IB PHYSICS

REVIEW
TOPIC 1
Measurements and uncertainties
Scalars obey the rules of ordinary algebra:
2 kg of potato + 2 kg of potato = 4 kg of potato
Vectors obey the rules of vectors’ algebra:
The sum of two vectors depends on their directions.
Fundamental and derived SI units
 The fundamental units in the SI system are…

Length meter (m)

Mass kilogram (kg)
Time second (s)
Electric Current (I) ampere (A)
Temperature kelvin (K)
Amount of matter mole
Intensity of light/Luminosity candela (cd)

The ampere is equivalent to one coulomb (roughly 6.241×1018 electrons)

per second
Formal definition of the ampere: ampere is the constant current that will
produce an attractive force of 2 × 10−7 newtons per metre of length
between two straight, parallel conductors of infinite length and negligible
circular cross section placed one metre apart in a vacuum.
 Fundamental and derived SI units

 Derived quantities have units that are combinations of the fundamental units.

For example
 Speed - measured in meters per second (m s-1).
 Acceleration - measured in meters per second per second (m s-2).

 You can use units to prove that equations are invalid.

 Dimensional analysis is the process of substituting units into
formulas to check for consistency
 Dimensional analysis can be used only to show the invalidity of a formula.
 Scientific notation and metric prefixes

Power of 10 Prefix Name Symbol

10 -12 pico p
10 -9 nano n
10 -6 micro µ
10 -3 milli m
10 -2 centi c
10 3 kilo k
10 6 mega M
10 9 giga G
10 12 tera T
 3 2 3 6 3
1 𝑚 =1(10 𝑐𝑚) =10 𝑐𝑚
3 3 3 9 3
1 𝑚 =1(10 𝑚 𝑚) =10 𝑚𝑚
3 −2 3 −6 3
1 𝑐𝑚 =1(10 𝑚) =10 𝑚
3 −3 3 −9 3
1 𝑚𝑚 =1(10 𝑚) =10 𝑚
SIGNIFICANT FIGURES are reliably known digits + one uncertain (estimate)

(1) All non-zero digits are significant. 438 g 3

26.42 m 4
0.75 cm 2
(2) All zeros between non-zero 12060 m 4
digits are significant. 900.43 cm 5
(3) Filler zeros to the left of an 220 L 2
understood decimal place are not 60 g 1
significant. 30. cm 2
(4) Filler zeros to the right of a decimal 0.006 L 1
place are not significant. 0.08 g 1
(5) All non-filler zeros to the right of 8.0 L 2
a decimal place are significant. 60.40 g 4
Significant figures in calculations
Multiplication and division – round your answer to the same number
of significant digits as the quantity with the fewest number of
significant digits.

Addition and subtraction – round your answer to the same number

of decimal places as the quantity with the fewest number of decimal
places.
 Orders of magnitude

Mass of universe 10 50 kg
Diameter of universe 10 25 m
Diameter of galaxy 10 21 m
Age of universe 10 18 s
Speed of light 10 8 m s-1
Diameter of atom 10 -10 m
Diameter of nucleus 10 -15 m
Diameter of quark 10 -18 m
Mass of proton 10 -27 kg
Mass of quark 10 -30 kg
Mass of electron 10 -31 kg
Planck length 10 -35 m
Quoting and comparing ratios, values and
approximations to the nearest order of magnitude

Another form of estimation is to solve complex problems with the

simplest math possible and obtain a ballpark figure as an answer.

If at all possible, only powers of ten are used.

 Uncertainty and errors
Guidance:
• Analysis of uncertainties will not be expected for trigonometric or
logarithmic functions in examinations

Uncertainty and error in measurement

Accuracy is the closeness of agreement between a measured value
and a true or accepted value
Precision is the degree of exactness (or refinement) of a measurement (results
from limitations of measuring device used).

There are 2 types of errors in measured data: random and systematic.

