Physics for

Scientists and
Engineers
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1
Physics & Measurement
Lecture 1
Learning outcomes

•What is physics ?
•Understand that physical quantities have numerical magnitude
and a unit.
• understand the model building .
•Understand the dimensional analysis.
•Recall base quantities and use prefixes.
•Show an understanding of orders of magnitude.
•Show an understanding of how convert the units .
•Know the mean of (SF) .
What is Physics ?
Fundamental Science
◦ concerned with the basic principles of the Universe and
explain the nature .
◦ foundation of other physical science
◦ Type of physics
1- Classical physics
2- Modern physics
Classical Physics
o Classical physics developed before 1900
Our study will start with Classical Mechanics
◦ Also called Newtonian Mechanics
◦ Including Mechanics, Thermodynamics,
Optics, Electromagnetism.
 Modern Physics
oBegan near the end of the 19th century
o Phenomena that could not be explained by
classical physics
o Includes theories of relativity and quantum
mechanics
 Objective of Physics
o To find the limited number of fundamental laws
that govern natural phenomena

o To use these laws to develop theories that can

predict the results of future experiments

o Express the laws in the language of mathematics

 Theory and Experiments
Should complement each other When a discrepancy
occurs, theory may be modified
◦ Theory may apply to limited conditions.
Example:
Newtonian Mechanics is confined to objects traveling slowing with
respect to the speed of light

◦ Try to develop a more general theory.

 Physical Quantities

A physical quantity is one that can be measured and

consists of a magnitude and unit.

Measuring length
 Standards of Quantities
▪Standardized systems
agreed upon by some authority, usually a governmental body
▪( SI ) Systéme International
agreed to in 1960 by an international committee
▪main system used in this text
System of Unit
Length
Units
◦ SI – meter, m

Defined in terms of a meter

the distance traveled by light in a vacuum during a time 1/299
792 458 second
Mass
Units
◦ SI – kilogram, kg

Defined in terms of a kilogram,

based on a specific (platinum –iridium alloy ) cylinder kept at the
International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Sevres , France
Standard Kilogram

The National Standard Kilogram

No. 20, an accurate copy of the
International Standard Kilogram
kept at Sèvres, France, is
housed under a double bell jar in
a vault at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology.
Time
Units
◦ seconds, s

Defined in terms of seconds

9192631770 times the period of vibration of radiation
from the cesium
Table 1.3,
SI Units

SI Units – International System of Units

Derived quantities
Density
Density is an example of a derived quantity
It is defined as mass per unit volume
Greek letter rho

Units are kg/m3

Derived quantities and
dimensions
Prefixes
Prefixes correspond to powers of 10
Each prefix has a specific name
Each prefix has a specific abbreviation
Prefixes

The prefixes can be

used with any base
units
They are multipliers
of the base unit
Examples:
1 mm = 10-3 m
1 mg = 10-3 g
 Prefixes
Prefixes simplify the writing of very large or very small
quantities
 1.2 Model Building

A model is a system of physical components

◦Identify the components
◦Make predictions about the behavior of the
system
The predictions will be based on interactions
among the components and/or Based on the
interactions between the components and the
environment.
 1.2 Model Building

Models are very useful during the process of

understanding phenomena. A model creates mental
pictures; care must be taken to understand the limits
of the model and not take it too seriously.
 Models of Matter
Some Greeks thought matter is
made of atoms
JJ Thomson (1897) found
electrons and showed atoms
had structure
Rutherford (1911) central
nucleus surrounded by electrons
 Models of Matter

Nucleus has structure, containing protons and

neutrons
◦Number of protons gives atomic number
◦Number of protons and neutrons gives mass number
Protons and neutrons are made up of quarks
Modeling Technique
Important technique is to build a model for a problem

◦Identify a system of physical components for the problem

◦Make predictions of the behavior of the system based on
the interactions among the components and/or the
components and the environment
1.3 Basic Quantities and
Their Dimension
▪Dimension has a specific meaning – it denotes the
physical nature of a quantity
▪Dimensions are denoted with square brackets
▪ Length [ L ]
▪ Mass [ M ]
▪ Time [ T ]
Dimensional Analysis
▪Dimensional Analysis is a technique to check the
correctness of an equation or to assist in deriving an
equation
▪Dimensions (length, mass, time, combinations) can be
treated as algebraic quantities

▪add, subtract, multiply, divide

▪ Both sides of equation must have the same
dimensions
Symbols
▪The symbol used in an equation is not necessarily the symbol
used for its dimension
▪Some quantities have one symbol used consistently
▪ For example, time is t virtually all the time
▪Some quantities have many symbols used, depending upon the
specific situation

▪ For example, lengths may be x, y, z, r, d, h, etc.

