Chapter 1: Physical Quantity, Measurement and Motion PHYD114

1.1 Physical Quantity and Conversion of Unit

Physical Quantity
There are three fundamental quantities which is length, mass and time. Other physical
quantities can be constructed from these three.
To communicate the result of a measurement for a quantity, a unit must be defined.
Example of physical quantities is;
Quantities SI Unit Symbol
Length (L) Meter m
Mass (M) Kilogram kg
Time (t) Second s
Electric Current (I) Ampere A
Luminous Intensity Candela cd
Amount of Substance Mole mole
Temperature (T) Kelvin K
Speed (v) Meter/second m/s
Acceleration (a) Meter/second square m/s2
Force (F) Kilogram.meter/second Kg.m/s2
square

Note : SI unit : The international system of units established by the international committee
on weights and measures such unites are based on strict definition and are only official unites
for physical quantities.

Conversion of Unit
When units are not consistent, you may need to convert to appropriate ones. Units can be
treated like algebraic quantities that can be cancel each other.
Examples
Example 1: Convert 12 in. to centimeters. Given that 1 in. = 2.54 cm.
Step 1: Write down quantity to be converted 12. In
Step 2: Defined each unit in term of desired unit 1 in. = 2.54 cm
Step 3: Multiply by those factors that will cancel all but the desired units are remained.
2.54 cm
12 in. ( ) = 12 x 2.54 cm =30.5 cm
1 in

Example 2: Express the speed limit of 65 miles/hour in term of meters/second. Given

that 1 miles(mi)=5280 feet(ft), 1 meter(m)=3.281 feet(ft) and 1 hour(h)=3600 second (s)

mi 5280 ft 1m 1h 65 x 5280 x 1 m
65 ( ) (3.281 ft) (3600 s) = = 29 m/s
h 1 mi 3.281 x 3600 s

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Chapter 1: Physical Quantity, Measurement and Motion PHYD114

Exercise 1:
a) 1 m3 = ________ cm3 ; Given: 1 m = 100 cm

b) 72 km/h = ____________m/s ; Given: 1 km = 1000 m , 1h = 3600 s

c) 30 m/s =____________ km/h ; Given: 1 km = 1000 m , 1h = 3600 s

Exercise 2: If a car is traveling at a speed of 28.0 m/s, what is the car speed in mi/h.
Given: 1 mi = 1609 m, 1 h = 3600 s

Exercise 3: A rectangular building lot measures 100 ft by 150 ft. Determine the area of
this lot in square meters (m2). Given: 1 m = 3.281 ft

Exercise 4: A snail crawls at a pace of 5.0 cm/min. Express the snails speed in;
Given:1 ft=0.3048 m, 1 m=100cm, 1 mi=1.609 km, 1 km=1000m, 1 h=3600s, 1 min= 60s

a) ft/s
b) mi/h

Scientific notation provides a short-hand method for expressing very small and very
large numbers.

0.000000001 = 10-9 Example:

0.000001 = 10-6 93,000,000 km = 9.30 x 107 km
0.001 = 10-3 0.000347 m = 3.47 x 10-4 m
1 = 100
1000 = 103
1000000 = 106
1000000000 = 109

Prefixes for the Power of Ten

Power Prefix Abbreviation

10-12 pico p
10-9 nano n
10-6 micro
10-3 mili m
10-2 centi c
10-1 deci d
103 kilo k
106 mega M
109 giga G
1012 tera T

Exercise
a) 1m = ___________m
b) 30 m3 = ___________ km3

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Chapter 1: Physical Quantity, Measurement and Motion PHYD114

1.2 Scalar and Vector Quantities

Scalar Quantities: Completely specified by only a magnitude (size). Examples of
scalar quantities are length, speed, mass and temperature.
Vector Quantities: Has both magnitude and direction. Examples of vector quantities
are displacement, velocity, weight, force and acceleration.

Distance is the length of the actual path taken by

B an object (A red line from A to B)

Displacement is the straight-line separation of

A the two points in a specified direction (A black
line from A to B)

Cartesian Coordinate system

Horizontal and vertical axis intersect at a point taken to be origin known as
rectangular coordinates
Rectangular coordinate can be write in term of plane polar coordinate ( r, )
where r = distance from the origin to the point having Cartesian coordinates
(x,y)
= the angle between r and a fixed axis

Axis is usually the positive x

axis, and is measured
counterclockwise from it.

= cos

= sin

Example: The polar coordinates of a point are r = 5.50 m and = 240. What are the
Cartesian coordinates of this point?
Polar coordinate = ( r, ) = (5.50 m, 240)

= cos = 5.50 cos 240 = 5.02m

= sin = 5.50 sin 240 = 2.24 m , thus (x,y) = (5.02, 2.24) m

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Chapter 1: Physical Quantity, Measurement and Motion PHYD114

Exercise 1: A point is located in a polar coordinate system by the coordinates r = 2.5 m and
= 350. Find the x and y coordinates of this point, assuming that the two coordinates systems
have the same origin.

