Tuition program Noradin Secondary School physics form one

Chapter Two: measurements

Measurements involve the comparison of any unknown quantity with known
quantity in a fixed unit (standard unit).

Physics is the science of measurement. In order to measure something we need

to know two things:

 Quantity to be measured
 The unit for measure it
Physical quantity
 Anything that we can describe in numbers is called physical quantity (mass,
time, length etc).
 Anything that we cannot describe in numbers is called non –physical
quantity(fear, hate, dislike, love and hope)

There are two types of physical quantity

1. Basic quantities
Basic quantities are those that cannot be obtained from any other quantity.

Examples of basic quantities

Basic quantity SI units Unit symbol

Length Meter m
Mass Kilogram Kg
Time Second s
Amount of substance Mole mol
Temperature Kelvin K
electric current Ampere A
Luminous intensity Candela Cd

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2. Derived Quantities
Derived quantities are those that can be obtained by either multiplication or
division of basic quantities.

Examples of derived quantities

Derived quantity Standard international system (SI

unit)
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Volume m
Area m2
Pressure N/m2 or Pascal
3
Density Kg/m
Power Watt

SI units is the abbreviation for French name System International units

Measuring instruments
Measurements involve the comparison of any unknown quantity with known
quantity in a fixed unit (standard unit).

Measurement of length:
 Length is the distance between two points.
 Length is measured in the SI unit called the metre (m).
 Although the metre (m) is the standard unit of length, you would realise
that the metre is too long to measure some distances and too short to
measure others.
 In metric system the smaller units or larger units, are obtained by dividing
or multiplying the standard unit by a factor of 10.
 The figure shows the SI unit of length and its relationship with other units
of length.

Unit Symbol prefex

1 kilometre km 103m
1 metre m 1m
1 centimetre cm 10-2m
1 millimetre mm 10-3m
1 micrometre µm 10-6m

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 In order to measure the length of an object we use measuring devices

 Measuring devices for length have a scales marked in the standard unit or
multiple units of the quantity to be measured.
 We shall learn how to use metre rule and tape measures.

Metre rule:
 Straight distances which are less than one metre in length are generally
measured using metre rule
 Metre rules are graduated in millimetres. Each division on the scale
represents 1mm unit.
How to use a metre rule?
We use metre rule as shown in the diagram below.

To measure the diameter of a cylindrical (or spherical) object

Place the spherical object on the metre rule as shown in the figure below. Use
two set squares to determine the boundaries of the sphere. Calculate the
diameter of the sphere.

The diameter of the cylinder = (y – x) = 6.2cm - 5.0cm= 1.2cm

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Tape measure:

Distances that are greater than one metre are generally measured using tape
measure.
There are various types of tape measures
 Tailor’s tape measure
 Carpenter’s tape measure
 Surveyor’s tape measure

The tape measures are usually made of a flexible metal plate, plastic piece
or a piece of cloth.

a) tailor’s b) surveyor’s c)carpenter’s

The type of the tape measure to use depends on the distance to be measured. For
example to measure the length of a table we use carpenter’s tape measure.

Measurement of mass:
Mass is the amount of particles in a substance. The SI unit of mass is kilogram
(kg). Mass is basic physical quantity

Mass is scalar quantity because it has no direction

The standard kilogram is the mass of a block of platinum-iridium alloy kept at

the office of weights and measurements in Paris. Other masses are measured by
comparing directly or indirectly with this mass.

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The table below shows the relationship between the SI unit of mass and other
units.

Unit Symbol Comparison with kg

1 tonne t 1000kg
1 kilogram kg 1kg
1 gram g 0.001kg
1 milligram mg 0.000 001kg

Example

Convert 39.6mg into kilograms

Solution:

39.6mg = 39.6 × 10-3g

=39.6 x 10-3 (10-3 x 103)g,

= 39.9 x 10-6 kg

= 0.0000399kg

Instruments for measuring

Instruments for measuring mass including beam balance, ban balance,
electronic balance and triple beam balance.

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Exercise
Convert the following units
A. 20 kg into a gram
B. 200 g into a Kg
C. 45 mg into a kg
D. 12 tone into a kg

TIME

Time is the duration for a particular event to take place. The SI unit of time is
second.

Time is basic physical quantity and it is a scalar quantity

The instruments used for measurement of mass are: stop clock, stop watch,
digital watch, etc

Exercise

1. How many seconds are there in 3min

2. How many minutes are there in 300seconds
3. How many minutes are there in 0.6hours
4. How many seconds are there in 1hours
5. How many seconds are there in 2hours
6. How many hours are there in 1440seconds

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Volume of irregular solids

To measure the volume of irregularly shaped objects we use the displacement
method.

When the object is immersed in liquid, it displaces its own volume.

