WHAT IS PHYSICS?

MEASUREMENT AND PHYSICAL QUANTITIES

PHYSICAL QUANTITIES
1. BASE QUANTITIES
 Length
 Mass
 Temperature
  Time
2. DERIVED QUANTITIES
 Volume
 Area
 Density
Derived quantities were derived from the base quantities

MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
Measuring instruments are used to measure physical quantities

MEASURING INSTRUMENTS

EXAMPLES OF MEASURING INSRUMENTS AND THE QUANTITIES THEY

MEASURE
 1. Length - Ruler, eg, metre rule
2. Mass - Balance, eg, triple-beam balance
3. Temperature - Thermometer
4. Time - Clock

UNITS OF QUANTITIES
 Units are needed whenever a measurement is taken
 A quantity may have many units which are used during measurement
 Scientists have agreed on using Standard International units whenever
they measure quantities
 Some units are base units but some units are derived from base units

SI UNITS (SYSTEME INTENATIONALE UNITS)

▪ These are the units which should be used when measuring quantities,
because they have been agreed upon by scientists all over the world
▪ Common units should be converted to SI units whenever a
measurement is taken
SUMMARY OF PHYSICAL QUANTITIES AND THEIR UNITS
QUANTITY SI UNIT SI UNIT OTHER/COMMON
SYMBOL UNIT
Length Metre m Mm/cm/km/miles

Mass Kilogramme kg grams/tonnes

Time Second s minutes/hours

o
Temperature Kelvin K C / oF

Area Square metre M2 cm2

Volume Cubic metre M3 litres/ml/cm3

DERIVED QUANTITIES AND DERIVED UNITS
MEASURING LENGTH

SOME METHODS OF MEASURING LENGTH

MEASURING LENGTH IN THE LABORATORY

 A metre rule is generally used to measure the lengths that are generally
big
  Other instruments used include 30 cm ruler and tape measure
 When measuring length using a ruler, one should be careful of a parallax
error
 Parallax errors happen when the reading is taken when the eye is placed
at an angle, as shown in the diagram below

PARALLAX ERROR DURING LENGTH MEASUREMENT

 When taking a reading, the eye must always be placed vertically above
the mark being read, as shown in the diagram below

CORRECT POSITON WHEN READING A RULE

PRACTICAL ACTIVITY: Measuring lengths around the laboratory

VERNIER CALLIPERS
 The Vernier callipers is an instrument used to measure small distances
accurately, especially diameters

VERNIER CALLIPERS
  The outside jaws help in measuring outside diameters while the inside
jaws help in measuring the inside diameter
 It is made up of 2 scales; the main scale and the vernier scale
 The main scale is usually in cm
 The Vernier scale has 10 divisions, and each division is 0.9mm long
 The Vernier scale can take measurements of 0.1mm (1/10 of a
millimetre) or 0.01cm
 The number of the mark on the Vernier scale which directly coincides
with a mark on the main scale gives the value for the second decimal
place in the measurement

TAKING A READING ON A VERNIER SCALE

1. Read the main scale, eg, 2.3cm
2. Identify the mark on the Vernier scale that coincides with a mark on the
main scale, eg, it can be the fourth mark, giving a reading of 0.4mm or
0.04cm
3. Add the readings of the main and Vernier scales; 2.3cm + 0.04cm =
2.34cm
 MICROMETRE SCREW GUAGE
 This is another tool used to measure very small distances, like very
small diameters
 The micrometer screw guage can take a reading in micrometres
 A micrometre is a very small distance (1 micro meter = )

MICROMETRE SCREW GAUGE

Rotate the thimble until the wire is firmly held between the anvil and the spindle.
To take a reading, first look at the main scale. This has a linear scale reading on it.
The long lines are every millimetre the shorter ones denote half a millimetre in
between. Then look at the rotating scale. Add the 2 numbers, on the scale on the
right it would be: 2.5mm + 0.46mm = 2.96mm Time:
•An interval of time is measured using clocks, the SI unit for time is the second(s)
•To find the amount of time it takes a pendulum to make a spin, time ~25 circles and
then divide by the same number as the number of circles.
 MEASURING TIME
 Time can be accurately measured using a stopwatch
 Digital stopwatches measure time more accurately than non-digital
or analogue stopwatches