Dimensional Analysis

▪Given the equation: x = ½ at 2

▪Check dimensions on each side:

▪The T2’s cancel, leaving L for the dimensions of each side

▪ The equation is dimensionally correct
Dimensional Analysis
EXAMPLE

Speed = ?

Acceleration = ?
Example
-Show that the expression v=at , where v represents speed , a
acceleration, and t an instant of time , is dimensionally correct

solution :
1.4 Conversion of Units
When units are not consistent, you may need to
convert to appropriate ones
Units can be treated like algebraic quantities that
can cancel each other out
See the inside of the front cover of your textbook
for an extensive list of conversion factors
 Conversion
▪Always include units for every quantity, you can
carry the units through the entire calculation
▪Multiply original value by a ratio equal to one
▪Example
 Conversion
▪Example
▪Estimate the number of breaths taken an avarege
human lifetime ?
1.5 Estimates and Order of
magnitude calculations
1.5 Estimates and Order of
magnitude calculations

A quick way to estimate a calculated quantity is to

round off all numbers to one significant figure and
then calculate. Your result should at least be the
right order of magnitude; this can be expressed by
rounding it off to the nearest power of 10.
Order of Magnitude: Rapid
Estimating
Example 1-5: Volume of a lake.
1-3 Measurement and
Uncertainty; Significant Figures
No measurement is exact; there is always some uncertainty due to
limited instrument accuracy and difficulty reading results.

The photograph to the left

illustrates this – it would be
difficult to measure the width of
this board more accurately than ±
1 mm.
1-3 Measurement and
Uncertainty; Significant Figures

Estimated uncertainty is written with a ±

sign; for example: 8.8 ± 0.1 cm.
Percent uncertainty is the ratio of the
uncertainty to the measured value,
multiplied by 100:
 1.6 Significant Figures (SF )
The number of significant figures is the number of
reliably known digits in a number. It is usually
possible to tell the number of significant figures by
the way the number is written:
23.21 cm has four significant figures.
0.062 cm has two significant figures (the initial
zeroes don’t count).
80 km is ambiguous—it could have one or two
significant figures. If it has three, it should be
written 80.0 km.
 Significant Figures (SF )

▪0.0075 m has 2 significant figures

▪ The leading zeros are placeholders only
▪ Can write in scientific notation to show more
clearly: 7.5 x 10-3 m for 2 significant figures
▪10.0 m has 3 significant figures
▪ The decimal point gives information about the
reliability of the measurement
▪1500 m is ambiguous
Significant Figures (SF )

▪1500 m is ambiguous
▪ Use 1.5 x 103 m for 2 significant figures
▪ Use 1.50 x 103 m for 3 significant figures
▪ Use 1.500 x 103 m for 4 significant figures
Operations with Significant Figures –
Multiplying or Dividing

▪When multiplying or dividing, the number of

significant figures in the final answer is the
same as the number of significant figures in
the quantity having the lowest number of
significant figures.
▪Example: 25.57 m x 2.45 m = 62.6 m2
▪ The 2.45 m limits your result to 3 significant figures
Operations with Significant
Figures – Adding or Subtracting

When adding or subtracting, the number of

decimal places in the result should equal the
smallest number of decimal places in any term
in the sum.
Example
135 cm + 3.25 cm = 138 cm
◦ The 135 cm limits your answer to the units decimal value
Operations With Significant
Figures – Summary

The rule for addition and subtraction are different

than the rule for multiplication and division
For adding and subtracting, the number of
decimal places is the important consideration
For multiplying and dividing, the number of
significant figures is the important
consideration
 Rounding

Last retained digit is increased by 1 if the last digit

dropped is 5 or above
Last retained digit remains as it is if the last digit
dropped is less than 5
If the last digit dropped is equal to 5, the retained digit
should be rounded to the nearest even number
Saving rounding until the final result will help eliminate
accumulation of errors
Problem solving tactics

▪Explain the problem with your own words.

▪ Make a good picture describing the problem
▪ Write down the given data with their units. Convert all data
into S.I. system.
▪Identify the unknowns.
▪ Find the connections between the unknowns and the data.
▪ Write the physical equations that can be applied to the
problem.
▪ Solve those equations.
▪ Check if the values obtained are reasonable order of
magnitude and units.
THE END