Chapter 1

1)

: Dr.
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2)

Classical Mechanics

Motion of objects

Ch.1: Physics and Measurement

In this chapter we will cover

Large objects (much larger than an atom)

Slow objects (much smaller than the speed of
light)

Key concepts

displacement, velocity and acceleration

force
energy
momentum

Basic quantities of mechanics

International system of units (SI units)
Modeling and quantifying matter
Problem solving

3)

Dimensional analysis
Units and conversion
Estimates and order of magnitude calculations
Significant figures

4)

Basic Quantities of Mechanics

All physics quantities have units. In
Mechanics, the basic physical quantities are

cgs units: (centimeter, gram, second)

Standard is related to the speed of light

Standard is a specific Pt-Ru cylinder in France

Time (T) SI Unit: seconds (s)

Mass (M) SI Unit: kilograms (kg)

Length (L) SI Unit: meters (m)

Other unit systems

Standard is related to the vibration of a Ce atom.

ft

sl

US customary: (foot, slug, second)

or English units
L
M
T

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5)

Range of Values

Prefixes for Powers of Ten

Length (m )

For very large or very small units we can add a

prefix for power of ten

The farthest quasar = 1.4 x 1026

The moon = 1.5 x 1011
Football field = 9.1 x 101
Typical cell ~ 10-5
Atom ~ 10-10

Ex:
Time (s)

Mass (kg)

Universe ~ 1052
Earth = 5.98 x 1024
Human ~ 102
Bacterium ~ 10-1 5
Hydrogen atom = 1.67 x 10-2 7

7)

728000000 W = 728 MW

8)

Prefixes

310-6 s = 3s

Age of universe = 5 x 1017

Age of earth = 1.3 x 1017
You ~ 6.3 x 108
One heartbeat = 8 x 10-1
Nucl ear collision ~ 10-22

Structure of Matter

Prefixes correspond to powers of 10

Each prefix has a specific name/abbreviation

Power Prefix
1015
109
106
103
10 -2
10 -3
10 -6
10 -9

In this course we will deal with

object as a whole

Peta
giga
mega
kilo
centi
milli
micro
nano

Abbrev.
P
G
M
k
c
m

Distance from Earth to nearest star

40 Pm
Mean radius of Earth 6 Mm
Length of a housefly 5 mm
Size of living c ells 10 m
Size of an atom 0.1 nm

Macroscopic objects
Molecules
Atoms
Electrons, protons,
neutrons
Quarks
????

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9)

Mass Density

Example1.1:

derived from basic quantities

Density = Mass per unit volume :

A small cube of iron is observed

under a microscope.
Find the mass of the block

SI unit

m kg m 3
V

= 7.86 g/cm 3
Densities of va rious
substances
Substance

(103 kg/m3)

Lead

11.3

Al uminum

2.7

Water

Air

0.0012

Newton is other derived

quantity from basic units

L = 10 m

? = 7.86 g/cm3= 7860 kg/m3

V L3 (10 106 )3 1 10 17 m3
m
m V 7.86 10 14
V

SI unit

Force 1N = 1 kg m/s

11)

m
m V
V

12)

Dimensional Analysis

Dimensional Analysis

Important to check the correction of an equation or find

the dimension of unknown quantity

Ex 1.2: show that v=at is dimensionally correct.

[v]=L / T

A dimension in physics is the physical nature of a

quantity (L, M, T).

speed [v] = L / T
area [A] = L2
acceleration [a] = L / T

or m/s
or m
or m/s

It can be treated as an algebraic quantity. You can

add, subtract, multiply and divide; note that you can
add or subtract quantities ONLY if they have the
same dimensions
Always do a dimensional analysis of a problem.

[at]=(L / T)(T)=L / T

Both has same dimentions Dimens ionally correct

Ex 1.3:
Mm
Newton's law of univers al gravitation is: F G 2

F is the gravitational force (SI units kg m/s 2)

M and m are masses
r is a length
What are the SI units of the proportionality c onstant G?
G F

r2
m m
m3
kg

Mm
s kg kg s

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13)

Conversions

Ex: 1.4

When units are not consistent t, you may need to

convert to appropriate ones
Units can be treated like algebraic
quantities that can cancel each other out
We always need some conversion factors, like

1 mile = 1609 m = 1.609 km

1m = 39.37 in = 3.281 ft

Legal freeway speed limit in Canada is 100 km/h.

What is it in miles/h?

Ex: 1.5:

1 ft = 0.3048 m = 30.48 cm
1 in = 0.0254 m = 2.54 cm

How many seconds are there in 29 days?

24h 60 min 60s

6
29day

2. 5 10 s
1day 1h 1 min

For unit convers ion, we always insert a factor equivalent to 1

15)

16)

Significant Figures (sig. fig.)

There is uncertainty in every measurement, this uncertainty

carries over through the calculations
Use rules for significant figures to approximate the
uncertainty in results of calculations
A significant figure is one that is reliably known
All non-zero digits are significant;
12345 5 sig. fig.
Leading zeros (zeros on the left) are not significant
0.000012 2 sig. fig.
0000.0 no sig. fig.
Zeros are significant when they are between other non-zero
digits
1203 4 sig. fig.
Trailing zeros (zeros on the right) are opaque ().
If zeros are significant, we add decimal point
1200 2 sig fig. But 1200. 4 sig. fig.

Significant Figures (sig. fig.)

can be clarified by using scientific notation

3 sig. fig.
5 sig. fig.
6 sig. fig.

When adding and subtracting, use the smallest number of

decimal places in any of the ter ms.
Exam ple: 135 m + 6.213 m = 141 m
When multiplying or dividing, use the lowest number of
significant figures in any of the terms.
2 sig. Fig.
rectangular plate: 4.5 cm by 7.3 c m
area: 32.85 cm2 rounded to 33 cm2

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17)

Review

Length, mass and time are the basic quantities

of mechanics
We use SI units (m, kg, s)
The structure of matter goes from molecules to
atoms to nuclear particles to sub-nuclear
particles.
The amount of matter can be density or moles.
When solving problems use dimensional
analysis
Keep your units and significant figures straight.