Making Measurements
1.1 Measuring length and volume
In physics, we make measurements of many different lengths, for example, the length of a piece of wire,
the height of liquid in a tube, the distance moved by an object, the diameter of a planet or the radius of
its orbit. In the laboratory, lengths are often measured using a ruler.
Consider measuring the length of a piece of wire (Figure 1.4)
Figure 1.4
The wire must be straight, and laid closely alongside the ruler.
Look at the ends of the wire. Are they cut neatly, or are they ragged? Is it difficult to judge
where the wire begins and ends?
Look at the markings on the ruler. They are probably 1 mm apart. Line one end of the wire up
against the zero on the scale.
Look at the other end of the wire and read the scale.
Now you have a measurement, with an idea of how precise it is. You can probably determine the length
of the wire to within a millimetre. But there is something else to think about - the ruler itself. How sure
can you be that it is correctly calibrated? Are the marks at the ends of a metre ruler separated by exactly
one metre? Any error in this will lead to an inaccuracy (probably small) in your result.
The point here is to recognise that it is always important to think critically about the measurements you
make, however straightforward they may seem. You have to consider the method you use, as well as
the instrument (in this case, the ruler).
Suppose you were asked to measure the thickness of an A4 piece of paper, it would be very hard to do
so with a ruler, what you can do is get a stack of 500 papers and measure their thickness all together
with a ruler then divide by 500 to find the thickness of one paper.
Figure 1.5
For measurement of the length of a curved line, you can lay a thread along the line, mark the thread at
either end of the line and then lay it along a ruler to find the length.
Measuring Volume
There are two approaches when we want to measure the volume of an object, our approach will depend
on the shape if it is regular or not.
1. For a cube or cuboid, measure the length, width, and height of the object and multiply them
together. For objects of other regular shapes, such as spheres or cylinders, you need to make
one or two measurements then use the equation of volume for the shape.
2. For liquids, we can use the measuring cylinders as shown in the figure below (Recall that you
must look at the scale horizontally).
Figure 1.6
Measuring Volume by Displacement
For objects with irregular shapes, we do the following steps:
1. Select a measuring cylinder that is about three or four times larger than the object.
2. Partially fill it with water enough to cover the object, and note the volume of the water.
3. Immerse the object in the water. The increase in its volume is equal to the volume of the object.
Figure 1.7
Check the questions 1-2 in the textbook
1.2 Density
The Mass of an object is the quantity (amount) of matter it is made of. It is measured in Kilograms (Kg).
But Density is a property of a material.
Density is the mass per unit volume for a substance, it can be calculated by dividing the mass (in kg) by
its volume (in cubic meters). The symbol for Desnity is rho (ρ), its unit is kg/m3.
An object that is less dense than water will float. Ice is less dense than water which
explains why icebergs float in the sea rather than sinking to the bottom.
It is useful to know that the density of water is 1000kg/m3, 1.0g/cm3.
Check table 1.3 in the textbook to see the densities of different gases, liquids, and solids.
Calculating desnity
Check the questions 3-7 in the textbook
Figure 1.12 shows one way to find the density of a liquid, write it down below:
Q: What do you think happens when you pour liquids with different densities are
poured into the same container?
A: They will arrange themselves so that the liquid with the lowest density will be at
the bottom and the liquid with the highest density will be at the top.
When a distinct layer forms in a mixed solution, the liquids are said to be
immiscible, which means they do not mix. This is why oil floats on water.
When liquids mix, it is usually because one liquid dissolved in the other.
1.3 Measuring time
For measuring time in a laboratory, you can use a stopclocks or stopwatch.
An analogue clock is like a traditional clock whose hands move round the clock’s face.
Measuring short intervals of time
Figure 1.17 shows a typical lab pendulum. A mass, called a plumb bob, hangs on the end of a string. The
string is clamped tightly at the top between two wooden jaws. If you pull the bob gently to one side and
release it, the pendulum will swing from side to side.
Figure 1.17
The time for one oscillation of a pendulum (when it swings from left to right and back again) is called its
period. A single period is usually too short a time to measure accurately. However, because a pendulum
swings at a steady rate, you can use a stopwatch to measure the time for a large number of oscillation
like 20 times for example, and calculate the average time per oscillation. Any inaccuracy in the time at
which the stopwatch is started and stopped will be much less significant when measuring for a large
number of oscillations.
Check the questions 8-9 in the textbook
Check the exam-style questions in the textbook