Essential University Physics

Fourth Edition, Global Edition

Chapter 1
Doing Physics

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Learning Outcomes
1.1 Describe scope and realms of
physics.
1.2 List the basic SI Units.
1.3 Convert units between systems.
1.4 Use SI prefixes and scientific
notation.
1.5 Calculate with attention to
significant figures.
1.6 Make order-of-magnitude
estimates.
1.7 Extract information using best-fit
lines.

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Realms of Physics (1 of 2)
• Physics provides a nearly unified description of all physical
phenomena.
• It’s convenient to divide physics into six distinct but related
realms.

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Realms of Physics (2 of 2)
• Mechanics: motion and its causes.
• Oscillations, Waves, and Fluids: application of mechanics
to vibrations, sound, and fluids.
• Thermodynamics: heat and its effects.
• Electromagnetism: the electric and magnetic force.
• Optics: light and its behavior.
• Modern Physics: how quantum mechanics and relativity
modify and extend Newtonian physics.

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The International System of Units (SI)
• Provides precise definitions of seven fundamental physical quantities:
– Time: the second (s)
– Length: the meter (m)
– Mass: the kilogram (kg)
– Electric current: the ampere (A)
– Temperature: the kelvin (K)
– Amount of a substance: the mole (mol)
– Luminosity: the candela (cd)
• Supplementary units describe angles:
– Plane angle: the radian (rad)
– Solid angle: the steradian (sr)

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SI Operational Definitions (1 of 2)
• Units for time, length, and mass are defined operationally
so their definitions can be implemented in any laboratory.
• The meanings of these definitions will become clearer as
you advance in your study of physics.
• The second is the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the
radiation corresponding to the transition between two
hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium-133 atom.

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SI Operational Definitions (2 of 2)
• The meter is the length of the path traveled by light in
vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second.
• The kilogram is defined (starting in the SI revision of 2019)
by fixing the value of Planck’s constant (a fundamental
constant in quantum mechanics) to be
6.62607015 ´ 10 -34 kg × m2 × s -1.
– Previously, the kilogram was defined in terms of a
physical prototype (artifact) kept in a vault in Sèvres,
France.

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SI Prefixes
• SI prefixes describe powers of 10: Table 1.1 SI Prefixes
– Every three powers of 10 gets a
different prefix.
– Examples:
▪ 3.0 kg = 3000 g
▪ 0.0010 m = 1.0 mm
▪ 1000 ns = 0.000001 s = 1 µs

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Changing Units
• Units matter! Measures of physical quantities must always
have the correct units.
• Conversion tables (Appendix C of the textbook) give
relations among physical quantities in different unit
systems:
– Use a conversion factor with the new units in the
numerator and the original units in the denominator.
– Example: Since 1 ft = 0.3048 m, a 5280-foot race (1
mile) is equal to:
æ 0.3048 m ö
(5280 ft) ç ÷ = 1609 m
è 1 ft ø
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Example
Express a 65 mi/h speed limit in meters per second. (1 mi =
1609 m)

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Example
A diamond volume is 1.84 cubic inches. What is its volume
in cubic centimeters? In cubic meters? (1 in = 2.54 cm)

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Working with Numbers: Scientific
Notation (1 of 2)
• The vast range of quantities that occur in physics is best
expressed using scientific notation: an ordinary-sized
number (between one and ten) multiplied by a power of 10:
– 31,415.9 = 3.14159 ´ 10 4
– 0.002718 = 2.718 ´ 10 –3
– 20,000 g = 2 ´ 10 4 g = 2 ´ 101 kg
• For conciseness, we may depart from strict adherence to
scientific notation. For instance, we may write 20 kg instead
of 2 ´ 101 kg.

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Working with Numbers: Scientific
Notation (2 of 2)
Tactics 1.1 Using Scientific Notation

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Scientific Notation Example
• Example: 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh, a unit of energy) is exactly
equal to 3.6 megajoules (MJ, another energy unit).
Therefore, a monthly electric-energy consumption of 343
kWh amounts to:
æ 3.6 MJ ö
(343 kWh) ç ÷ = 1.23 ´ 10 3
MJ = 1.23 GJ
è 1 kWh ø

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Uncertainty and significant figures
• No measurement is exact; there is always some
uncertainty in every measurement due to limited
instrument accuracy, the experimenter, the number of
measurements made, and/or difficulty reading results.
• This uncertainty carries over through the calculations.
• Estimated uncertainty is written with a ± sign; for example:
8.8 ± 0.1 cm
• Percent uncertainty is the ratio of the uncertainty to the
measured value, multiplied by 100:

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Significant Figures

• Significant figures are meaningful digits. That is, the

number of significant figures is the number of reliably
known digits in a number.
• Significant figures determine the precision of a
measurement.
• Significant figures are not decimal places
0.00356 has 5 decimal places, 3 significant figures
• All non-zero digits are significant.
1.234 g has 4 significant figures,
1.2 g has 2 significant figures.

