilitre) , " -"./ cm/ , ...." l

Prefixes of Units and Standard Form

5e use !refi-es with the unit of any !hysical 2uantity to e-!ress how much smaller or larger it is. Sometime we e-!ress the numbers using the !ower of ". and is said to be in the standard form. =ilo >eci ?enti Milli Micro @ano e.g. $'/ cm /' mg /1( s , , , $'/ - ".0$ m /' - ".0/ g /1( - ".0% s , "... , "#". , "#".. , "#"*... , "#"*...*... , "#"*...*...*... , , , , , , "./ ".0" ".0$ ".0/ ".01 ".0%

Con ersion of Units ?onversion of unit is not difficult if you know the !refi- of the units and their standard forms. Aou can use ratio method of calculation to convert one unit to the other. e.g. ?hange /'( cm to m Ste! "B Cirst change cm to m Ste! $B Use +atio method "m " , , , " -".01 m /'( - ".0$ m (/'( - ".0$)# (" - ".01) m /'( cm , /'( - ".0$m

!imension of Physical "uantities

Dy convention* !hysical 2uantities are organi;ed in a dimensional system built u!on base 2uantities* each of which is regarded as having its own dimension. In the SI system of units* there are seven base units* but other conventions may have a different number of fundamental units. The base 2uantities according to the International System of Euantities (ISE) and their dimensions are listed in the following tableB Sym$ol for %uantity l t m I T n Iv Sym$ol for dimension L T M I & # '

#ame ength Time Mass Flectric current Thermodynamic tem!erature Gmount of substance uminous intensity

SI $ase unit meter second kilogram am!ere kelvin mole candela

Gll other 2uantities are derived 2uantities since their dimensions are derived from those of base 2uantities by multi!lication and division. !eri ed %uantity area volume s!eed* velocity acceleration mass density s!ecific volume current density magnetic field strength !lane angle fre2uency force !ressure* stress energy* work* 2uantity of heat !ower* radiant fluelectric charge* 2uantity of electricity Flectromotive force electric !otential difference* ca!acitance s2uare meter cubic meter meter !er second meter !er second s2uared kilogram !er cubic meter cubic meter !er kilogram am!ere !er s2uare meter am!ere !er meter radian (a) hert; newton !ascal 7oule watt coulomb volt volt farad #ame Sym$ol m$ m/ m#s m#s$ kg#m/ m/#kg G#m$ G#m rad H; @ 6a I 5 ? < < C

electric resistance electric conductance magnetic flumagnetic flu- density inductance ?elsius tem!erature luminous fluilluminance activity (of a radionuclide)

ohm siemens weber tesla henry degree ?elsius lumen lubec2uerel S 5b T H J? lm lD2

Practice "uestions

"uestion 1

"uestion (

"uestion )

"uestion *

"uestion +

"uestion ,

"uestion -

"uestion .

"uestion /

"uestion 10

"uestion 11 ?hange the following units to standard form a. ..'(1 mm b. (1&). kg c. ........)%& m d. $/'(1 ml e. '((& g f. /'( m , , , , , , m kg m cm/ kg m

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