PHYSICS

Physics for Scientists and Engineers

Introduction and Chapter 1 – Physics and

Measurements
Introduction: Physics

Fundamental Science
▪ Concerned with the fundamental principles of the
Universe
▪ Foundation of other physical sciences
▪ Has simplicity of fundamental concepts

Introduction
Physics, cont.

Divided into six major areas:

▪ Classical Mechanics
▪ Relativity
▪ Thermodynamics
▪ Electromagnetism
▪ Optics
▪ Quantum Mechanics

Introduction
Mechanics and electromagnetism are basic to all other
branches of classical and modern physics.
Classical physics
▪ Developed before 1900
▪ First part of text deals with Classical Mechanics
▪ Also called Newtonian Mechanics or Mechanics

Modern physics
▪ From about 1900 to the present

Introduction
Objectives of Physics

To find the limited number of fundamental laws that

govern natural phenomena
To use these laws to develop theories that can predict the
results of future experiments
Express the laws in the language of mathematics
▪ Mathematics provides the bridge between theory and
experiment.

Introduction
Theory and Experiments

Should complement each other

When a discrepancy occurs, theory may be modified or new
theories formulated.
▪ A theory may apply to limited conditions.
▪ Example: Newtonian Mechanics is confined to objects traveling
slowly with respect to the speed of light.
▪ Try to develop a more general theory

Introduction
Classical Physics Overview

Classical physics includes principles in many branches

developed before 1900.
Mechanics
▪ Major developments by Newton, and continuing through
the 18th century
Thermodynamics, optics and electromagnetism
▪ Developed in the latter part of the 19th century
▪ Apparatus for controlled experiments became available

Introduction
Modern Physics

Began near the end of the 19th century

Phenomena that could not be explained by classical physics
Includes theories of relativity and quantum mechanics

Introduction
Special Relativity

Correctly describes motion of objects moving near the speed

of light
Modifies the traditional concepts of space, time, and energy
Shows the speed of light is the upper limit for the speed of
an object
Shows mass and energy are related

Introduction
Quantum Mechanics

Formulated to describe physical phenomena at the atomic

level
Led to the development of many practical devices

Introduction
1.1 Standards of Length, Mass, and Time
Measurements
Used to describe natural phenomena
Each measurement is associated with a physical quantity
Need defined standards
Characteristics of standards for measurements
▪ Readily accessible
▪ Possess some property that can be measured reliably
▪ Must yield the same results when used by anyone
anywhere
▪ Cannot change with timeSection 1.1
Standards of Fundamental 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

Section 1.1
Fundamental Quantities and Their Units

Quantity SI Unit
Length meter

Mass kilogram

Time second

Temperature Kelvin

Electric Current Ampere

Luminous Intensity Candela

Amount of Substance mole

Quantities Used in Mechanics

In mechanics, three fundamental quantities are used:

▪ Length
▪ Mass
▪ Time
All other quantities in mechanics can be expressed in terms
of the three fundamental quantities.

Section 1.1
Length

Length is the distance between two points in space.

Units
▪ SI – meter, m
Defined in terms of a meter – the distance traveled by light in
a vacuum during a given time
See Table 1.1 for some examples of lengths.

Section 1.1
Mass

Units
▪ SI – kilogram, kg
Defined in terms of a kilogram, based on a specific cylinder
kept at the International Bureau of Standards
See Table 1.2 for masses of various objects.

Section 1.1
Standard Kilogram
Time

Units
▪ seconds, s
Defined in terms of the oscillation of radiation from a cesium
atom
See Table 1.3 for some approximate time intervals.

Section 1.1
Reasonableness of Results

When solving a problem, you need to check your answer to

see if it seems reasonable.
Reviewing the tables of approximate values for length, mass,
and time will help you test for reasonableness.

Section 1.1
Number Notation

When writing out numbers with many digits, spacing in

groups of three will be used.
▪ No commas
▪ Standard international notation
Examples:
▪ 25 100
▪ 5.123 456 789 1

Section 1.1
US Customary System

Still used in the US, but text will use SI

Quantity Unit
Length foot
Mass slug
Time second

Section 1.1
Prefixes

Prefixes correspond to powers of 10.

Each prefix has a specific name.
Each prefix has a specific abbreviation.
The prefixes can be used with any basic units.
They are multipliers of the basic unit.
Examples:
▪ 1 mm = 10-3 m
▪ 1 mg = 10-3 g
Section 1.1
Prefixes, cont.

Section 1.1
Prefixes, cont.

Section 1.1
Fundamental and Derived Units

Derived quantities can be expressed as a mathematical

combination of fundamental quantities.
Examples:
▪ Area
▪ A product of two lengths
▪ Speed
▪ A ratio of a length to a time interval
▪ Density
▪ A ratio of mass to volume
Section 1.1
1.2 Matter and Model Building

A model is a system of physical components.