Exercise 2: If the rectangular coordinates of a point are given by (2, y) and its polar
coordinates are (r, 30), determine y and r.

Vector notation

When handwritten, use an arrow: A

When printed, will be in bold print with an arrow:
When dealing with just the magnitude of a vector in print, an italic letter will be
used: A
Properties of Vector
Two vectors A and B may be defined to be equal if they have the same
magnitude and point in the same direction.
A=B only if A=B and if A and B point the same direction along parallel lines.

Component of vector
Vector can be expressed as the sum of two other vectors: Ax parallel to the x-
axis and Ay, parallel to the y-axis

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Chapter 1: Physical Quantity, Measurement and Motion PHYD114

The x-component of a vector is the projection along the x-axis is

= cos
The y-component of a vector is the projection along the y-axis
= sin
The components are the legs of the right triangle whose hypotenuse A is

= + and = 1 ( )

Examples

Example 1: A person walks 25.0 north of east for 3.10 km. How far would the person walk
due north and due east to arrive at the same location?

The total displacem ent is D 3.10 km at 25.0 N of E . The north and east components
of this d isplacem ent are:

Dy 3.10 km sin 25.0 1.31 km north

and Dx 3.10 km cos25.0 2.81 km east

Example 2: A girl delivering newspapers covers her route by traveling 3.00 blocks west, 4.00
blocks north, and then 6.00 blocks east. What is her resultant displacement?

x y
4

A -3 0

B 0 4
3
C 6 0

D= 3 4
A+B+C

= 3 and = 4 , thus;

4
D= 32 + 42 = 5 blocks and = 1 (3) = 53.13

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Chapter 1: Physical Quantity, Measurement and Motion PHYD114

Exercise: A hiker begins a trip by first walking 25.0 km southeast from her base camp. On the
0
second day, she walks 40.0 km in a direction 60.0 north of east. Determine :
a) the components of the hikers displacement in
the first and second day
b) the components of the hikers total displacement for the
trip.
c) the magnitude and direction of the displacement from
the base camp.

1.3 Measurement and Error

Accuracy of measurement depends on the sensitivity of the apparatus, the skill of the
person carrying out the measurement, and the number of times the measurement is
repeated.
The examples of measurement to measure are ruler, measuring tape, thermometer,
vernier caliper and micrometer.
There are two type of experimental error;
(i) Random (Indeterminate) or Statistical Error :- Random error results from
unknown and unpredictable variations that arise in all experimental
measurement situations.
(ii) Systematic (Determinate) Errors :- Systematic errors are associated with
particular measurement instruments or techniques, such as an improperly
calibrated instrument or bias on the part of the observer.

Examples: Measurement of Density of a Metal Cylinder

DATA: mass m = 75.6 0.1 g; diameter d = 1.270.01 cm; length = 7.610.01 cm.

The density of the cylinder is

= m/V = m/[(/4) d2 ] = 4m/[ d2 ]
= (4 x 75.6)/[ x 1.272 x 7.61]
= 7.842234 g/cm3
= 7.84 g/cm3 (3 s.f.)

The fractional error in density is

/ = m/m + 2d/d + /
=( 0.1/75.6) + (2 x 0.01/1.27) +(0.01/7.61)
= 0.0183848 or 1.838%

= 0.02 (2 d.p.)

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Chapter 1: Physical Quantity, Measurement and Motion PHYD114

The error in the density is

= / x
= 0.0183848 x 7.842234, not 0.02 x 7.84
= 0.144178 g/cm3
= 0.1 g/cm3 (1 s.f.)

The value of the density with its error is then (7.8 0.1) g/cm3 since we need to give
the answer to the same number of decimal points.

1.4 Linear Motion with Constant Acceleration

Any motion involves three concepts which are displacement, velocity and
acceleration.
This concept can be used to studied object in motion.
Displacement is defined as the change in position;

= SI unit: meter (m)

Where; = final displacement
= initial displacement

Note: displacement may also be presented in y if in vertical

The average speed of an object is defined as the total distance traveled divided by the
total time elapsed. Speed is the scalar quantities.
total distance
Average speed =
total time

= ; SI unit: meter/second (m/s)

The average velocity is rate at which the displacement occurs. It takes time for an
object to undergo a displacement.

= ; unit: meter/second (m/s)

Uniform velocity is constant velocity. The instantaneous velocities are always the
same

The straight line indicates constant

velocity
The slope of the line is the value of the
average velocity.

