http://okphysics.com/mwebs/uploads/2013/06/8-Units-and-Measurements.

pdf

ESSENTIAL PHYSICS- Units and Measurements RAJAN M V

MEASUREMENT
Measurement is the comparison of a quantity with a similar quantity selected as a standard.

UNIT
The selected standard quantity is called the unit of measurement.

SYSTEM OF UNIT
A collection of different units is called a system of unit.

POPULAR SSYSTEMS

i) mks- Meter kilogram second

ii) cgs- centimeter gram second
iii) FPs-Foot Pound second
iv) SI- International system of units.

In our studies we use only SI. It has seven fundamental units.

Sl. Physical quantity Name Symbol

No.
1. Length metre m
2. Mass kilogramme kg
3. Time second s
4. Temperature Kelvin K
5. Luminous intensity candela cd
6. Electric current ampere A
7. Amount of substance mole mol

SCIENTIFIC NOTATION:
In this notation, every number is expressed as a 10b, where a is a number between 1 and 10,
and b is any positive or negative exponent (or power) of 10. In order to get an approximate idea
of the number, we may round off the number a to 1 (for a 5) and to 10 (for 5 <a 10).

Radius of earth is approximately 6400 km. Scientifically it is written as 6.4 x 10 6 m.

ORDER OF MAGNITUDE:
The order of magnitude of a given number is the nearest power of ten to which it is
approximated.
The order of magnitude x of a number N is defined as
N
0.5 10 x 5
Take a number 12345. To find the order of magnitude write it in the scientific method.
Then 12345 will take the form 1.2345 x 104. Compare it with the standard form a 10b.
Here a is 1.2345 which is less than 5. So take it as 1. Then 12345 is approximately 1 x 104 and
order of magnitude is 4 and the number is said to be in the order of 10 4.
It simply helps us guess that the value is closer to 10,000 than 100,000

In the case of 96500, it can be written as 9.6500 x 104 and it is approximated to 10 x 104 and
the order is 105.
0.06589 becomes 6.589 x 10-2 and is approximately 10x10-2. It is of the order of 10-1
www.rajansir.com Page 1
ESSENTIAL PHYSICS- Units and Measurements RAJAN M V

LEAST COUNT:
It is the smallest value that can be measured using a device. A device with smaller least
count is always desirerable.
The system clock in my computer reads 8.17AM. It cannot measure anything less than 1
minute. Its least count is 1 minute. I cannot expect it to give me something like 8.175 AM.

IMPORTANT! The number of decimal points that appears in a measured value depends on the
least count.

STUDY AT HOME

Symbol Multiplier Prefix Symbol Multiplier Prefix

d 101 deci da 101 deca
c 102 centi h 102 hecto
m 103 milli k 103 kilo
106 micro M 106 mega
n 109 nano G 109 giga
p 1012 pico T 1012 tera
f 1015 femto P 1015 peta

1 light year = 9.468 1015m : Distance travelled by light in one year.

1 astronomical unit or 1 A.U. = 1.496 1011 m: The mean distance from earth to sun.
1 micron = 1m = 106 m: One millionth of a meter.
1 angstrom = 1010 m
1 Fermi = 1015 m
1 atomic mass unit (amu) = 1.66 1027 kg
1 pound = 0.4537 kg
1
1 year = 365 4 Solar days
1 lunar month = 27.3 solar days
1 solar day = 86400 sec
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOME MECHANICAL SI UNITS AND COMMONLY USED
UNITS:
Length Pressure
a) 1 micrometre (micron) = 106 a) 1 kgfm2 = 9.81 N m2
m b) 1 mm of Hg = 133 N m2
10
b) 1 angstrom () = 10 m c) 1 Pascal = 1 N m2
Mass d) 1 atmospheric pressure = 76
3
a) 1 metric ton = 10 kg cm of Hg = 1.01 105 Pascal
b) 1 pound = 0.4537 kg Work and energy
c) 1 amu = 1.66 1027 kg a) 1 erg = 107
Volume b) 1 kgf m = 9.81 J
1 litre = 103 m3 c) 1 k Wh = 3.6 106 J
3
1 mL = 1cm Power
Force a) 1 kg m s1 = 9.81 W
5
a) 1 dyne = 10 N b) 1 horse power = 746 W
b) 1 kgf = 9.81 N

www.rajansir.com Page 2
ESSENTIAL PHYSICS- Units and Measurements RAJAN M V

LEARNING POINTS

1. Determine the least count of the given scale.

2. If I say that I measured 12.46 cm using the above scale, what will be your response?

3. Sides of a cubical water tank are 5 feet each. How much water in liters can it hold?

4. The same object when weighed gives 12.45 mg in one device and 12.5 in another. Which
device will you prefer?

5. A length is measured with two scales. The readings of the first scale are: 67.8cm, 68.0cmm
and 67.6cm. The second gives 66.78cm, 65.98cm and 69.99cm. Which device will you
prefer?

6. Fill in the blanks

(a) The volume of a cube of side 1 cm is equal to .....m 3
(b) The surface area of a solid cylinder of radius 2.0 cm and height 10.0 cm is equal to
...(mm)2
(c) A vehicle moving with a speed of 18 km h 1 covers....m in 1 s
7. Fill in the blanks by suitable conversion of units
(a) 1 kg m2 s2 = ....g cm2 s2
(b) 1 m = ..... ly
(c) 3.0 m s2 = .... km h2

www.rajansir.com Page 3