LECTURE 1 : QUANTITY AND UNITS

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI)

GOLDEN SUNBEAM INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

September 22, 2024

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 1 / 17
 Introduction to Quantities and Units

A physical quantity is anything that can be measured.

Quantities are classified as basic (fundamental) and derived.
Units are standards used to measure physical quantities.
The International System of Units (S.I.) is used globally.

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 2 / 17
 Basic Quantities and Their S.I. Units

Quantity S.I. Unit

Length Meter (m)
Mass Kilogram (kg)
Time Second (s)
Electric Current Ampere (A)
Temperature Kelvin (K)
Amount of Substance Mole (mol)
Luminous Intensity Candela (cd)

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 3 / 17
 Derived Quantities and Their S.I. Units

Derived Quantity Formula S.I. Unit

Area Length Ö Length Square meter (m²)
Volume Length Ö Width Ö Height Cubic meter (m³)
Velocity Displacement / Time Meter per second (m/s)
Force Mass Ö Acceleration Newton (N)
Pressure Force / Area Pascal (Pa)
Work Force Ö Distance Joule (J)
Power Work / Time Watt (W)

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 4 / 17
 Prefixes and Their Submultiples

Prefix Submultiple Symbol

milli 10-3 m
micro 10-6 µ
nano 10-9 n
pico 10-12 p
femto 10-15 f
atto 10-18 a

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 5 / 17
 Prefixes and Their Multiples

Prefix Multiple Symbol

kilo 103 k
mega 106 M
giga 109 G
tera 1012 T
peta 1015 P
exa 1018 E

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 6 / 17
 Common Symbols in Physics

Symbol Name
α Alpha
β Beta
γ Gamma
λ Lambda
θ Theta
µ Mu
ρ Rho
σ Sigma

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 7 / 17
 Dimensional Analysis

Dimensional analysis helps check the correctness of physical

equations.
Dimensions of basic quantities:
Length: [L]
Mass: [M]
Time: [T ]

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 8 / 17
 Example of Dimensional Analysis

Verify the equation for Force: F = ma

Force: [F ] = [M][L][T ]−2
Mass: [M]
L
Acceleration: a = T2
 
L
[F ] = [M] · = [M][L][T ]−2
T2
Thus, the equation is dimensionally correct.

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 9 / 17
 Proof of the Formula for Energy

Verify the equation for Energy: E = F × d

Energy: [E ] = [F ][L] = [M][L][T ]−2 · [L]
Force: [F ] = [M][L][T ]−2
Displacement: [L]
[E ] = [M][L]2 [T ]−2
Therefore, the equation for energy is dimensionally correct.

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 10 / 17
 Basic and Derived Quantities

Basic Quantity:
A basic quantity (or fundamental quantity) is one that cannot be
defined in terms of other physical quantities.
Examples: Length, Mass, Time, Electric Current, Temperature.

Derived Quantity:
A derived quantity is obtained by combining basic quantities
through multiplication or division.
Examples: Velocity ( displacement
time ), Force (mass × acceleration).

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 11 / 17
 Scalar and Vector Quantities

Scalar Quantity:
A scalar quantity is defined by only magnitude, without direction.
Examples: Mass, Speed, Temperature, Energy.

Vector Quantity:
A vector quantity is defined by both magnitude and direction.
Examples: Displacement, Velocity, Force, Momentum.

Mathematical Notation: A vector is represented as A, and its magnitude

as |A|.

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 12 / 17
 Rules for Determining Scalars or Vectors

Rules for Checking if a Derived Quantity is Scalar or Vector:

If the derived quantity depends only on magnitudes (no
direction), it is a scalar.
If the derived quantity depends on both magnitude and
direction, it is a vector.

Mathematical Operations to Check:

If derived from scalar quantities through addition, subtraction, or
multiplication, it is scalar.
If derived from vector quantities and involves direction (such as dot
product or cross product), check if the result has direction:
Dot Product: Scalar (A · B = |A||B| cos θ)
Cross Product: Vector (A × B = |A||B| sin θn̂)

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 13 / 17
 Examples of Scalar and Vector Quantities

Example 1: Work (Scalar)

Work is defined as W = F · d.
Since it involves the dot product of two vectors, W is a scalar
quantity.

Example 2: Torque (Vector)

Torque is defined as τ = r × F.
Since it involves the cross product of two vectors, τ is a vector
quantity.

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 14 / 17
 Greek Letters and Their Symbols

Greek Letter Symbol Greek Letter Symbol

Alpha α Capital Delta ∆
Beta β Small Delta δ
Gamma γ Omega ω
Zeta ζ Omega Nought ω0
Epsilon ϵ Epsilon Nought ϵ0
Eta η Capital Sigma Σ
Tau τ Small Sigma σ
Miu µ Ohm Ω
Phi ϕ Capital Phi Φ
Table: Greek Letters and Symbols

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 15 / 17
 Derived Quantities and Their SI Units
Derived Quantity SI Unit
Volume Cubic meter (m3 )
Area Square meter (m2 )
Density Kilogram per cubic meter (kg/m3 )
Velocity Meter per second (m/s)
Energy Joule (J)
Work Joule (J)
Force Newton (N)
Acceleration Meter per second squared (m/s2 )
Pressure Pascal (Pa)
Electromagnetic Force Newton (N)
Voltage Volt (V)
Frequency Hertz (Hz)
Electric Charge Coulomb (C)
Momentum Kilogram meter per second (kg·m/s)
Moment of a Force Newton meter (N·m)
SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM
VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 16 / 17
 Summary

Quantities are either basic (fundamental) or derived.

Basic quantities cannot be defined by other quantities.
S.I. units provide a standard for measuring quantities.
Derived quantities are formed by combining basic quantities.
Scalars have magnitude only, vectors have both magnitude and
direction.
Derived quantities can be scalar or vector depending on the nature of
the operations used to define them.
Prefixes modify units for very large or very small values.
Dimensional analysis verifies the correctness of equations.

SAMUEL OPOKU BINEY (FIIFI) (GOLDEN SUNBEAM

VECTORS
INTERNATIONAL
AND MECHANICS
SCHOOL) September 22, 2024 17 / 17