IB Physics HL Topic 1 Review

Range of Magnitudes in the Universe

Length
 Diameter of a proton 10-15 m
 Diameter of a hydrogen atom 10-10 m
 Size of cells 10-5 m
 Thickness of a sheet of paper 10-4 m
 Length of a fingernail 10-2 m
 Height of a human 100 m
 Length of a football field 102 m
 Radius of the Earth 107 m
 Distance from the Earth to the Moon 10 m
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 Distance from the Earth to the Sun 1011 m

 Radius of the Milky Way 1021 m
 Extent of the Observable Universe 1026 m

Mass
 Mass of an electron 10-30 kg
 Mass of a proton 10-27 kg
 Mass of a bacterium 10-15 kg
 Mass of a mosquito 10-5 kg
 Mass of a frog -1
10 kg
 Mass of a human 102 kg
 Mass of an elephant 104 kg
 Mass of the Earth 1025 kg
 Mass of the Sun 1030 kg
 Mass of the Milky Way 1042 kg
 Mass of the observable Universe 1052 kg

Time
 Passage of light across a nucleus 10-23 s
 Passage of light across an atom 10-19 s
 Period of visible light 10-15 s
 Passage of light across a room 10-8 s
 Period of radio waves 10-6 s
 Period of sound waves 10-3 s
 Heartbeat 100 s
 One day 105 s
 One year 107 s
 Human lifespan 109 s
 Age of the Earth 1017 s
 Age of the Universe 1018 s
Fundamental SI Units

 metre for length
 kilogram for mass
 second for time
 ampere for electric current
 kelvin for temperature
 candela for luminous intensity
 mole for the amount of substance

Derived Units

Named units derived from SI base units

Name Symbol Quantity

hertz Hz frequency
radian rad angle
steradian sr solid angle
newton N force, weight
pascal Pa pressure, stress
joule J energy, work, heat
watt W power, radiant flux
coulomb C electric charge or quantity of electricity
volt V voltage, electrical potential difference, electromotive force
farad F electric capacitance
ohm Ω electric resistance, impedance, reactance
siemens S electrical conductance
weber Wb magnetic flux
tesla T magnetic field strength, magnetic flux density
henry H inductance