The Universal School

Grade IX - IGCSE
Physics

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Chapter 1 : Making Measurements [Notes]

Objec ves-

⦿ To understand the need for measurement.

⦿ To study the measurement of length with proper units.

⦿ To study the measurement of volume with proper units.

⦿ Use of vernier callipers.

⦿ Use of micrometer screw gauge.

⦿ Concept and measurement of density

⦿ Measurement of me

Need for measurement-

⦿ Knowing physical quan es such as mass, weight, length, volume etc without proper
measurement techniques and standards (units) is useless.

⦿ Measuring units are essen al part of proper communica on.

For example: If you ask for 5 litre of milk, the milkman would know that you require milk in
an amount which is 5 mes of a standard unit known as litre. Then he might use a can of 1
litre and fill it up 5 mes. Or use a 500 ml can and fill it up 10 mes to make it 5 litre.

⦿ Thus, measurement is a technique in which proper es of an object are determined by

comparing it to a standard.
 ⦿ The word “measurement’’ comes from the Greek work “metron’’ which means “limited
propor on’’.

⦿ Anything which can be measured is called Physical Quan ty.

⦿ Example : mass, length, area, density

⦿ Emo ons, happiness, anger etc cannot be measured and thus do not classify as physical
quan ty.

⦿ For measurement we require tools and need to follow a par cular system of units.

⦿ Système Interna onal d’Unites (Interna onal System of Units) or SI system is used more
commonly in every country for measurement

Measuring length-

⦿ In everyday life, we use a ruler to measure length.

⦿ Here in the figure is a ruler marked (calibrated) in mm.

⦿ Hence this ruler can give precise measurement up to 1 millimetre.

⦿ Certain other lengths such as the diameter of a sphere (ball) or the radius of wire can be
measured using tools like vernier calliper or micrometre screw gauge.

⦿ The length of curved lines or the circumference of a cylinder can be measured by laying a
thread on it and the using a ruler to measure the length of thread.
Units of length-

⦿ The most common units of length measurement are :

a. metre (m)

b. cen metre (cm) …… [1cm = 10-2 m]

c. millimetre (mm) …… [1 mm = 10-3 m]

d. micrometre (μm)….. [1 μm = 10-6 m]

e. kilometre (km) …... [1km=103 m]

Measuring volume-

⦿ Volume is the amount of space occupied by an object (solid/liquid/gas).

⦿ In case of a solid, the object can be a regular object (cube, cuboidal) or an irregularly
shaped object such as a stone.

⦿ Liquids and gases have volume equal to the volume of container.

How do you calculate the volume of a solid rectangular object?

⦿ The volumes of solid objects are usually expressed

in cm3 or m3.

⦿ If you want to know the volume of a rectangular

object, such as a brick, you need to measure the object’s
length, width, and height, then, you mul ply these values

Volume of a regular object-

⦿ Volume = Length x Width x Height

 ⦿ Measurements always have units, so when you mul ply the 3 measurements, you must
mul ply the units as well as the numbers

Units = cm x cm x cm = cm3

How can you measure the volume of an irregularly shaped object?

⦿ The most commonly used way to measure the volume of an irregularly shaped object, such
as a rock, is to use the water displacement method.

⦿ First you fill up a graduated cylinder with a level of water that will cover the object

⦿ Then you drop the irregularly shaped object into the graduated cylinder of water and
observe how much higher the water level becomes.

⦿ The volume of the object (V) would be the difference between the volume of the water
with object (V2)from the volume of the water without object (V1).

⦿ Subtrac ng these two volumes will give you the volume of an irregularly shaped object.

⦿ V = V2 – V1

Units of volume-

⦿ Certain common units for measuring volume are :

a. cubic metre (m3)

b. cubic cen metre (cm3)….[1 cm3 = 10-6 m3]

c. cubic decimetre (dm3)….[1 dm3 = 10-3 m3]

⦿ Volume of liquids are generally measured in :

 a. litre (l) ……[ 1 litre = 10-3 m3]

b. millilitre (ml)….[1 ml = 10-3 litre]

c. 1 ml = 1 cm3

Density-

⦿ Samples of 2 different materials may have the same volume but they might not have the
same mass

⦿ For example, 1 kg of sand takes up much less space than 1 kg of feathers

⦿ The volumes differ because sand and feathers have different densi es

⦿ Density relates the mass of a material in a given volume

How is Density expressed?

