Chapter 1
Measurement
Three main ideas …
1. Unit Conversion
2. Density
3. Dimensional Analysis
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M1-T172
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Review – Chapter 1
• In PHYS 101, we focus on mechanics (motion).
• Physical quantities are measured in special units,
for which standards are needed.
• There are many physical quantities, but all can be
related to seven base quantities.
• In mechanics, the three base quantities are
length, time, and mass.
• SI units (m, s, kg)
• Scientific notation
• Unit conversion
Length
• The SI unit of length is the meter.
• One meter (1 m) was defined as the distance
between two fine lines engraved near the ends of a
platinum-iridium bar (kept in Paris).
• A more precise standard was needed.
• In 1960, the meter was defined to be 1650763.73
wavelengths of a particular orange-red light emitted
by atoms of krypton-86.
• Currently, the meter is defined as the length of the
path traveled by light in vacuum during a time interval
of 1/299792458 of a second.
(Note that c = 299792458 m/s).
Time
• Any time standard must be able to answer two questions:
– When did it happen?
– What is the duration?
• Any phenomenon that repeats itself is
a possible time standard.
• Earth rotation has been used in this way
for centuries.
• Likewise, sundials and sand hours were
used to know the time.
• The SI unit of time is the second (s).
• One second is the time taken by 9192631770
oscillations of the light emitted by a cesium-133 atom.
• To meet the need for a better time standard,
atomic clocks have been developed.
• The figure below shows variations in the length of
one day on Earth over a 4-year period, as determined
by comparison with a cesium atomic clock.
Length of a day:
24 x 3600 = 86400 s
Continuous cold caesium fountain atomic clock in Switzerland,
started operating in 2004 at an uncertainty of one second in 30
million years.
Mass
• The SI unit of mass is the kilogram.
• One kilogram (1 kg) is the mass of a platinum-iridium
cylinder kept at the International Bureau of Weights
and Measures near Paris.
A Second Mass Standard
• The masses of atoms can be compared with one
another more precisely than they can be compared
with the standard kilogram.
• For this reason, we have a second mass standard.
• It is the carbon-12 atom, which has been assigned a
mass of 12 atomic mass units (u).
• The relation between the two units is
1u = 1.66053886 x 10-27 kg.
Extra Posted
topic Dimensional Analysis on Black-
board
All the quantities we will deal with throughout mechanics
(PHYS 101) are combinations of mass M, length L, and time T.
The dimension of a quantity is the particular combination
that characterizes it and denotes its qualitative nature.
As an example, speed is written as: [v] = L/T.
Area is written as: [A] = L2.
The brackets indicate we are talking about dimensions.
Note that we are not specifying units here – velocity could
be measured in meters per second, miles per hour, inches
per year, or whatever.
The algebra of dimensions
Dimensions are treated as algebraic quantities and
can be multiplied or divided.
If two quantities are equated (on two sides of an
equation, for example), they must have the same
dimensions – you can equate a velocity to a velocity,
but not to a length.
Quantities that are added and subtracted must also
have the same dimensions.
This provides an excellent check for calculations!
If separate quantities that are to be added,
subtracted, or equated don’t have the same
dimensions, something is wrong somewhere.
Example – Dimensional Analysis
• Suppose we are told that the acceleration of a
particle moving with constant speed v in a circle
of radius r is proportional to some power of r
and some power of v.
• How can we determine the powers of r and v?
Exam Problem – 2
The position x of a particle is given by
x = Bt2 + (C/B)t,
where x is in meters, t is in seconds and B
and C are constants.
What is the dimension of C?
Exam Problem – 3
Suppose A = Bn/Cm, where A has dimensions LT,
B has dimensions L2T–1, and C has dimensions
LT2.
Then, what are the values of the exponents
n and m?
Density
In summary …
• Chapter 1 has three main ideas:
1. Unit conversion
2. Dimensional analysis
3. Density
Problem 22
• Gold, which has a density of 19.32 g/cm3, is the most
ductile metal and can be pressed into a thin leaf or
drawn into a long fiber.
a) If a sample of gold, with a mass of 29.34 g, is
pressed into a leaf of 1.00 mm thickness, what is
the area of the leaf?
b) If, instead, the gold is drawn into a cylindrical fiber
of radius 2.500 mm, what is the length of the fiber?
Problem 27
• Iron has a density of 7.87 g/cm3, and the
mass of an iron atom is 9.27 x 10-26 kg.
a. What is the volume of an iron atom?
b. If the atoms are spherical and closely
packed, what is the distance between the
centers of adjacent atoms?
Conversion of Units – Appendix D
Areas & Volumes
Problem 42 – Book
• One molecule of water (H2O) contains two
atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen.
• A hydrogen atom has a mass of 1.0 u and
an atom of oxygen has a mass of 16 u,
approximately.
a) What is the mass in kilograms of one molecule of
water?
b) How many molecules of water are in the World’s
oceans, which have an estimated total mass of
1.4 x 1021 kg?
u is the atomic mass unit = 1.66 x 10-27 kg.
Book – Problem 7
• Hydraulic engineers often use, as a unit of
volume, the acre-foot, defined as the
volume of water that will cove 1 acre of
land to a depth of 1 ft.
• A severe thunderstorm dumped 2.0 in. of
rain in 30 min on a town of area 26 km2.
• What volume of water, in acre-feet, fell on
the town?
Book – Problem 23
• Assume that water has a density of
exactly 1 g/cm3.
a. Find the mass of one cubic meter of water in
kilograms.
b. Suppose that it takes 10.0 h to drain a
container, whose volume is 5700 m3, of
water.
What is the “mass flow rate”, in kilograms
per second, of water from the container?
Book – Problem 41
• A cord is a volume of cut wood equal to a
stack 8 ft long, 4 ft wide, and 4 ft high.
• How many cords are in 1.0 m3 ?
Book – Problem 46
• A unit of area often used in measuring land
areas is the hectare, defined as 104 m2.
• An open-pit coal mine consumes 75
hectares of land, down to a depth of 26 m,
each year.
• What volume of earth, in cubic kilometers,
is removed in this time?
Exam Problem – 18
The speed of sound v in a fluid depends upon the fluid
density r and its bulk modulus B as follows: v=
[Link].
Using dimensional analysis, find the values of constants
n and m, respectively.
The unit of density r is kg/m3 and that of bulk modulus
B is kg/(m.s2).
Exam Problem – 11
A cube of copper has a mass of m = 126 g.
Find the number of copper atoms in this cube.
Atomic mass of copper = 63.0 g/mole; Avogadro
number = 6.02×1023 atoms/mole.
Exam Problem – 16
A drop of oil (mass = 0.90 milligram, and density =
918 kg/m3) spreads out on a surface and forms a
circular thin film of radius = 41.8 cm and
thickness h. Find h in nanometer (nm).