A DIGITAL AND ANALOGUE STOP WATCHES

 When measuring time, the starting, resting and stopping times should be
done very accurately
 To improve accuracy, time readings can be done many times, and then
an average is worked out

PRACTICAL ACTIVITY: To measure time in a simple pendulum

materials

THE TICKER-TIMER
 This instruments is a more reliable timer
 When connected to a power source, the arm of the ticker-timer vibrates
and move up and down, leaving marks on a piece of paper tape
 The arm vibrates 50 times per second
 If the paper tape is pulled through the timer, there will be marks made
on the tape
 These marks will be separated by gaps, which represent a time of about
0.02s (1÷50) each
 This 1/50s is called 1 tick of a time
USING A TICKER-TAPE TIMER TO MEASURE THE SPEED OF MOVING OBJECTS

 From the pattern of the gaps, the speed of the moving objects can
be assessed
 In general, when the gaps are close to each other, the object is
moving slowly, and when the gaps are far from each other, the
object is moving fast

CALCULATING VELOCITY AND ACCELERATION OF MOVING OBJECTS

1. The first few gaps should be ignored since the movement will not be
steady
2. Measure the distance covered by the first steady 10 gaps between dots,
and record it as d1
3. Measure the second distance, also covered by the next 10 gaps, and
record it as d2, as shown in the diagram below
4. Each gap is 0.02s, so the total time for 10 gaps is 0.02 x 10 = 0.2s
5. Velocity for d1 = Distance/Time = d1 /0.2
6. Velocity for d2 = Distance/Time = d2 /0.2
7. Acceleration = change in velocity/Time = d2 – d1 / (0.2)2
*It is important that the second distance is measure immediately after the first
Distance
 If there gaps between the dots in the first and second distances on the
tape are of equal size, the speed/velocity is not changing
 The bigger the spaces or gaps between the dots, the higher the
acceleration

PRACTICAL ACTIVITY: Using a ticker-timer to measure velocity and

acceleration of trolleys

MEASURING TEMPERATURE
 Temperature is measured using a thermometer, and scientists use
the laboratory thermometer
 The lab thermometer has a liquid (mercury or coloured alcohol) in a
glass tube
 Mercury thermometer has a convex meniscus while the alcohol
thermometer has a concave meniscus
 CLINICAL THERMOMETER

MERCURY LABORATORY THERMOMETER

 When taking a reading

 Read above the meniscus in a convex meniscus
 Read below the meniscus in a concave meniscus
  Always read the value when the bulb of the thermometer is dipped
into the substance
 Do not place the thermometer directly on the flame; the glass will
crack. Use a water bath if necessary
 Avoid parallax error; a wrong value can be obtained when reading at
a wrong angle

READING THE THERMOMETER

PRACTICAL ACTIVITY: Measuring the temperatures of distilled water and

impure water
MEASURING MASS
Mass is measured using a balance
The mass of very small objects can be obtained by measuring the mass
of many of those objects, and then divide the mass by the number of the
objects to get the mass of one object
Ensure that the pointer is pointing at zero before putting the object on
the balance
The zero error occurs when a wrong measure is obtained because the
pointer did not start from zero
An electronic top-pan balance is used to accurately measure mass by
scientists
i
MEASURING VOLUME
-Volume is the amount of space which a substance occupies
VOLUME OF A LIQUID
Common examples of volumes of liquids found in everyday life:
 2 litres of cooking oil crush
 20 litre bucket of water
 300ml can of Coca-cola, etc

MEASURING VOLUME OF A LIQUID IN THE LABORATORY

 A measuring cylinder is used to measure liquid volume in the lab
 The units used can be millilitres (ml) or cm3 but the SI unit is dm3

1000ml = 1000cm3 = 1 dm3

1 litre = 1 dm3

TAKING A READING ON A MEASURING CYLINDER

 Avoid parallax error
MEASURING THE VOLUME OF IRREGULAR SOLIDS
 The displacement method is used
 The level of water is noted before and after submerging the irregular
solid
 The difference in the water levels represents the volume of the object
VOLUME OF REGULAR OBJECTS
 Volumes of regular shaped objects such as cuboids can be found from
linear dimensions using formulae, as shown in the examples below