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AS Level Physics
Chapter # 1
PHYSICAL QUANTITIES AND UNITS

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Base Quantities and Units

All physical quantities consists of numerical value and a unit (e.g. 12 meters, 5 sec,
50 kg etc.)
The International System of units is known as SI units (System International
d’Unites) is based on the Seven units listed in Table.
These are called bases Units.
Base Quantity Units
Name Symbol
Mass Kilogram kg

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Length Meter M

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Time Second S
Electric Current Ampere A

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Temperature Kelvin K

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Amount of 1- ed mole Mol
Substance
Luminous Intensity candela Cd
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Derived Units
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Apart from the radian, all the other units used in the system are called derived
units. Derived units are formed by multiplication and or division of one or more
basic units without the inclusion of any numerical factors (e.g. one coulomb = one
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ampere one second).

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Some derived units are relatively complex when expressed in terms of the base
units, and for convenience, are given special names (e.g., the is
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called the ohm, , the is called the coulomb, C). Those derived units, which
have special names and are used in these books, are listed in table. The symbol for
a unit, which is named after a person, has a capital letter.

Quantity Symbol SI Unit Derived Unit

Density
Force F N
Weight W N
Momentum P Ns
Work W J
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Energy E, U, W J
Power P W
Pressure P Pa
Torque T Nm
Period T s s
Frequency Hz
Wavelength m M
Speed of electromagnetic C
waves
Electric charge Q C

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Electric Potential V V
Electromotive Force E V

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Resistance R
Electric Field Strength E

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Stress Pa
Force Constant / Spring
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Constant
Young Modulus E Pa
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Resistivity
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Prefixes
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Prefixes are used with the unit symbols to indicate decimal multiples,
sub – multiples. Most of the standard prefixes are listed in table.
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Name Symbol Multiplication Factor

Tera
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T
Giga G
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Mega M
Kilo K
Hecto ha
Deca da
Deci d
Centi c
Milli m
Micro
Nano n
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Pico p
Femto f
Atto a

Homogeneity of Physical Equations

In all physical equations, homogeneity means, the units of both sides
being identical. A correct equation must be homogenous, but a
homogenous equation in not automatically correct as equations contain

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constants to make both sides numerically equal.
Examples:

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(1) Pressure (P) =

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Pressure =1- ed
(2) Power =
Power = Voltage Current =
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Vectors & Scalars

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Vectors, are physical quantities which has both magnitude and direction
whereas, scalars are those physical quantities which has only magnitude.
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Examples of each type of quantity are given in the table.

Vectors Scalars
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Displacement Distance
Velocity Speed
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Force Mass
Weight Energy
Acceleration Work
Momentum Volume
Torque Charge
Vectors can be represented by a line drawn in a particular direction. The
length of the line represents the magnitude of the vector, the direction of
the line represents the direction of the vector.
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Vectors quantities are indicted by using bold type like A or by using an

arrow, ⃗.
The same symbol without the use of either bold type or an arrow
represents the magnitude of vector. Two vectors quantities are equal
only if they have the same magnitude and direction.

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ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION

Vectors can be combined by addition and subtraction.
The vector obtained as a result is called the resultant.
On a diagram the resultant is usually marked with a double arrowhead

Addition
The triangle law can be used to add vectors. In this diagram, by the
triangle law,

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a+b=c
̅̅̅̅ ̅̅̅̅ ̅̅̅̅

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This shows that from A to B followed by from B to C, takes you to the
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same point as from A to C.
The vector ̅̅̅̅ = c, is the vector sum or resultant of the other two
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vectors. The magnitude of the resultant can be calculated using the

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cosine rule, and could have any value between the sum and difference of
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the two forces, e.g. two forces of magnitudes 9 and 6, their resultant can
have a magnitude between 3 (9 – 6) and 15(9 + 6).
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The cosine rule to find the magnitude of ‘c’ is

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The parallelogram law can also be used to add vectors

In this diagram, by the parallelogram law

a + b = c or b + a = c
̅̅̅̅ ̅̅̅̅ ̅̅̅̅ or ̅̅̅̅ ̅̅̅̅ ̅̅̅̅
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SUBTRACTION
To subtract a vector, add its inverse i.e. ( )
The addition can be done by using either the triangle laws or
parallelogram law.

RESOLVING A VECTOR
The parallelogram law enables two vectors to be replaced by one.
Sometimes the reverse is needed, and one vector has to be split or

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resolved into two, called its components, which together have the same

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effect as the single vector.

