What is

Physics?
Physics is the most fundamental of the
sciences. Its goal is to learn how the
Universe works at the most fundamental
level—and to discover the basic laws by
which it operates. Theoretical physics
concentrates on developing the theory
and mathematics of these laws, while
applied physics focuses attention on the
application of the principles of physics to
practical problems. Experimental physics
lies at the intersection of physics and
engineering, experimental physicists have
the theoretical knowledge of theoretical
physicists, and they know how to build
and work with scientific equipment.
Units

• The phenomena of Nature have been found to obey certain physical laws; one of the primary
goals of physics research is to discover those laws. It has been known for several centuries that
the laws of physics are appropriately expressed in the language of mathematics, so physics and
mathematics have enjoyed a close connection for quite a long time.
• In order to connect the physical world to the mathematical world, we need to make
measurements of the real world. In making a measurement, we compare a physical quantity with
some agreed-upon standard, and determine how many such standard units are present.
Imperial Units
• Some of the measurements from the imperial system are listed
below: Feet, inches, and miles measure length. Fluid ounces, pints,
and gallons measure volume. Square feet and acres measure area.
Pounds, ounces, and stone measure weight or mass.
SI Units
• SI units (which stands for Syst`eme International d’unit´es)
are based on the meter as the base unit of length, the
kilogram as the base unit of mass, and the second as the base
unit of time. SI units also define four other base units (the
ampere, kelvin, candela, and mole) Any physical quantity
that can be measured can be expressed in terms of these
seven base units or some combination of them.
SI units were originally based mostly on the properties of the Earth and of water. Under the original
definitions:

• The meter was defined to be one ten-millionth the distance from the equator to the North Pole, along aline of
longitude passing through Paris.

• The kilogram was defined as the mass of 0.001 m3 of water.

• The second was defined as 1/86,400 the length of a day (one rotation of the Earth).

• The definition of the ampere is related to electrical properties, ultimately relating to the meter, kilogram, and
second.

• The kelvin was defined in terms of the thermodynamic properties of water, as well as absolute zero.

• The candela was defined by the luminous properties of molten tungsten and the behavior of the human eye.

• The mole was defined by the density of the carbon-12 nucleus.

 SI Prefixes
• In SI units, larger and smaller units are defined in a systematic way by the use of prefixes to the SI base or
derived units. For example, the base SI unit of length is the meter (m), but small lengths may also be
measured in centimeters (cm, 0.01 m), and large lengths may be measured in kilometers (km, 1000 m).
Unit Conversions

It is very common to have to work with quantities that are given in units other than
the units you’d like to work with. Converting from one set of units to another
involves a straightforward, virtually foolproof technique that’s very simple to
double-check. We’ll illustrate the method here with some examples.
 Simple Conversions
• A simple unit conversion involves only one conversion factor. The method for doing the conversion is best
illustrated with an example.
 More Complex Conversions
• More complex conversions may involve more than one conversion factor. You’ll need to think about what
conversion factors you know, then put together a chain of them to get to the units you want.
Accuracy and Precision
What is Accuracy?

• Accuracy is defined as ‘the degree to which the result of

a measurement conforms to the correct value or a
standard’ and essentially refers to how close a
measurement is to its agreed value.
What is Precision?

• Precision is defined as ‘the quality of being exact’ and

refers to how close two or more measurements are to
each other, regardless of whether those measurements
are accurate or not. It is possible for precision
measurements to not be accurate.
What is the difference between Accuracy and Precision?

• Both accuracy and precision reflect how close a

measurement is to an actual value, but they are not the
same. Accuracy reflects how close a measurement is
to a known or accepted value, while precision reflects
how reproducible measurements are, even if they are
far from the accepted value. Measurements that are
both precise and accurate are repeatable and very
close to true values.
Example of the difference between
Accuracy and Precision…

• The example of a darts board is often

used when talking about the difference
between accuracy and precision.
• Accurately hitting the target means
you are close to the center of the
target, even if all the marks are on
different sides of the center. Precisely
hitting a target means all the hits are
closely spaced, even if they are very
far from the center of the target.
Errors

• No matter how careful you are, there is

always error in a measurement. Error is not
a "mistake"—it's part of the measuring
process. In science, measurement error is
called experimental error or observational
error.
• There are two broad classes of observational errors: random error and systematic
error. Random error varies unpredictably from one measurement to another, while
systematic error has the same value or proportion for every measurement.
Random errors are unavoidable, but cluster around the true value. Systematic error
can often be avoided by calibrating equipment, but if left uncorrected, can lead to
measurements far from the true value.

E rro r Systematic Error

Ra ndo m
 Random Error Example and Causes
 If you take multiple measurements, the values cluster around the true value. Thus, random error primarily
affects precision. Typically, random error affects the last significant digit of a measurement.

The main reasons for random error are limitations of instruments, environmental factors, and slight variations in
procedure. For example:
 When weighing yourself on a scale, you position yourself slightly differently each time.
 When taking a volume reading in a flask, you may read the value from a different angle each time.
 Measuring the mass of sample on an analytical balance may produce different values as air currents affect the
balance or as water enters and leaves the specimen.
 Measuring your height is affected by minor posture changes.
 Measuring wind velocity depends on the height and time at which a measurement is taken. Multiple readings must
be taken and averaged because gusts and changes in direction affect the value.
 Readings must be estimated when they fall between marks on a scale or when the thickness of a measurement
marking is taken into account.
 Systematic Error Example and Causes
Systematic error is predictable and either constant or else proportional to the measurement. Systematic errors
primarily influence a measurement's accuracy.

Typical causes of systematic error include observational error, imperfect instrument calibration, and
environmental interference. For example:
 Forgetting to tare or zero a balance produces mass measurements that are always "off" by the same amount. An error
caused by not setting an instrument to zero prior to its use is called an offset error.
 Not reading the meniscus at eye level for a volume measurement will always result in an inaccurate reading. The
value will be consistently low or high, depending on whether the reading is taken from above or below the mark.
 Measuring length with a metal ruler will give a different result at a cold temperature than at a hot temperature, due
to thermal expansion of the material.
 An improperly calibrated thermometer may give accurate readings within a certain temperature range, but become
inaccurate at higher or lower temperatures.
 Measured distance is different using a new cloth measuring tape versus an older, stretched one. Proportional errors
of this type are called scale factor errors.
 Drift occurs when successive readings become consistently lower or higher over time. Electronic equipment tends
to be susceptible to drift. Many other instruments are affected by (usually positive) drift, as the device warms up.
Scalar and Vector Quantities
• Vector quantities have two characteristics, a magnitude and a direction. Scalar quantities have only a
magnitude.
• A scalar quantity is different from a vector quantity in terms of direction. Scalars don’t have direction
whereas vector has. Due to this feature, the scalar quantity can be said to be represented in one dimensional
whereas a vector quantity can be multi-dimensional.
Vectors

• We will next want to extend our knowledge of kinematics from one dimension to two and three dimensions.
However, the equations will be expressed in the mathematical language of vectors, so we’ll need to examine
the mathematics of vectors first.
• You can represent a vector graphically by drawing an arrow. The direction of the arrow indicates the
direction of the vector, while the length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the vector on some chosen
scale. By convention, we write vector names in boldface type in typeset text (e.g. A); when writing vectors by
hand, it is customary to draw a small arrow over the name (e.g. ).