Chapter 1

1. “Physics has made our lives comfortable”. Justify this statement.

Physics has made our lives comfortable in a lot of ways. The devices that we use in our daily life
like electrical appliances, computers, smartphones, internet, etc are all based on the principles
of physics. Further research in Physics will help to improve the goods that we use in our daily
lives, thereby improving our standard of living.
2. Which base quantities are involved in the following derived physical quantities: force,
pressure, power and charge.
Force:
Force = mass × acceleration
SI units of force is Newton (N) = kg m s -2
Base quantities involved in Force are: mass, length and time.

Pressure:
Pressure = Force/Area
SI units of Force is Newton (N) = kg m s-2 and unit of area A = m2.
SI units of Pressure (P) = kg m s-2/ m2 = kg m-1s-2.
Base quantities involved in Pressure are: mass, length and time.

Power:
Power = work/time
Work = Force × Displacement
SI units of work is Joule(J) = Nm = kg ms-2 .m = kg m2s-2
Si unit of time is second(s)
So, SI unit of Power = kg m2s-2/s = kg m2 s-3
Base quantities involved in Power are: mass, length and time.

Charge:
Charge = Current × time
SI unit of Current(I) = Ampere (A)
SI unit of Charge (Q) = Ampere second= A.s
Base quantities involved in charge are: Current and time.

3. Show that the prefix micro is a thousand times greater than the prefix nano.
1 micro (µ) = 10-6
1 nano (n) = 10-9

From (1),
103
1 micro = 10-6 ×
103
1 micro = 10-6 × 10-3 × 103
1 micro = 103 × 10-9
1 micro = 1000 nano
 So, the prefix micro is a thousand times greater than the prefix nano.
4. Screw gauge can give more precise length than vernier callipers. Briefly explain why?
The screw gauge is more precise than a vernier callipers because the least count of a vernier
callipers is 0.1mm while the lease count of a screw gauge is 0.01mm. So a screw gauge can give
more precise length than a vernier callipers.
5. Differentiate between mechanical stopwatch and digital stopwatch.
A mechanical stopwatch uses mechanical components such as gears to measure time. It has a
least count of 0.1 second. While a digital stopwatch uses electronic components to measure
time and it has a least count of 0.01 second.
6. How measuring cylinder is used to measure volume of an irregular shaped stone?
The volume of an irregular shaped stone can be measured by lowering it in a measuring cylinder
partially filled with water. The volume of the irregular shaped stone is calculated be subtracting
the original volume of liquid from the raised volume of liquid.
7. What precaution should be kept in mind while taking measurement using measuring culinder?
Following precautions should be taken:
The measuring culinder shold be placed on a flat surface.
The reading should be taken by keeping eye level with bottom of the meniscus.
If measuring the volume of an irregular shaped object, the object should be fully immersed in
the liquid.
8. Why do we neet to consider significant digits in measurements?
The significant digits in measurements tell us about the accuracy of a measurement. By using
significant figures, we can show how precise a number is.