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Usually it is most useful to take the components at right angles to each
other. Suppose that in Fig. OC represents a vector and that we want to
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find the components of V along OX and OY, where angle XOV is
If the rectangle OACB is drawn, its sides OA and OB represent the
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required components.
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can be combined to produce

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Example of Resolving Forces

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Block placed over an inclined plane, its weight is resolved into two
components, one along the plane equals to , and one
perpendicular to the plane equal to .
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Useful Estimations
1 Power of a car = 60 KW
2 Weight of an adult = 700N
3 Energy requirement for a person for one day = 10,000,000 J
4 Speed of sound = 300 m/s
5 Speed of plane = 250 to 300 m/s
6 Height of UK mountain = 1000m
7 Height of a tall man = 2m
8 Mass of a car = 1000kg

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9 Mass of an adult = 70kg

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10 Power of washing machine = 350 – 500W
11 Power of coffee maker = 900 – 1200W

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12 Power of a bulb = 100W

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13 Mass of the Earth =
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14 Radius of Earth = 6400 km
15 Distance to the Earth = 150,000,000 km
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16 Distance to the Moon = 400,000 km
17 Density of water = 1000kgm-3
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18 Pressure of the atmosphere =

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19 Power of a person = 100W

20 Power of heater = 750 – 1500W
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21 Power of hair dryer =1200 – 1875W

22 Power of electric Iron =1000 – 1800W
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23 Power of Microwave oven = 750 – 1100W

24 Power of Radio = 70 – 400W
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25 Power of Refrigerator = 725W

26 Power of Television = 120 W
27 Power of Toaster Oven = 1225 W
28 Power of DVD = 20 – 25 W
29 Power of VCR = 17 – 21 W
30 Power of Vacuum Cleaner = 1000 – 1440 W
31 Power of Grinder = 1380W
32 Power of air compressor = 2000W
33 Power of Water Bed (Heater) = 120 – 380W
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34 Power of Water Pump = 250 – 1100W

35 Power of Water Heater = 4500 – 5500W
36 Normal Body Temperature =
37 Mass of wood door = 15kg
38 Mass of a pencil = 25g
39 Mass of a 30cm ruler = 20g
40 Mass of a proton =
41 Mass of a flower = 2g
42 Mass of an electron =

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43 Mass of eraser = 20g

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44 Mass of riding boots = 2kg
45 Mass of hair brush = 0.25kg

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46 Mass of tissue paper = 2g

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47 Mass of a football = 0.5kg to 1kg
Density of wood = 1120kgm-3
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49 Density of copper = 8.9gcm-3
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50 Density of plastic = 1.2gcm-3
51 Density of football = 5.6 kgm-3
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52 Weight of a car = 11000N

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53 Weight of bottle cork = 0.1N

54 Weight of inches tape = 100N
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55 Weight of 1.5 liter bottle = 1.5N

56 Weight of tissue paper = 20N
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57 Weight of 1 liter bottle = 1N

58 Diameter of eyeball = 24mm
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59 Diameter of a glass = 8cm

60 Diameter of Earth = 12,700km
61 Length of human ear = 35cm
62 Length of human hand = 17cm
63 Length of house window = 20cm
64 Length of lead pencil = 0.5cm
65 Volume of human head = 2400 – 5000 cm3
66 Size of human finger = 7cm
67 Gravity on moon = 1.6m/s2
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68 Volume of a tree = 12m3

69 Mass of door handle = 1kg
70 Mass of an elephant = 4000 kg or 4tonnes
71 Mass of an apple up to 300g
72 Mass of protractor = 5 to 10g
73 Mass of pencil up to 10g
74 Mass of sheet of paper = 3 to 7g
75 Mass of a sparrow = 50g
76 Mass of an electronic calculator = 200g

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77 Mass of a bicycle = 20 to 30kg

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78 Diameter of pipe = 1cm
79 Diameter of molecule up to 10-9 m
Diameter of an alpha particle up to 10-15 m

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81 Diameter of hair = 0.5mm
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82 Wavelength of white light = 350nm to 650nm
83 Wavelength of infrared light > 650nm
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84 Wavelength of ultra violet light < 350nm
85 Ionization power of alpha = 105 pairs/mm
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86 Ionization power of beta = 103 pairs/mm

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87 Ionization power of gamma = 1 pair/mm

88 Volume of air in room = 125m3
89 Slit separation = 0.3mm to 3mm
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90 Grating spacing = 1 –3
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91 Average speed of a person = 10m/s

92 Average KE of a man = 4000J
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93 Resistance of LDR in sunlight = 100

94 Resistance of LDR in moon light = 1M
95 Resistance of LDR in complete darkness = 10M
96 Pressure under human foot = 5MPa to 8MPa
97 Distance of screen from slit = 1m to 4m
98 Molecular spacing = 10-9
99 Resistance of a filament lamp =
100 Number of seconds in a day = 86400 sec