▪ Useful when you cannot interact directly with the
phenomenon
▪ Identifies the physical components
▪ Makes 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

Section 1.2
Models of Matter

Some Greeks thought matter

is made of atoms.
▪ No additional structure
JJ Thomson (1897) found
electrons and showed atoms
had structure.
Rutherford (1911) determined
a central nucleus surrounded
by electrons.
Section 1.2
Models of Matter, cont.

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.

Section 1.2
Models of Matter, final

Quarks
▪ Six varieties
▪ Up, down, strange, charmed, bottom, top
▪ Fractional electric charges
▪ +⅔ of a proton
▪ Up, charmed, top
▪ ⅓ of a proton
▪ Down, strange, bottom

Section 1.2
Modeling Technique

An important problem-solving 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

Section 1.2
Basic Quantities and Their Dimension

Dimension has a specific meaning – it denotes the

physical nature of a quantity.
Dimensions are often denoted with square brackets.
▪ Length [L]
▪ Mass [M]
▪ Time [T]

Section 1.3
1.3 Dimensional Analysis

Each dimension can have many actual units.

Table 1.5 for the dimensions and units of some derived
quantities

Section 1.3
Dimensional Analysis

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.
Any relationship can be correct only if the dimensions on
both sides of the equation are the same.
Cannot give numerical factors: this is its limitation

Section 1.3
Example

Given the equation: x = ½ at 2

Check dimensions on each side:

The T2 are canceled, leaving L for the dimensions of each side.

▪ The equation is dimensionally correct.
▪ There are no dimensions for the constant.

Section 1.3
Determine a Power Law

Determine powers in a proportionality

▪ Example: find the exponents in the expression

▪ You must have lengths on both sides.

▪ Acceleration has dimensions of L/T2
▪ Time has dimensions of T.
▪ Analysis gives

Section 1.3
 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.
The dimensions will be given with a capitalized, non-italic letter.
The algebraic symbol will be italicized.
Section 1.3
1.4 Conversion of Units

When units are not consistent, you may need to convert to

appropriate ones.
See Appendix A for an extensive list of conversion factors.
Units can be treated like algebraic quantities that can cancel
each other out.

Section 1.4
Conversion
Always include units for every quantity, you can carry the
units through the entire calculation.
▪ Will help detect possible errors
Multiply original value by a ratio equal to one.
Example:

▪ Note the value inside the parentheses is equal to 1, since

1 inch is defined as 2.54 cm.
Section 1.4
1.5 Estimates and Order-of-Magnitude Calculations

Approximation based on a number of assumptions

▪ May need to modify assumptions if more precise results
are needed
The order of magnitude is the power of 10 that applies.

Section 1.5
Order of Magnitude – Process

Estimate a number and express it in scientific notation.

▪ The multiplier of the power of 10 needs to be between 1
and 10.
Compare the multiplier to 3.162 ( )
▪ If the remainder is less than 3.162, the order of
magnitude is the power of 10 in the scientific notation.
▪ If the remainder is greater than 3.162, the order of
magnitude is one more than the power of 10 in the
scientific notation.
Section 1.5
Using Order of Magnitude

Estimating too high for one number is often canceled by

estimating too low for another number.
▪ The resulting order of magnitude is generally reliable
within about a factor of 10.
Working the problem allows you to drop digits, make
reasonable approximations and simplify approximations.
With practice, your results will become better and better.

Section 1.5
Uncertainty in Measurements

There is uncertainty in every measurement – this uncertainty

carries over through the calculations.
▪ May be due to the apparatus, the experimenter, and/or
the number of measurements made
▪ Need a technique to account for this uncertainty
We will use rules for significant figures to approximate the
uncertainty in results of calculations.

Section 1.6
1.6 Significant Figures

A significant figure is one that is reliably known.

Zeros may or may not be significant.
▪ Those used to position the decimal point are not
significant.
▪ To remove ambiguity, use scientific notation.
In a measurement, the significant figures include the first
estimated digit.

Section 1.6
Significant Figures, examples
0.0075 m has 2 significant figures
▪ The leading zeros are placeholders only.
▪ Write the value 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
▪ 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
Section 1.6
Operations with Significant Figures –
Multiplying or Dividing

When multiplying or dividing several quantities, the number

of significant figures in the final answer is the same as the
number of significant figures in the quantity having the
smallest 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.

Section 1.6
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 or difference.
Example: 135 cm + 3.25 cm = 138 cm
▪ The 135 cm limits your answer to the units decimal value.

Section 1.6
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.

Section 1.6
Significant Figures in the Text

Most of the numerical examples and end-of-chapter

problems will yield answers having three significant figures.
When estimating a calculation, typically work with one
significant figure.

Section 1.6
Rounding
Last retained digit is increased by 1 if the last digit dropped
is greater than 5.
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.
It is useful to perform the solution in algebraic form and wait
until the end to enter numerical values.
▪ This saves keystrokes as well as minimizes rounding.
Section 1.6