PHYSICS 1

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 Physics 1

Introduction and Chapter 1 – Physics and

Measurements
 Introduction

COURSE TEXT:
• Physics for Scientists
and Engineers, Serway &
Jewett, 9th edition.
COURSE TEXT
 COURSE OBJECTIVE
• This is the first part of the calculus-based
sequence of Introductory Physics.
• The course is intended for physics majors, and
for scientists and engineers with an interest in
the most fundamental of all the natural sciences.
COURSE CONTENTS:
• The course will cover material
from the first 22 chapters in
the text.
• We will cover kinematics,
mechanics, statics, rotation,
fluids, mechanical waves and
thermodynamics.
 GRADING POLICY
The following scores will be accumulated during
the course of the semester:
• Final Exam (50%)
• Midterm Exam (50%)
• Two Midterm Exams (30% + 30% = 60%)
• 1st exam: chapter 01-07 (after 6 weeks)
• 2nd exam: chapter 08-13 (after 11 weeks)
• Homework & Small Tests (40%)
• Bonus (20%)
 Contacts
• Email: [email protected]
QUESTIONS
 Question

Em có mong muốn gì ở lớp vật

lý 1 này?
 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
 Classical Physics
• 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
 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 time
Section 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

Section 1.1
 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
(1/299.792.458 s)
• 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

Section 1.1
 Time
• Units
– seconds, s
• Defined in terms of the oscillation of radiation
from a cesium atom (n = 9 192 631 770 s-1)
• 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 12

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
 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
 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
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
 Dimensions and Units
• 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
 Dimensional Analysis, example
•Given the equation: x = ½ at 2
•Check dimensions on each side:
L
L  T2  L
T 2

•The T2’s cancel, leaving L for the dimensions of

each side.
– The equation is dimensionally correct.
– There are no dimensions for the constant.

Section 1.3
Dimensional Analysis to Determine
a Power Law
• Determine powers in a proportionality
– Example: find the exponents in the expression
x  amt n
• You must have lengths on both sides.
• Acceleration has dimensions of L/T2
• Time has dimensions of T.
• Analysis gives x  at 2

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
 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:
15.0 in  ? cm
 2.54 cm 
15.0 in    38.1cm
 1in 

– Note the value inside the parentheses is equal to 1,

since 1 inch is defined as 2.54 cm.
Section 1.4
 Order of Magnitude
• 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 ( 10 )
– 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
 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
 Homework
• Chap.1: 2, 10, 16, 26, 33, 34