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Significant Figures
• Leading zeros are not significant.
0.001 °C has only 1 significant figure,
0.012 g has 2 significant figures.
• Zeros between non-zero digits are significant

1002 kg has 4 significant figures,

3.07 mL has 3 significant figures.
• Trailing zeroes that are also to the right of a decimal point in a number are significant:

0.0230 mL has 3 significant figures,

0.20 g has 2 significant figures.

• When a number ends in zeroes that are not to the right of a decimal point, the
zeroes are not necessarily significant:
3000 may have 1 or 4 significant figures.

• When in doubt, use scientific notation 3.000 x 103 or 3 x 103

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Working with Numbers: Significant
Figures
• The answer to the preceding example is 1.23 GJ—not
1234.8 MJ or 1.2348 GJ as your calculator would show.
– That’s because the given energy consumption is not
precisely known.
– If we think the energy consumption is between 342.5
and 343.5 k W h , we report it as 343 k W h and say that
ilo att our ilo att our

it has three significant figures.

– Significant figures tell how precisely we know the
values of physical quantities.
– The act of calculation does not increase precision.

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Working with Numbers: Significant
Figures
• Calculators will not give you the right
number of significant figures; they usually
give too many but sometimes give too few
(especially if there are trailing zeroes after
a decimal point).
• The top calculator shows the result of
2.0/3.0.
• The bottom calculator shows the result of
2.5 x 3.2.

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Rules for Significant Figures (1 of 2)
• In multiplication and division, the answer should have the
same number of significant figures as the least precise of
the quantities entering the calculation.
• Example: ( 3.1416 N)( 2.1 m ) = 6.6 N × m
– Note the centered dot, which is normally used when
units are multiplied.
– When a calculator is used, the result on the screen is
6.59736
• Example: 11.3 cm x 6.8 cm =

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Rules for Significant Figures (2 of 2)
• In addition and subtraction, the answer should have the
same number of digits to the right of the decimal point as
the term in the sum or difference that has the smallest
number of digits to the right of the decimal point.
– Example: 3.249 m − 3.241 m = 0.008 m.
▪ Note the loss of precision, with the answer having
only one significant figure.

— Example: 135 cm + 3.25 cm =

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Working with Data: Estimation
• For many purposes, we need only a rough idea of the size of an object
or a physical effect.
• Estimation can provide substantial insight into a problem or physical
situation.
• Example: What’s the United States’ yearly gasoline consumption?
– There are about 300 million people in the United States, so
perhaps about 100 million cars in use (108 cars).
– A typical car goes about 10,000 miles per year (104 miles).
– A typical car gets about 20 miles per gallon.
– So in a year, a typical car uses
(10 4 miles) / ( 20 miles / gallon ) = 500 gallons.
– So the United States’ yearly gasoline consumption is about
( 500 gal / car ) (108 cars) = 5 ´ 1010 gallons (about 200 GL ) .
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Working with Data: Best-Fit Line
• Measurements can be
presented in tabular or
graphical form.
• The “best-fit” line here
suggests that the distance
an object falls from rest is
proportional to the square
of the time that it falls.

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A Strategy for Problem Solving
• The IDEA strategy consists of four broad steps.
• IDEA is not a “cookbook” but rather a general framework to
organizing your path to the solution of a problem.
• The four IDEA steps are:
– INTERPRET
– DEVELOP
– EVALUATE
– ASSESS

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INTERPRET

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DEVELOP

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EVALUATE

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ASSESS

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Summary
• Together, the different realms of physics provide a unified description of
basic principles that govern physical reality.
• The SI unit system provides precise definitions of fundamental physical
quantities:
– Operational definitions are preferred to the use of physical artifacts.
• Handling numbers that represent physical quantities involves the
following:
– Using scientific notation and SI prefixes
– Understanding significant figures
– Estimation
• The IDEA strategy provides a general framework for problem solving in
physics.

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