Distance from Sun to Earth is

147,220,000 km
Size of an atom is as small as
0.00000000003 m
 UNIT 1:
MEASUREMENT AND UNITS
1.01 Number and Units
Prepared by: Dr. Hor
 Learning Outcomes
• Know how to use units
• Make bigger or smaller units using prefixes
• Write numbers in scientific notation
• Convert numbers into given significant figures
 Physical Quantity
• A complete measurement is called a physical
quantity
• Made up of two parts: a number and a unit
• For example:
10 kg

Number Unit
 Numbers
• Make a unit bigger or smaller by putting a prefix
Prefix Meaning Example
G (giga) x 1,000,000,000 (x 109) GW
M (mega) x 1,000,000 (x 106) MW
k (kilo) x 1,000 (x 103) kg
d (deci) (x10-1) dm
c (centi) (x10-2) cm
m (mili) (x10-3) mg
(micro) (x10-6) m
n (nano) (x10-9) ns
 Significant figures
• Non-zero digits are always significant
• Example:
– 123 (3 s.f.)
– 1.2 (2 s.f.)
– 2468
 Significant figures
• Any zeros between two significant digits are
significant
• Example:
– 1023 (4 sig. fig.)
– 1.02 (3 sig. fig.)
– 200.04
 Significant figures
• Leading zeros are NOT significant
• Example:
– 0.006 (1 s.f.)
– 0.000968 (3 s.f.)
– 0.0102
 Significant figures
• Trailing zeros to the right of the decimal are
significant
• Example:
– 23.0 (3 s.f.)
– 23.00 (4 s.f.)
– 23.000
 Significant figures
• Trailing zeros in a whole number with no
decimal shown are NOT significant
• Example:
– 230 (2 s.f.)
– 2300 (2 s.f.)
– 23000
Scientific Notation / Standard Form
a x 10n
n = positive or integer (0, 1, 2, 3,…)
Decimal Scientific
notation
5,200
3,600,000
0.52
0.045
Sun to earth distance is
147,220,000 km
Size of an atom is as small as
0.00000000003 m