Chapter 1: Introduction to Physics

1.1 Understanding Physics

1.1 Understanding Physics

1. Like all sciences, physics is based on experimental

observations and quantitative measurements.

1.1 Understanding Physics

2. Historically, until nineteenth century, physics was called natural philosophy.

1.1 Understanding Physics

3. Physics is a branch of science concerning study of natural phenomena, that is, properties of matter and energy.

1.1 Understanding Physics

4. Some examples of natural phenomena are

(a) sunrise and sunset, (b) lightning and thunder, (c) rainbow and blue sky, (d) earthquake and tsunami.

Field of study in Physics

1 In general, physics is concerned with the study of energy and the properties and structure of matter.

Field of study in Physics

2 The fields of study in physics can be divided into classical physics and modern physics.

Field of study in Physics

3 Classical physics deals with questions regarding motion and energy. It includes five important areas: mechanics (forces and motion), heat, sound, electricity and magnetism, and light.

Field of study in Physics

4 Modern physics concentrates on scientific beliefs about the basic structure of the material world. Its major fields include atomic, molecular and electron physics, nuclear physics, particle physics, relativity, origin of the universe, and astrophysics.

Chapter 1

1.1.2 Understanding Base Quantities and rived Quantities

Base Quantities

1. Physical quantities are quantities that can be measured.

Base Quantities

2. A physical quantity can be represented by a symbol of the quantity, a numerical value for the magnitude of the quantity and the unit of measurement of the quantity.

Length, l = 1.67 m

l - symbol

1.67is the value

m - unit

Base Quantities

3. Base quantities are physical quantities that cannot be defined in terms of other quantities.
Base quantity : Length Derived quantity : Area = length x length

Base Quantities

4. Table 1.1 shows five base quantities and their respective SI units.

Base Quantities
Base quantities SI base units

Name

Symbol

Name

Symbol

Length
Mass Time Electric current Temperature

l
m t I T

Metre
Kilogram Second Ampere Kelvin

m
Kg s A K

Derived Quantities

1 Derived quantities are physical quantities derived from base quantities by multiplication or division or both. The unit for a derived quantity is known as a derived unit.

Derived Quantities

2 Table 1.2 shows some examples of derived quantities and their corresponding derived units. Several derived units are complex. Special names are substituted for these units. For example, the unit for the derived quantity, force, is the newton (N).

Derived Quantities
Derived quantities

Derived units [Area] = m x m = m2

Area = Length x breadth

Velocity = Displacement
Time taken

[Velocity] = = ms1

m s

Acceleration=

Change in velocity Time taken

-1 [Acceleration] = ms s = ms2

Density = Mass volume

3 [Density] = kg = kgm 3

Scientific Notation

1 Scientists have developed a shorter method of expressing very large or very small numbers. This method is called scientific notation or standard form.
Distance from house to school : 5 000 m

Scientific Notation

2 Scientific notation is based on powers of the base number 10. The scientific notation in standard form is written as:

A x 10n

where (a) 1 A < 10 and A can be an integer or decimal number. (b) n is a positive integer for a number greater than one or a negative integer for a number less than one.

Prefixes

1. Prefixes are used to simplify the description of physical quantities that are either very big or very small.

Prefixes

2. It is not easy to figure out a distance of 100 000 mm. Neither it is easy to imagine the size of an atom which has a radius of 0.0000005 m.

Prefixes

3. Table 1.3 lists some commonly used SI prefixes.

Ram : 512 Mb

HD : 80 Gb

Prefixes
Prefix
GigaMegaKiloDeciCentiMilliMicroNano-

Symbols
G M k d c m n

Power/factor
109 106

Value
1 000 000 000 1 000 000 1 000 0.1 0.01 0.001 0.000 001 0.000 000 001

103
10-1 10-2 10-3 10-6 10-9