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Chapter 1: Physical Quantity, Measurement and Motion PHYD114

Changing velocity (non-uniform) means acceleration is present.

Acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity. Acceleration is the vector
quantities.

=
= SI unit: m/s2

When the sign of the velocity and the acceleration are the same (either positive
or negative), then the speed is increasing
When the sign of the velocity and the acceleration are in the opposite
directions, the speed is decreasing
When an object moves with constant acceleration, the instantaneous acceleration at
any point in time interval is equal to the value of the average acceleration over the
entire time interval. Thus, we can express the motion under constant acceleration as;

Equation Information given by the equation

= + Velocity as a function of time

1 Displacement as a function of time
= + 2
2
1 Displacement as a function of time
= ( + )
2
2 = 2 + 2 Velocity as a function of displacement
Note Motion is along the x-axis. At t=0, the velocity of the
particle is

Examples;
A drag racer starts her car from rest and accelerates at 10.0 m/s2 for a distance 400 m.
(a) How long did it take the race car to travel this distance?
(b) What is the speed of the car just before it reaches at the end of the run?

(a) given: = 0 (at rest) , a = 10 m/s2 and x= 400m

1
= + 2 2
400 m = (0.5)(10) t2
400
t= = 8.94 s
5

(b) 2 = 2 + 2 = 0 + 2(10)(400)
v = 8000
v = 89.44 m/s

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Chapter 1: Physical Quantity, Measurement and Motion PHYD114

1.5 Freely Falling Body

A freely falling object is any object moving freely under the influence of gravity
alone, regardless of its initial motion.
Objects thrown in a given direction and those released from rest are all considered
free falling.

= 0

a=g

The magnitude of the free-fall acceleration symbol g.

At the Earths surface, the value of g is approximately 9.80 m/s2.
If we neglect air resistance and assume that the free-fall acceleration does not vary
with altitude over short vertical distances, then the motion of a freely falling object is
equivalent to motion in one dimension under constant acceleration.
Modification - motion is in the vertical direction (the y direction)

- the acceleration is downward and has a magnitude of 9.80 m/s2

We always take ay = - g = - 9.80 m/s2, the minus sign means that the acceleration of a
freely falling object is downward.

Example 1: A student throws a set of keys vertically upward to her sorority sister, who is in a
window 4.00 m above. The keys are caught 1.50 s later by the sister's
outstretched hand.

(a) With what initial velocity were the keys thrown?

(b) What was the velocity of the keys just before they were caught?

1 2
at : 4.00 1.50 vi 4.90 1.50 and vi 10.0 m s upw ard .
2
(a) yf yi vit
2

(b) vf vi at 10.0 9.801.50 4.68 m s

vf 4.68 m s dow nw ard

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Chapter 1: Physical Quantity, Measurement and Motion PHYD114

Example 2: A baseball is hit so that it travels straight upward after being struck by the bat. A
fan observes that it takes 3.00 s for the ball to reach its maximum height. Find
(a) its initial velocity and
(b) the height it reaches.

(a) vf vi gt: vf 0 w hen t 3.00 s , g 9.80 m s2 . Therefore,

vi gt 9.80 m s2 3.00 s 29.4 m s .

(b) yf yi
1
2

vf vi t

1
yf yi
2
29.4 m s 3.00 s 44.1 m

1.6 2-D Motion with Constant Acceleration

An object may move in both the x and y directions simultaneously means it moves in
two dimensions
The form of two dimensional motion we will deal with is called projectile motion
Assumption of projectile motions;
We may ignore the air friction
The free-fall acceleration g is constant over the range of motion and is directed
downward.
The x- and y-directions of motion are completely independent of each other. The x-
direction is uniform motion = 0 and y-direction is free fall = -g
The initial velocity can be broken down into its x- and y-components
= cos and = sin

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Chapter 1: Physical Quantity, Measurement and Motion PHYD114

Thus, the conclusion for projectile motion is the superposition of two motions :
constant-velocity motion in the horizontal direction, and
free-fall motion in the vertical direction.

Example: A fireman 50.0 m away from a burning building directs a stream of water from a
ground-level fire hose at an angle of 30.0 above the horizontal. If the speed of the stream as
it leaves the hose is 40.0 m/s, at what height will the stream of water strike the building?

The com ponents of the initial velocity are

v0 x 40.0 m s cos30.0 34.6 m s , and

v0 y 40.0 m s sin30.0 20.0 m s

The tim e for the w ater to reach the build ing is

x 50.0 m
t 1.44 s
v0 x 34.6 m

The height of the w ater at this tim e is

1
1

y v0 y t a y t 2 20.0 m s 1.44 s 9.80 m s 2 1.44 s 18.7 m
2 2
2

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