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Topic 1: Measurement and uncertainties

See the guide for this topic.
1.1 – Measurements in physics

• Fundamental and derived units

Fundamental SI units

Quantity SI unit Symbol

Mass Kilogram kg

Distance Meter m

Time Second s

Electric current Ampere A

Amount of
substance Mole mol

Temperature Kelvin K

Derived units are combinations of fundamental units. Some examples are:

• m/s (Unit for velocity)

• N (kg*m/s^2) (Unit for force)
• J (kg*m^2/s^2) (Unit for energy)
• Scientific notation and metric multipliers
In scientific notation, values are written in the form a*10^n, where a is a number
within 1 and 10 and n is any integer. Some examples are:

• The speed of light is 300000000 (m/s). In scientific notation, this is expressed as

3*10^8
• A centimeter (cm) is 1/100 of a meter (m). In scientific notation, one cm is
expressed as 1*10^-2 m.
Metric multipliers

Prefix Abbreviation Value

peta P 10^15

tera T 10^12

giga G 10^9

mega M 10^6

kilo k 10^3

hecto h 10^2

deca da 10^1

deci d 10^-1

centi c 10^-2

milli m 10^-3

micro μ 10^-6

nano n 10^-9

pico p 10^12
femto f 10^15

• Significant figures
For a certain value, all figures are significant, except:

1. Leading zeros
2. Trailing zeros if this value does not have a decimal point, for example:
• 12300 has 3 significant figures. The two trailing zeros are not significant.
• 012300 has 5 significant figures. The two leading zeros are not significant. The
two trailing zeros are significant.
When multiplying or dividing numbers, the number of significant figures of the
result value should not exceed the least precise value of the calculation.

The number of significant figures in any answer should be consistent with the
number of significant figures of the given data in the question.

FYI
• In multiplication/division, give the answer to the lowest significant figure (S.F.).
• In addition/subtraction, give the answer to the lowest decimal place (D.P.).

• Orders of magnitude
Orders of magnitude are given in powers of 10, likewise those given in the scientific
notation section previously.

Orders of magnitude are used to compare the size of physical data.

Order of
Distance Magnitude (m) magnitude

Diameter of the
observable
universe 10^26 26
Diameter of the
Milky Way galaxy 10^21 21

Diameter of the
Solar System 10^13 13

Distance to the
Sun 10^11 11

Radius of the
Earth 10^7 7

Diameter of a
hydrogen atom 10^-10 10

Diameter of a
nucleus 10^-15 15

Diameter of a
proton 10^-15 15

Order of
Mass Magnitude (kg) magnitude

The universe 10^53 53

The Milky Way

galaxy 10^41 41

The Sun 10^30 30

The Earth 10^24 24

A hydrogen atom 10^-27 -27

An electron 10^-30 -30

Order of
Time Magnitude (s) magnitude
Age of the
universe 10^17 17

One year 10^7 7

One day 10^5 5

An hour 10^3 3

Period of
heartheart 10^0 0

• Estimation
Estimations are usually made to the nearest power of 10. Some examples are given
in the tables in the orders of magnitude section.

1.2 – Uncertainties and errors

• Random and systematic errors

Random error Systematic error

Ÿ Caused by fluctuations in Ÿ Caused by fixed shifts in

measurements centered measurements away from
around the true value. the true value.

Ÿ Can be reduced by Ÿ Cannot be reduced by

averaging over repeated averaging over repeated
measurements. measurements.

Examples:
Examples:
Ÿ Equipment calibration
Ÿ Fluctuations in room error such as the zero
temperature offset error
Ÿ The noise in circuits Ÿ Incorrect method of
measurement
Ÿ Human error

• Absolute, fractional and percentage uncertainties

Physical measurements are sometimes expressed in the form x±Δx. For example,
10±1 would mean a range from 9 to 11 for the measurement.

Absolute uncertainty Δx

Fractional uncertainty Δx /x

Percentage uncertainty Δx/x*100%

Calculating with uncertainties

Δy=Δa+Δb (sum of
absolute
Addition/Subtraction y=a±b uncertainties)

Δy/y=Δa/a+Δb/b
y=a*b or (sum of fractional
Multiplication/Division y=a/b uncertainties)

Δy/y=|n|Δa/a (|n|
times fractional
Power y=a^n uncertainty)

• Error bars
Error bars are bars on graphs which indicate uncertainties. They can be horizontal
or vertical with the total length of two absolute uncertainties.
• Uncertainty of gradient and intercepts
Line of best fit: The straight line drawn on a graph so that the average distance
between the data points and the line is minimized.
Maximum/Minimum line: The two lines with maximum possible slope and
minimum possible slope given that they both pass through all the error bars.

The uncertainty in the intercepts of a straight line graph: The difference

between the intercepts of the line of best fit and the maximum/minimum line.
The uncertainty in the gradient: The difference between the gradients of the line
of best fit and the maximum/minimum line.
1.3 – Vectors and scalars

• Vector and scalar quantities

Scalar Vector

A quantity which is A quantity which is defined

defined by its magnitude by both is magnitude and
only. direction.

Examples: Examples:

Ÿ Distance Ÿ Displacement

Ÿ Speed Ÿ Velocity

Ÿ Time Ÿ Acceleration

Ÿ Energy Ÿ Force

• Combination and resolution of vectors

Vector addition and subtraction can be done by the parallelogram method or the
head to tail method.
When resolving vectors in two directions, vectors can be resolved into a pair of
perpendicular components.

FYI
The relationship between two sets of data can be determined graphically.

Type of
Relationship Graph Slope y-intercept

y=mx+c y against x m c

logy against
y=kx^n logx n logk

y=kx^n+c with n
given y against x^n k c

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