Ch 1

Physical Measurement

Chapter 1

Physical Measurement

1.1 The Realm of Physics

In order to get a feel of the size of objects, from the small, such as atoms, to the large, such as galaxies, it is helpful to use approximate values when comparing them. Physicists round sizes to the nearest power of ten and each factor of ten differences is known as an order of magnitude. For example, it is known that the mass of the Earth is 1025 kg and the mass of a normal-sized car is 103 kg. Therefore, the mass of the Earth is 22 orders of magnitude larger than a car. (Ratios of quantities are stated as a difference of their orders of magnitude.) Range of Distances, Masses and Times

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Physical Measurement

Fig. 1.1.1

Range of time, length and mass

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Physical Measurement

1.2 Measurement and Uncertainties

Fundamental Units A unit is an important part of a quantity. A quantity on its own, e.g. The mass is 6, is meaningless and writing this would lose you marks in the exam. Unless the quantity is dimensionless, we need to quote numbers with an appropriately defined unit. In modern day science, we use the SI unit system and the fundamental units are as follows: Quantity Mass Length Time Electric Current Substance Amount Temperature SI Unit Kilogram Meter Second Ampere Mole Kelvin Symbol kg m s A mol K

Derived Units Combinations of the fundamental units are known as derived units. For example, acceleration is not included in the fundamental list of units and a derived unit is required. This can be obtained from the definition of acceleration = velocity divided by time. Since velocity is not a fundamental unit either, we can again use the definition of velocity = displacement divided by time and end up with the unit of meter per second per second for acceleration [or ms-2]. Some derived units are so common that a new name is used instead. For example, Newton is used as a unit for force. From the equation force equals the product of mass and acceleration, 1 Newton is equal to 1kg ms-2 As the scale of a quantity can span many magnitudes, it is sometimes necessary to use standard notation (also called scientific notation) or to use a prefix in order to express them. Example: Which one of the following units is a unit of energy? (a) Nms-1 (b) Ws-1 (c) eV (d) ms-1 Answer: (c) Uncertainties - Error in Measurement There are two types of errors encountered when dealing with experimental data. This difference from the perfect value is either random or systematic.

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Physical Measurement

A random error can be caused by external means or the device is far from precise. For example, a change in room temperature can affect readings of some measurements. The way the readings are taken by an observer can also give random errors. A systematic error is one that consistently gives inaccurate value. An example is a device having a wrong calibration or a zero offset. Repeated measurements may reduce random errors but not systematic ones. When calculating quantities, a rule of thumb is that for multiplication and division, the number of significant figures should not exceed that of the least precise value that is used.

Uncertainties Calculated Results Uncertainties can be quoted as an absolute value (size of an error), fractional (ratio of the absolute value to the actual reading) or a percentage uncertainty (multiplying the fractional uncertainty by 100). When calculating results, the uncertainties depend on the functions used. For addition or subtraction, the absolute errors are added. For multiplication, division or powers, the percentage uncertainties are added. Example: Peter measures the mass and speed of a car. The percentage uncertainty in the mass and speed is 3% and 10% respectively. The calculated value of the kinetic energy for the car will have an uncertainty of: (a) 3% (b) 13% (c) 23% (d) 33% Answer: (c)

Uncertainties Graphs All measured values have an uncertainty range. For example, measuring an object with an exact length of 12.4102425cm with a standard 30cm ruler may fall closer to 12.4cm than to 12.5cm. The uncertainty of such a measurement will be  /  half the smallest scale division. i.e. 0.05cm.

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Physical Measurement

On a graph, this uncertainty is shown as an error bar.

6 5 Displacement (m) 4 3 2 1 0 0 1 2 3 Time (s)

Fig. 1.2.1 Graph with error bars

In order to determine the uncertainty in the intercept of a straight line graph, two lines can be drawn passing through the error bars as maximum and minimum lines. A line of best fit lies between the two lines with the uncertainty being the difference between the line of best fit and the maximum and minimum lines. The uncertainty of the gradient is found in a similar fashion but since division is required, the percentage errors will need to be added.

1.3 Scalar and Vectors

A measured quantity has a number and a unit. This combination is called a magnitude. In some cases, the quantity will also have a direction associated with it. Such a quantity that has both a magnitude and direction is known as a vector. Without the direction, it is considered to be a scalar only. Common examples of scalar quantities include distance, mass and temperature. Vector quantities include displacement, velocity and force. In texts, a vector is represented in bold whilst a scalar is represented in normal type.