 Uncertainty and errors

¨ Random: refer to random fluctuations in the measured data due to:

• to the recorder, rather than the instrument used for the measurement.
• the readability of the instrument
• the effects of something changing in the surroundings between measurements
• the observer being less than perfect
• Random errors can be reduced by taking many readings and then averaging them.
A precise experiment has small random error.
 Uncertainty and errors

¨ Systematic errors is error due to the instrument being “out of adjustment.”

(measurements that are either consistently too large, or too small) can result
from:
• poor technique (e.g. carelessness with parallax)
The observer being less than perfect in the same way during each measurement.

• zero error of an instrument (e.g. a ruler that has been shortened by wear at the
zero end, or a scale that reads a value when nothing is on it);
Instrument does not read zero when it should
– to correct for this, the value should be subtracted from every reading)

• an instrument being wrongly calibrated (e.g. every time measurement

is measured too large).

• can be detected using different methods of measurement.

Uncertainty and errors

Instrument/reading uncertainty

Analog instrument : ½ of the smallest increment (precision)

Digital instrument : the whole smallest increment
measurement = (best estimate ± uncertainty) unit
Uncertainties are given to 1 significant figure.

▪ IB has a requirement that when you conduct an experiment of your own

design, you must have five variations in your independent variable.
▪ And for each variation of your independent variable you must conduct five
trials to gather the values of the dependent variable.
▪ The five values for each dependent variable will then be averaged.

The value of best estimate must also be expressed

to the same precision as the uncertainty
measurement = (best estimate ± absolute uncertainty) units
Single Measurement (1 trial)
measurement = (reading ± absolute uncertainty) unit
𝑥=(𝑥¿¿𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔±∆ 𝑥)𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠¿ ∆ 𝑥𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙/𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑦
Several repeated measurements
measurement = (average ± absolute uncertainty) unit

𝑥 𝑎𝑣𝑔=
∑ 𝑥𝑖 ∆ 𝒙=
𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑥 𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑥 𝑚𝑖𝑛
=
𝑛 2 2

▪
∆𝑥
𝑥
▪ 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 (𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 )
∆𝑥
100 %
𝑥
 Propagating uncertainties through calculations

If data are to be added or subtracted, add the absolute uncertainty:

 Propagating uncertainties through calculations

If data are to be multiplied or divided, add the fractional or percentage uncertainty:

𝑎· 𝑏 ∆ 𝑦 ∆𝑎 ∆𝑏 ∆𝑐
𝑦=
𝑐
= + +
𝑦 𝑎 𝑏 𝑐

𝑩= ( 𝟎 .𝟕 ± 𝟎 . 𝟑 )
 Vectors and scalars
▪ Magnitude – A numerical value with appropriate units.
▪ Scalar is a quantity that is completely specified by magnitude.
▪ Vector requires both, magnitude and direction for a complete description.
Scalars obey scalar algebra. Vectors obey vector algebra.

▪ the direction of a vector is the counterclockwise angle

which that vector makes with positive direction of x - axis.

Finding components:
A x = Acosθ
 
if (A,θ)
A y = Asinθ
known

Finding magnitude and direction:

A= A 2x +A 2y
if (A x ,A y )   Ay 
   θ=arc tan if the vector is in the first quadrant;
known  
 Ax  if not you find it from the picture.
Vectors addition : ⃗
A+ ⃗ ⃗
B =C

Subtraction is adding opposite vector

- = + (- ) =

Analytically/Numerically:

⃗ =⃗ 𝐶 = 𝐴 𝑥 + 𝐵 𝑥 = 𝐴 cos 𝜃 𝐴 + 𝐵𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝐵
𝐶 𝐴+ ⃗
𝐵 𝑥
𝐶 𝑦 = 𝐴 𝑦 + 𝐵 𝑦 = 𝐴 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝐴 + 𝐵𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝐵

;  from the picture

Fn Fn
Ffr Ffr