Introduction of Units and Measurements

Table of Content
 Introduction to Units and Measurements
 Unit
 How are units decided?
 Fundamental and Derived Quantities
o Fundamental Quantities
o Derived Quantities

Introduction to Units and Measurements

Physics explains the law of nature in a special way. This explanation includes a quantitative
description, comparison, and measurement of certain physical quantities. To measure or compare a
physical quantity we need to fix some standard unit of the quantity. The weight of lion is heavier than
a goat. But how many times? Robin is taller than Prashant, but how tall? To answer such questions
we need to fix some unit. Suppose mass is the unit, then we can conclude that weight of the lion is
200 times to that of a goat. Similarly, if we use length as a unit, we can easily determine that Robin
is 2 times unit taller to that of Prashant. Thus the physical quantities are described in terms of a unit
of that quantity.

Unit
To measure any quantity or compare two quantities we need an internationally acquired standard
called Unit. The measurement of any physical quantity is expressed in terms of a number and a
specific unit.
Measurement = Quantity × Unit
Example:
 John studies for 3 hours, then “3” is the quantity and “hour” is the unit of time
 Ashok weighs 81 kilograms or kg then “81” is the quantity and “kg” is the unit of weight
 Ram is 20 cm taller than Akash, here “20” presents quantity and “cm” represents unit of
length
 
How are units decided?

How do we choose a standard unit for a physical quantity? There are two points to consider while
choosing a unit.
 The unit should be internationally accepted; otherwise, everyone will come with their own
unit and create a hoax. This would abrupt communication between two countries and end up
degrading their economy. The right to decide and mention unit is authorized by a body named
“GCPM” also known as “General Conference on Weight and Measures”. The organization held
meetings and addresses the changes in measurement through its publications.
 The unit should hold good with other international units
 
Fundamental and Derived Quantities
There are a large number of physical quantities to measure and every quantity needs a definition of
the unit. Remember that all quantities are interdependent. For Example, if a unit of length is defined
(meter), we can define the unit of the area too (meter × meter).
Example: 1
If we make a square having its side 1 unit, we can get a standard unit of area and compare other
areas with our standard unit.

Example: 2 
If a car travels unit length in unit time, then we can define its unit velocity

Fundamental Quantities
The quantities which do not depend on other physical quantities of measurement are
called Fundamental Quantities. They are also known as Base Quantities. There are only 7
fundamental quantities, rest physical quantities are known as Derived Quantities. The table below
shows all the seven fundamental quantities or units. The units determined for fundamental
quantities are called Fundamental Units.
Kilogram
It is the unit of mass. The mass of a cylinder made of platinum-iridium alloy placed in International
Bureau of Weights and Measures is defined as 1 kg.

Second
It is the unit of time. Cesium-133 atom releases electromagnetic radiation of several wavelengths. A
particular radiation is selected corresponding to the transition involved between two hyperfine levels
of ground state of Cs-133. Each radiation has a time period. The duration between 9,192,631,770
time periods is defined as 1 second.

Kelvin
We measure temperature in Kelvin. 1 Kelvin is defined as 1/273.16 th part of thermodynamic
temperature of triple point of water
Ampere
 The standard unit of measuring current is Ampere.1 Ampere is defined as the current flowing in
same direction placed parallel to each other and attracting each other with a force of 2 × 10-
Newton/Meter where Newton is the unit of force.
7 

Candela
The standard unit of luminous intensity is 1 cd and is defined as luminous intensity of a black body of
surface area 1/600000 m2 placed at the temperature of freezing platinum and 101,325 N/m2, in the
direction perpendicular to its surface.
Meter
The unit of length is meter. 1 meter is defined as the distance travelled by vacuum in 1/299792458
seconds.

Mole
We measure amount of substance in moles. 1 mole contains as many atoms as in 0.012 kg of C-12
atom.

Quantity  Unit Symbol

Mass  Kilogram kg

Time Second s

Temperature Kelvin K

Electric Current Ampere A

Luminous Intensity Candela cd

Length Meter m

Amount of Substance Mole mol

Example
To measure weight, we use unit kilogram, rather than being dependent on another unit.
Other than seven fundamental quantities, there are two extra fundamental quantities named plane
angle and solid angle.
Plane Angle
Angle between two lines in a plane is called Plane Angle. Its unit is radian.
Solid Angle
Solid angle is two-dimensional angle in three dimensional space. The unit of solid angle is Steradian

Quantity Unit Symbol

Plane angle  Radian  rad

Solid angle Steradian sr.

Derived Quantities
The physical quantities which depend on other quantities for their measurements are called Derived
Quantities. They are many in number and are obtained by mathematical calculations of
fundamental quantities. The units which determine derived quantities are called Derived Units.

The table below shows some of the derived units.

Quantity Unit Symbol

Acceleration Meter/second2 m/s2

Area Meter2 m2

Volume Meter3 m3

Velocity Meter/second m/s

Force Kilogram meter/second2 Newton

Density Kilogram/meter3 Kg/m3