CH 01

Chapter 1
Units, Physical
Quantities, and Vectors
PowerPoint® Lectures for
General Physics for Engineering II
University Physics, Thirteenth Edition
– Hugh D. Young and Roger A. Freedman
Customized by Dr. Ahmad I. Ayesh, Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics , Qatar University, 2014
Goals for Chapter 1
– To learn three fundamental quantities of physics and the
units to measure them
– To keep track of significant figures in calculations
– To understand vectors and scalars and how to add vectors
graphically
– To determine vector components and how to use them in
calculations
– To understand unit vectors and how to use them with
components to describe vectors
– To learn two ways of multiplying vectors
The nature of physics
• Physics is an experimental science in which
physicists seek patterns that relate the phenomena
of nature.
• The patterns are called physical theories.
• A very well established or widely used theory is
called a physical law or principle.
Solving problems in physics
– A problem-solving strategy offers techniques for setting
up and solving problems efficiently and accurately.
Solving problems in physics
Standards and units
– Length, time, and mass are three fundamental
quantities of physics.
– The International System (SI for Système
International) is the most widely used system of
units.
– In SI units, length is measured in meters, time in
seconds, and mass in kilograms.
Standards and units
Length
• Unit
– SI – meter, m
• meter – the distance traveled by light in vacuum
during 1/(299792458) of a second (around 3.33
nanoseconds)
Mass
•Units
– SI – kilogram, kg
•Kilogram - mass of a specific

cylinder kept at the
International Bureau of
Standards in France.
Time
• Units
– seconds, s
• Second – is the time of oscillation

• of radiation from a cesium atom
(Atomic clock)
Unit prefixes
• Table 1.1 shows some larger and smaller units for
the fundamental quantities.
Unit consistency and conversions
Examples 1.1: The world land speed record is 763.0 mi/h, set on
October 15, 1997, by Andy Green in the jet-engine car
Thrust SSC. Express this speed in meters per second.
(1 mi = 1.609 km)
Examples 1.2: The world’s largest cut diamond is the First Star
of Africa (mounted in the British Royal Sceptre and kept in
the Tower of London). Its volume is 1.84 cubic inches. What
is its volume in cubic centimeters? In cubic meters? (1 in. =
2.540 cm)
Uncertainty and significant figures—Figure 1.7
Uncertainty and significant figures—Figure 1.7
Uncertainty and significant figures
Estimates and orders of magnitude
• Example 1.3: The rest energy E of an object with rest mass
m is given by Einstein’s famous equation E = mc2, where c
is the speed of light in vacuum. Find E for an electron for
which (to three significant figures) m = 9.11x10-31 kg. The
SI unit for E is the joule (J); 1 J=1 kg.m2/s2. c =
2.99792458x108 m/s.
Uncertainty and significant figures - exercise
Estimates and orders of magnitude
– An order-of-magnitude estimate of a quantity

gives a rough idea of its magnitude.
Vectors and scalars
Drawing vectors—Figure 1.10
• Draw a vector as a line with an arrowhead at its tip.
• The length of the line shows the vector’s magnitude.
• The direction of the line shows the vector’s direction.
• Figure 1.10 shows equal-magnitude vectors having the same
direction and opposite directions.
Adding two vectors graphically—Figures 1.11–1.12
• Two vectors may be added graphically using either the parallelogram
method or the head-to-tail method.
Adding more than two vectors graphically—Figure 1.13
• To add several vectors, use the head-to-tail method.

• The vectors can be added in any order.
Subtracting vectors
• Figure 1.14 shows how to subtract vectors.
Multiplying a vector by a scalar
• If c is a scalar,
→
the
product cA has
magnitude |c|A.
• Figure 1.15 illustrates

multiplication of a
vector by a positive
scalar and a negative
scalar.
Addition of two vectors at right angles
Addition of two vectors at right angles
Components of a vector—Figure 1.17
• Adding vectors graphically provides limited accuracy. Vector
components provide a general method for adding vectors.
• Any vector can be represented by an x-component Ax and a y-
component Ay.
• Use trigonometry to find the components of a vector: Ax = Acos θ and
Ay = Asin θ, where θ is measured from the +x-axis toward the +y-axis.
Positive and negative components—Figure 1.18
• The components of a vector can

