SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Q1: What is the difference between base quantities and derived

quantities? Give three examples in each case.
Ans:
Base Quantities
Derived Quantities
Base
quantities
are
the Derived
quantities
are
the
quantities on the basis of which quantities which are expressed
all
other
quantities
are in terms of Base quantities.
expressed.
Examples:
Examples:
Volume, speed, force, work,
Length, mass, time, electric energy, power and charge.
current, temperature, intensity
of
light
and
amount
of
substance.
Q2: Pick out the base units from the following:
Joule, Newton, killogramme, hertz, mole, ampere, metre, Kelvin,
coulomb and watt.
Ans: Kilogram, mole, ampere, metre and Kelvin are the base units.
Q3: Find the base quantities involved in each of the following
derived quantities:
(a) speed
(b) volume
(c) force
(d) work
Ans: (a) Speed:
Derived from length and time
(b) Volume:
Derived from length
(c) Force:
Derived from Kilogram, length and time
(d) Work:
Derived from Mass, length and time
Q4: Estimate your age in seconds.
Ans: My age in thirteen years. Its value in seconds is
13 years = 13 x 365 x 24 x 60 = Seconds.
Q5: What role SI units have played in the development of science?
Ans: SI units have played a very important role in the development
of science. SI units are very helpful to exchange scientific and
technical information at the international level.
Q6: What is meant by Vernier Constant?
Ans: Least Count Of Vernier Calipers is called Vernier Constant.
Q7: What do you understand by the zero error of a measuring
instrument?

Ans: When zero of moveable Scale does not coincide with main
scale, then instrument has Zero Error.
Q8: Why is the correction of Zero Error necessary in a measuring
instrument?
Ans: Correction of Zero Error is necessary in measuring instrument
to obtain an extreme correct value.
Q9: What is a stopwatch? What is the least count of a mechanical
stopwatch you have used in the laboratories?
Ans: Stopwatch is a device which is used to measure a time interval
of an event. Mechanical stopwatches have least count upto 0.1
seconds.
Q10: Why do we need to measure extremely small intervals of time?
Ans: In nature and also in Physics, there are so many phenomenons
which vary with respect to the extremely small interval of time and
for their experimental measurement we need very precise time
measuring instrument. We need to measure extremely small interval
of times to calculate the time interval of natural and artificial
events.
Q11: What is meant by Significant Figures of a measurement?
Ans: All the accurately known digits and the first doubtful digit in an
expression are called significant figures. Significant figures reflect
the precision of a measured value of a physical quantity.
Q12: How is precision related to the significant figures in a
measured quantity?
Ans: An improvement in the quality of measurement by using
better instrument increases the significant figures in the measured
results. The significant figures are all the digits are known
accurately and the one estimated digit.
Q13. What do you know about Andromeda?
Ans. Andromeda galaxy is the closest spiral galaxy to our Milky
Way. Its the most distant thing you can see with your eye alone .
Q12. Name five prefixes commonly used.
Ans. These are the five most commonly used prefixes:

Prefix

millicenti-

Power

Abbrevi
ation

10-3

10-2

kilomegagiga-

103

106

109

Q13. How can we round the number?

Ans. To round off whole numbers: Find the place value you want (the
"rounding digit") and look to the digit just to the right of it. If that
digit is less than 5, do not change the "rounding digit" but change
all digits to the right of the "rounding digit" to zero.
Q14. Identify the base quantity in the following:
(i)

Speed
(ii) Area
(iii) Force
Distance
Ans. Distance is the base quantity.
Q15. Identify the following as base or derived quantity:

(iv)

Density, force, mass, speed, time, length, temperature and volume.

Ans.
Base Quantities
Derived Quantities
Mass, time, length, temperature
Density, speed, volume
Q16. The Sun is one hundred and fifty million kilometers away from
the Earth. Write
this:
(a)
as an ordinary whole number.
Ans. Sun is nearly 149,597,870,700 meters away from Earth
(b)
In scientific notation.
Ans. 1.5 x 1011 meters
Q17. Write the number given below in scientific notation.
(a)
3000000000
Ans. 3 x 109
(b)
6400000 m
Ans. 6.4 x 106 m
(c)
0.0000000016g
Ans. 1.6 x 10-6 kg
(d)
0.0000548 s
Ans. 5.5 x 10-5 s
Q18. Which one of the two instruments is more precise and
why?
a) Vernier Callipers

b) Screw gauge
Ans. Vernier Calipers have a precision of 0.1 or 0.05 mm, while
micrometers typically have a precision of 0.01 mm. So micrometer is more
precise than Vernier Calipers.