The volume of irregular shaped object can measured using

 Using a measuring cylinder

 using an eureka can

Using a measuring cylinder

 Pour water in measuring cylinder and note its
volumes (v1) tie the object with a string and
gently lower it into the water.
 Note the new volume (v2), then the volume of
irregular object can be obtained as flow.
Volume of irregular object = v2 -v1.

Example: find the volume of the stone shown in

the figure below

Solution:

The volume of displaced water is equal to the volume of the stone

Or

The rise in level of water = the volume of the stone.

Using an overflow vessel

Volume of an irregular solid can also be found
by displacement method using an overflow
vessel.

Fill the overflow vessel with water until the

water starts overflowing. When water stops
overflowing, place a measuring cylinder below
the overflow tube. Now gently lower the solid

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into the water with the help of a string. When water stops overflowing, read the
volume of water collected in the measuring cylinder. This volume is equivalent
to the volume of the object.

Density
The density (symbol ρ) of a substance is defined as the mass per unit volume. Density
is therefore a derived quantity of mass and volume. The SI unit of density is kilogram
per meter cubic (kg/m3).

1g/cm3 = 1000kg/m3
mass m
Density (ρ) = volume orρ = v

A. Density of regularly shaped solid:

The mass is found on a balance and the volume by using measuring its
dimensions with a ruler and then calculating it using formula. e.g. volume
cylinder
B. Density of irregularly shaped solid:
1) Find the mass using balance
2) Find the volume by submerging the solid in some water in a measuring
cylinder.
The rise in water level gives you the volume of the solid.
3) Calculate the density of the solid.
C. Density of liquid
1) Find the mass of the measuring cylinder. Add the liquid and find the total
mass.
Take away the mass of the empty measuring cylinder to get the mass of the
liquid.
2) Read the volume of the liquid from the measuring cylinder
3) Calculate the density of the liquid

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Density of regular solids

Example:

Find the density by using the figure shown right.

Solution

Mass of gold block = 772g

Volume of gold block = 1cm x 5cm x 8cm = 40cm3

m 772 g
Density of gold = v = 40 cm = 19.3g/cm3

Density of irregular solids

Example:

A stone of mass 0.04kg was completely immersed in a liquid. The levels of

liquid are as shown in the figure below.

Calculate

a) the volume of stone in cm3

b) the density of the stone in kg/m3

Solution

a) Volume of stone is equal to the volume of the liquid displaced

Volume of liquid displaced = 60 – 40 = 20ml = 20cm3

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m 0.04 x 1000 g
b) ρ= v = 3 = 2g/cm3
20 cm

Density in kilogram per meter cubic = 2x1000kg/m3

Density of liquids

Different liquids have different densities. To find the density of a liquid use a
measuring cylinder to find its volume (v).weight an empty beaker and note its
mass (m). Pour the liquid in to the beaker and weight it together with contents to
get the mass (m).the mass of the liquid would therefore be.

Mass of the liquid = m2 – m1

m2−m1
Density of the liquid =
v

110 g−285 g 175

ρ= = =¿ 0.7g/cm3
250 cm 250

Extra examples

Example:

A wooden block of 6cm long, 5cm wide and 2cm thick has a mass of 240g.
Calculate its density:

A) g/cm3
B) kg/m3

Solution

b) Density in kg/m3 = 4 x
a) V = l x w x h = 6cmx5cmx 2cm 1000kg/m3
= 60cm3 = 4000kg/m3
240
ρ = 60 = 4g/cm3

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Example

A student weighted a solid in air, and then immersed the solid in water in a
measuring cylinder. She obtained the following data

 Mass of the solid is 180g

 Volume water before solid was immersed (v1) = 4.2cm3
 Reading of the measuring cylinder with the body fully immersed (v2) = 13.2cm3

Calculate
a) The volume the solid?
b) The density of the solid?
Solution

a) volume of the solid = v2 – v1 m

b) ρ= v
volume of the solid = 13.2cm2– 4.2cm2
volume of the solid = 9cm3 180
ρ = 9 = 20g/cm3

Density
of mixtures

If a mixture made of substance A with mass m1 and volume v1, is mixed with a
substance B of mass m2 and volume v2 then,

total mass m2 +m1

Density of the mixture = toal volume = v +v
1

Example

1000 cm3 of water is mixed with 2000cm3 of saturated salt solution of density
1.2g/cm3 what is the density of the mixture?(density of water = 1g/cm3)

Solution

total mass m2 +m1

Density of the mixture = toal volume = v + v
2 1

m1 = 1000cm3 x 1g/cm3 = 1000g

m2 = 2000cm3 x 1.2g/cm3= 2400g

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total mass m2 +m1

Density of the mixture = toal volume = v + v
2 1

2400+1000 3400
Density of the mixture = 2000+1000 = 3000 = 1.13g/cm3

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