be positive or negative numbers,
as shown in the figure.
Calculations using components
• We can use the components of a vector to find its magnitude
and direction:
Finding components—Figure 1.19
• We can calculate the components of a vector from its magnitude
and direction.
→
• Example
→
1.6: Determine the x- and y-components of vectors D
and E. Magnitude of D is 3.00m and α=45.0º. Magnitude of E is
4.50m and β=37.0º .
Calculations using components
• We can use the components of a
set of vectors to find the components
of their sum:
Problem-solving Strategy (adding vectors)
Adding vectors using their components - Example
Adding vectors using their components
Example 1.8: After an airplane takes off, it travels 10.4 km
west, 8.7 km north, and 2.1 km up. How far is it from the
take-off point?
Unit vectors
• A unit vector has a magnitude
of 1 with no units.
• The unit vectors:
• î points in the +x-direction,
•
j points in the +y-direction,
•
k points in the +z-direction.
• Any vector can be expressed
in terms of its components as
→
A =Axî+ Ay j + Az 
k
Adding vectors:

A = Ax iˆ + Ay ˆj + Az kˆ
+

B = Bx iˆ + B y ˆj + Bz kˆ
=

R = ( Ax + Bx )iˆ + ( Ay + B y ) ˆj + ( Az + Bz )kˆ
= Rx iˆ + R y ˆj + Rz kˆ
Examples 1.9

D = (6.00iˆ + 3.00 ˆj − 1.00kˆ)m and

E = (4.00iˆ − 5.00 ˆj + 8.00kˆ)m
1.10 Products of Vectors
The Scalar Product
The Scalar Product
• The scalar product is positive
The scalar product is negative
The scalar product is zero
Scalar Product in Terms of Components
iˆ.iˆ = ˆj. ˆj = kˆ.kˆ = 1

iˆ. ˆj = iˆ.kˆ = ˆj.kˆ = 0
 
A.B = ( Ax iˆ + Ay ˆj + Az kˆ).( Bx iˆ + B y ˆj + Bz kˆ)
 
A.B = Ax Bx + Ay B y + Az Bz
Calculating a scalar product
 
• In terms of components, AB = Ax Bx + Ay By + Az Bz.
• Example 1.10 shows how to calculate a scalar product in two

ways.
[Insert figure 1.27 here]
Finding an angle using the scalar product
• Example 1.11 shows how to use components to find the angle
between two vectors.
Find the angle between the vectors

A = 2.00iˆ + 3.00 ˆj + 1.00kˆ and

B = −4.00iˆ + 2.00 ˆj − 1.00kˆ
The Vector Product
•The magnitude of the vector
product of two vectors
 
A × B = AB sin φ
Finding the Direction of a Vector Product
   
A× B = −B × A
The Cross Product of Unit Vectors
The Cross Product of Two Vectors
 
A × B = ( Ax iˆ + Ay ˆj + Az kˆ) × ( Bx iˆ + B y ˆj + Bz kˆ)
•Expand the expression
 
A × B = ( Ay Bz − Az B y )iˆ + ( Az Bx − Ax Bz ) ˆj + ( Ax B y − Ay Bx )kˆ
 
A × B = C x iˆ + C y ˆj + C z kˆ
C x = ( Ay Bz − Az B y ), C y = ( Az Bx − Ax Bz ), C z = ( Ax B y − Ay Bx )
iˆ ˆj kˆ
The vector product can be also  
expressed in determinant form A × B = Ax Ay Az
Bx By Bz
Example 1.12

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Chapter 1

•Kilogram - mass of a specific

• Second – is the time of oscillation

– An order-of-magnitude estimate of a quantity

• To add several vectors, use the head-to-tail method.

• Figure 1.15 illustrates

• The components of a vector can

• The scalar product is positive

The scalar product is negative

The scalar product is zero

iˆ.iˆ = ˆj. ˆj = kˆ.kˆ = 1

• Example 1.10 shows how to calculate a scalar product in two

[Insert figure 1.27 here]

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