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Science - Physics - MYP2

This document outlines key concepts in physics measurement including: 1) The seven basic SI units are meter (length), kilogram (mass), second (time), ampere (electric current), kelvin (temperature), mole (amount of substance), and candela (luminous intensity). 2) Other derived quantities like area, volume, density are defined in terms of the basic units. 3) Common tools for measurement include rulers, balances, calipers, micrometers, which should provide accurate results within a known error percentage.

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86 views

Science - Physics - MYP2

This document outlines key concepts in physics measurement including: 1) The seven basic SI units are meter (length), kilogram (mass), second (time), ampere (electric current), kelvin (temperature), mole (amount of substance), and candela (luminous intensity). 2) Other derived quantities like area, volume, density are defined in terms of the basic units. 3) Common tools for measurement include rulers, balances, calipers, micrometers, which should provide accurate results within a known error percentage.

Uploaded by

moyako.mbotake
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Science (Physics)

PEI 2: Unit 3: Measurement I & II

Objectives

- To Known and understand basic units of measurements


 Length
 Area
 Volume
 Mass
 Density
 Time
- Accuracy and errors
- Measuring length using vernier calipers
- Micrometer screw gauge
- Calculating the size of a molecule

In order to measure we need to know or define the quantity to be measured and the
units for measuring it. In 1971 a system known as the International System of
Units (Systeme’ Internationale) and seven basic units were agreed upon as
follows. Other quantities can be obtained from these basic quantities and are
referred to as derived quantities.

Length

This is the measure of distance between two points in space. The SI unit for length
is the meter (m).Therefore 1 km = 1000 m
1 Hm = 100 m

1 Dm= 10 m

1 mm = 0.001 m

Length is measured using a meter rule (100 cm), tape measure (100 m, 300 m, 500 m)

Area

This is the measure of the extent of a surface. It is a derived quantity of length. Its
SI units are square meter (m 2 ). Other units are cm 2 , km 2 , etc. Formulas are used to
determine areas of regular bodies while for irregular bodies an approximation of
area is used.

Volume

This is the amount of space occupied by matter. The SI unit for volume is cubic
meter (m 3 ). Other sub-multiples are cm 3 , mm 3 and L. Hence 1 m 3 = 1,000,000 cm 3
and 1L= 1,000 cm 3 . Volume can be measured using a measuring cylinder, eureka
can, pipette, burette, volumetric flask, beaker, etc

Mass

This is the quantity of matter contained in a substance. Matter is anything that


occupies space and has weight. The SI unit for mass is the Kilogram (kg). Other
sub-multiples used are grams (g), milligrams (mg) and tones (t). 1 kg = 1,000 g =
1,000,000 mg =100 tones. A beam balance is used to measure mass

Density

This is mass per unit volume of a substance. It is symbolized by rho (ρ) and its SI
units are kg/m 3 .

Density = mass / volume


Examples

1. A block of glass of mass 187.5 g is 5.0 cm long, 2.0 cm thick and 7.5 cm high.
Calculate the density of the glass in kgm -3

Solution

Density = mass / volume = (187.5 /1000) / (2.0 × 7.5 × 5.0 /1,000,000) = 2,500 kg m-3.

2. The density of concentrated sulphuric acid is 1.8 g/cm 3 . Calculate the volume of 3.1 kg of
the acid

Solution

Volume = mass / density = 3,100 / 1.8 = 1,722 cm 3 or 0.001722 m 3 .

The following is a list of densities of some common substances

Other example

The mass of an empty density bottle is 20 g. Its mass when filled with water is 40.0
g and 50.0 g when filled with liquid X. Calculate the density of liquid X if the
density of water is 1,000 kgm-3.

Solution

Mass of water = 40 – 20 = 20 g = 0.02 kg.


Volume of water = 0.02 / 1,000 = 0.00002 m3. Volume of liquid = volume of bottle

Mass of liquid = 50 – 20 = 30 g = 0.03 kg

Therefore density of liquid = 0.03 / 0.00002 = 1,500 kgm-3

Relative density

This is the density of a substance compared to the density of water. It is symbolized


by (d) and has no units since it’s a ratio.

Relative density (d) = density of substance × density of water. It is measured


using a relative density bottle

Example

The relative density of some type of wood is 0.8. Find the density of the wood in
kg/m 3.

Solution

Density of substance = d × density of water

Density of substance = 0.8 × 1,000 = 800 kgm -3

Densities of mixtures

We use the following formula to calculate densities of mixtures

Density of the mixture = mass of the mixture / volume of the mixture

Example

100 cm 3 of fresh water of density 1,000 kgm -3 is mixed with 100 cm 3 of sea water
of density 1030 kgm -3 .
Calculate the density of the mixture.

Solution

Mass = density × volume

Mass of fresh water = 1,000 × 0.0001 = 0.1 kg

Mass of sea water = 1030 × 0.0001 = 0.103 kg

Mass of mixture = 0.1 + 0.103 = 0.203 kg

Volume of mixture = 100 + 100 = 200 cm3 = 0.0002 m 3

Therefore density = mass / volume = 0.203 / 0.0002 =1,015 kg/m 3 .

Time

This is a measure of duration of an event. The SI unit for time is the second (s).
Sub- multiples of the second are milliseconds, microseconds, minute, hour, day,
week and year. It is measured using clocks, stop watches, wrist watches, and
digital watches.

Accuracy and errors

Accuracy is the closeness of a measurement to the correct value of the quantity


being measured. It is expressed as an error.

An error is therefore the deviation of measurement to the correct value being


measured. The smaller the error the accurate the measurement

% error = (sensitivity / size measured) × 100.

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