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Physical Measurement

Vectors can be added or subtracted graphically by the parallelogram law.

-b

a a+b

b
a-b a

When solving vector problems, it is sometimes necessary to split vectors into components that are perpendicular to each other in order to analyse a problem. For problems involving an inclined plane for example, resolving parallel and perpendicular to the plane via trigonometry will render each component independent of each other and thus enable them to be analysed separately.

Vertical Component

Horizontal Component Example: Which of the following represents a vector quantity? (a) Distance (b) Kinetic Energy (c) Force (d) Speed Answer: (c)

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Ch 3

Thermal Physics

Chapter 3

Thermal Physics

3.1 Thermal Concepts

In everyday life, we hear people talking about how hot and cold things are. They are merely labels used to identify the direction in which heat transfers when those two objects are placed in thermal contact with each other. Heat naturally flows from a hotter region to a colder one.

Hotter Object

Heat

Cooler Object

The Scale of Temperature Temperature is a quantity that gives an indication of the degree of hotness or coldness of an object and is a macroscopic scalar quantity measuring the average kinetic energy of the particles in that object.

It is measured using the Kelvin scale with a lower fixed point at absolute zero (assigned 0K). Another common temperature scale we have all come across is the Celsius scale with the zero point at the melting point temperature of water. In order to convert the temperature from Celsius to Kelvin, a simple equation is utilized as below:

TK = TC + 273
When using absolute temperature in equations, it is vital that the Kelvin scale is used as it reveals the average kinetic energy of the matter (this would be explained further in latter parts). However when using temperature differences it does not matter since same result would be obtained no matter choosing Kelvin or Celcius.
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Thermal Physics

Internal Energy Internal energy refers to the thermal energy of a system which includes the kinetic and potential energy of the molecules making up that system.

The internal energy of an object is the total sum of the random distribution of the potential and kinetic energy of all its molecules. Recall that temperature is just the measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules only.
Macroscopic Concepts

In the macroscopic world, temperature measures the degree of hotness or coldness of an object by the use of an instrument with thermometric properties. Internal energy, as previously mentioned, is the total contribution of the kinetic and potential energies of the molecules making up the system. Macroscopically, kinetic energy is observed in the form of Brownian motion and diffusion and potential energy is seen for example in cases of expansion (molecules move apart indicating an increase in potential energy).
Thermal energy is the non-mechanical transfer of energy between a system and its surroundings. Macroscopically this transfer can be achieved from one body to another via three ways:

Conduction: the transfer of thermal energy from a hotter region to a colder region via particle collision. (Note that there is no net movement of the material itself) Convection: the bulk movement of particles of a fluid caused by a temperature gradient. Radiation: the movement of energy by virtue of its temperature traveling as an electromagnetic wave.
The Mole, Molar Mass and the Avogadro Constant

In the atomic world of physics, masses of individual particles are so exceedingly small that it is more convenient to describe the mass of an atom by comparing it to another atom in the form of a ratio. By definition, the atomic mass unit is equal to a twelfth of the mass of a carbon 12 atom.
Mole is a standard unit for describing how much of a substance is present in a sample. It is the amount of substance which contains as many elementary entities as there are in
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Ch 3 0.012kg of carbon 12. Entities may be atoms, molecules, ions, etc.

Thermal Physics

In one mole, there are 6.02 1023 entities present and the number is referred to as Avogadros number (NA). This number has the unit mol-1 (per mole). When one mole of a substance is weighed on a balance, that mass is referred to as a molar mass with the units of g/mol. If there is a mass m of substance present and the molar mass M is known, then one can calculate the number of mols n by the equation: Mn = m

3.2 Thermal Properties

Heat Capacities

Consider different objects undergoing identical temperature changes. Each individual object will respond differently to the amount of thermal energy released or absorbed. When heat is transferred to an object, the temperature of the object will rise. Likewise, when heat is removed, the temperature will fall. The relationship between the heat E transferred and the temperature change T is give by E = C T where the proportionality constant C is known as the heat capacity. Heat capacity is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree. An object with a high heat capacity has a slower rate of energy intake than that of an object with a low heat capacity. As heat capacity does not take into account the mass of the object, we must use another unit to get a characteristic value for different materials, and that is the specific heat capacity.
Specific heat capacity c, is the amount of thermal energy needed to raise the temperature of a unit mass by 1K.