1. Density is expressed as the number of grams in one cubic cen meter

2. For example, the density of water at room temperature is stated as “one gram per cubic
cen meter (1g/cm3)

3. You can determine the density of a sample of ma er by dividing its mass by its volume

4. SI unit of density can be wri en as kg/m3

Density= Mass/Volume

How do we use density?

⦿ Whether an object sinks or floats in a given liquid depends on the density of object as
compared to density of the liquid.

⦿ For example, if we drop a solid block of wood and a solid block of iron into a tub of water,
we would see that the wood would float while the iron would sink.

Reason : Density of wood is less than density of water hence it floats.

Density calcula ons Example 1 :

A cube of side 4 cm is placed on a mass balance. What is the density of the cube?

a. 8.88 g/cm3
b. 0.11 g/cm3
c. 1.11 g/cm3
d. 88.8 g/cm3

ANS: Mass = 7.2 g, Volume = 4 cm × 4 cm × 4 cm = 64 cm3

Density = 0.11 g/cm3 ……(op on b)

Example 2 :
Some data about the density of materials is given in the table.

Material State Density

g/cm3

A Liquid 0.920
B Liquid 1.000

C Solid 7.900

D Solid 2.700

a. Iden fy which materials will float on material B and which materials would sink into it?
Explain why.

b. Calculate the mass of a sphere of radius 6 cm made from material C. Express your answer
in kg.

ANS:

a. Material A will float on material B since A has less dense as compared to B.

Materials C and D would sink as they both are denser as compared to B.

b. Density of C = 7.900 g/cm3

Volume of sphere =4/3 πr3

= 904.90 cm3

Mass = Density × Volume = 7.900 × 904.90 = 7148.71 g = 7.148 kg

Example 3 :
A measuring cylinder contains 30 cm3 of a liquid. Some more of the liquid is added un l the liquid
level reaches 40 cm3 mark. The reading on the balance increases by 20 g. What is the density of the
liquid?

a. 2 g/cm3

b. 0.5 g/cm3

c. 2.2 g/cm3

d. 50 g/cm3

Answer : 2 g/cm3

Measurement of Time-
 ⦿ Time is measured using an analogue or a digital stopwatch.

⦿ The SI unit for measuring me is second (s).

⦿ The precision of the watch differs from one watch to another.

⦿ Analogue watch generally has a precision of 1 second, whereas a digital stopwatch may
have precision of 0.1 s or even 0.01 s.

⦿ In some applica ons, a pendulum is used to maintain the me.

⦿ Time period of the pendulum is the me required by it for one complete swing.

⦿ For wall clocks which have pendulum, the me period is 1 second. So it takes 1 second for
the pendulum to complete one swing.

⦿ Time interval is defined as the me taken to complete an event.

⦿ For example : me to complete a race

⦿ Time interval = tfinal – tini al

⦿ Very short me intervals can be measured electronically using sensors such as light gates.

Time period of a pendulum-

⦿ Some mes it is difficult to measure the me period of pendulum using a single swing.

⦿ So we measure the me required for N number of swings. N can be 10, 20, 30 or even 100.

⦿ Then the me period for one swing is found by taking the average.

Time period = Time required for N swings/N

Example 1 :
A pendulum is set in mo on and med. The me measured for 20 complete swings is 2.2 minutes.
What is the me for one complete swing of the pendulum?

a. 0.66 s

b. 0.11 s
 c. 1.16 s

d. 6.6 s

Answer : 6.6 s

Example 2 :
A stopwatch is used to me an athlete running 100 m. The mekeeper forgets to reset the watch
to zero before using it to me another athlete running 100 m. How long does second athlete take
to run 100 m?

a. 15 s
b. 17 s
c. 15.5 s
d. 18 s
Answer : 15 s