Name: _________________________________________ Date: ________________________________

Unit: Introduction to Physics Lesson: Measurement

Study Guide

Main Ideas

• The description of a physical quantity obtained through some form of measurement is known as a
dimension. Internationally, there are 7 established fundamental dimension: length, mass, time,
temperature, electrical current, luminous intensity, and mole (amount of substance).
• To describe the magnitude of a physical quantity, we use the corresponding numerical measurement
and the unit that is used to measure the quantity. For example, the dimension of time can be
measured in different units, such as seconds, hours, or years.
• In 1960, an international committee agreed on a standard system of units, know as the International
System of Units (SI). The SI only has 7 base units, and each one describes a dimension.
o length (meter)
o mass (kilogram)
o time (seconds)
o temperature (kelvin)
o electrical current (amp)
o luminous intensity (candela)
o amount of substance (mole)
• The new definitions for four of these seven base units –which had not undergone any changes in over
100 years– historically came into effect on May 20, 2019.
• Sometimes, it is relevant to perform conversions between unit systems and scales. To perform the
conversion, you must know the conversion factor, which provides the equivalence between different
systems.
• Since it is very commonplace in science to work with astronomically large or atomically small numbers,
scientists have developed scientific notation, which not only allows for a better handling of quantities
but also reduces the possibility of making mistakes, since they are represented in a more compact and
accurate way.
Vocabulary:
dimension: description of a physical quantity obtained through some form of measurement.

scientific notation: it expresses a number between 1 and 10 (coefficient) times the corresponding power of
10.

units: a specific measurement of a physical quantity –such as lengths, mass, or time– to specify multiples used
to express the magnitude of that physical quantity.