In equation form, E = mcT

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Thermal Physics

Example: Calculate the energy needed to raise the temperature of 5kg of water in an insulated copper tank of mass 10kg from 20C to 70C. (The specific heat capacity of water and for copper is 4200 and 390 Jkg-1K-1 respectively) Answer: Since the energy input will increase both the temperature of water inside the tank and also the container, the total energy required must be equal to the sum of the T for both. Energy needed, E = mcT for water + mcT for copper. = 5 4200 (70 20) + 10 390 (70 20) = 1050000 + 195000 E = 1240000J = 1.24MJ
States of Matter

Matter consists of particles that have mass and occupy a spatial region. There are 4 states that matter can exist in solid, liquid, gas and plasma (but this would not be mentioned much in IBDP). Solids have a stable and definite shape taking up a fixed volume in space. Inside a solid, the particles are closely packed and can only vibrate between their equilibrium positions. Liquids on the other hand have particles loosely packed and further apart than in the solid phase which enables the particles to slide past each other easily. Liquids pour easily and the shape depends on the container that its in. For gases, the particles are far apart from each other and can move around quickly taking up the entire container that they occupy. A gas has no definite shape, as liquids, and does not have a definite volume.
Phase Changes

A phase transition (or phase change) is the transformation of states from one to another in a thermodynamic system. In order to change the state of a substance from a solid into a liquid, the internal energy of a solid is increased by heating up to a particular temperature at which it changes into the liquid phase. As the internal energy of a system consists of molecular potential and random kinetic energy, as external heat is supplied, the molecular vibrations of the substance will increase the kinetic energies of the molecules. This will cause the solid to
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Ch 3 be less ordered.

Thermal Physics

If enough energy is supplied, a temperature is reached at which the molecules will vibrate with enough energy to break free from their fixed positions and begin to slip over one another. This is the melting point of the system. If more energy is supplied, the molecules begin to move more and the vibrational and kinetic energy of the molecules will further increase. The temperature of the liquid will rise and if sufficient energy is available, the molecules will have enough energy to overcome the intermolecular forces of both the bonds and atmospheric pressure to escape into the gaseous state. This is the boiling point of the system. Evaporation and Boiling In the moving particle theory, a liquid at a particular temperature will have molecules that move with a range of kinetic energies. In a particular instant, some molecules near the surface of the liquid may have sufficient energies to overcome the forces of attraction in order to escape as a vapour. This process is called evaporation as opposed to boiling where the vapour pressure must overcome the atmospheric pressure exerted on the liquid.
Latent Heat

During the heating of a solid or a liquid, the molecules will gain kinetic energy as the temperature rises. For solids, the atoms will vibrate more vigorously, and in a liquid, the molecules will move around faster. For a solid at a particular temperature, the atoms can vibrate so much as to break free from each other. The solid becomes a liquid due to the energy being supplied at its melting point. The energy required to melt a solid at its melting point is called the latent heat of fusion. Similarly for a liquid, when it is heated to its boiling point, the molecules will gain enough energy to overcome the bonding between molecules and break free. The energy required to vaporise a liquid is called the latent heat of vaporisation.

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Thermal Physics

Kinetic Model of an Ideal Gas

Inside a bottle of gas, many tiny gas molecules moving around randomly and colliding with the container walls continously. Every time a molecule collides with the container wall, the impact will cause a force. The sum of all the molecular impacts is what causes the pressure of the gas on the container walls. In order to gain an understanding of gases we use a simplified model called an ideal gas. The model of an ideal gas, as opposed to a real gas, makes the following assumptions:

The total number of molecules in a sample of gas is large The separation between the molecules is much larger than the diameter of each molecule. Molecules are constantly in random motion Intermolecular forces between molecules are negligible All collisions are perfectly elastic The only force that acts between the molecules comes from collisions Molecules obey Newtons laws of motion

Macroscopic Behaviour of an Ideal Gas Boyles law states that the pressure of a fixed mass of gas is inversely proportional to its volume at constant pressure.

The pressure of a certain amount of gas increases as the volume decreases because the molecules inside the container travel less distance between each impact. Without any change in molecules moving speed, the gas would have a higher rate of impact and hence a higher pressure. At constant volume, the pressure law shows that temperature of a gas is directly proportional to its pressure. As the temperature of a gas increases, the average speed of the molecules also increases. The impacts of molecules directed on the container walls will exert a greater force and occur more frequently. As a result, pressure is raised.

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