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This document discusses units and measurements in physics. It defines physical quantities as measurable aspects like length, mass, and time. Fundamental quantities are the seven base quantities - length, mass, time, electric current, temperature, amount of substance, and luminous intensity - that other derived quantities can be expressed in terms of. Units are standard references used to quantify physical quantities. The International System of Units (SI) is the globally accepted standard system, which defines fundamental units for each base quantity, such as meters for length and kilograms for mass. The document also lists two additional supplementary units.

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24 views1 page

Notes

This document discusses units and measurements in physics. It defines physical quantities as measurable aspects like length, mass, and time. Fundamental quantities are the seven base quantities - length, mass, time, electric current, temperature, amount of substance, and luminous intensity - that other derived quantities can be expressed in terms of. Units are standard references used to quantify physical quantities. The International System of Units (SI) is the globally accepted standard system, which defines fundamental units for each base quantity, such as meters for length and kilograms for mass. The document also lists two additional supplementary units.

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bsuma.jeevu
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© © All Rights Reserved
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UNITS AND MEASUREMENTS

CHAPTER-2 UNITS AND MEASUREMENTS

Physical quantity: A measurable quantity is called a physical quantity.


Ex: Length, mass, time, area, volume etc.

Fundamental quantities: The physical quantities which are independent of each other are called
fundamental quantities.
There are SEVEN fundamental quantities. They are, Length, Mass, Time, Electric current,
Thermodynamic temperature, Amount of substance and Luminous Intensity

Derived quantities: The physical quantities which can be expressed in the form of a product or
quotient of the fundamental quantities are called derived units.
Ex: Area, Volume, Force, momentum, speed etc.

Unit: The basic, arbitrary chosen, internationally accepted standard of reference which is used to
express a physical quantity is called a unit.

S I System: The system of units which is at present internationally accepted for measurement is
the system of International (S I) and it was developed by General conference on weights and
measures in 1971. The earlier systems of units are FPS, CGS and MKS system.

Fundamental units: The units used to express fundamental quantities are called Fundamental
units. The table gives the list of fundamental quantities and their units in SI.
Base SI Units
quantity Name Symbol Definition
The metre is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum
Length metre m
during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second. (1983)
The kilogram is equal to the mass of the international prototype
of the kilogram (a platinum-iridium alloy cylinder) kept at
Mass kilogram kg
international Bureau of Weights and Measures, at Sevres, near
Paris. France. (1889)
The second is the duration of the 9,192,631,770 periods of the
radiation corresponding to the transition between the two
Time second s
hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium-133
atom.(1967)
The ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in two
straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible
Electric current ampere A circular cross-section, and placed 1 metre apart in vacuum,
would produce between these conductors a force equal to
newton per metre of length. (1948)
Thermodynamic The kelvin, is the fraction 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic
kelvin K
temperature temperature of the triple point of water. (1967)
The mole is the amount of substance of a system, which contains
Amount of
mole mol as many elementary entities as there are atoms in 0.012 kilogram
Substance of carbon - 12. (1971)
The candela is the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a
Luminous source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency
candela cd
intensity hertz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of
1/683 watt per steradian. (1979)
In addition to the seven fundamental units, two supplimentory units are defined which are given
in the table below.
U N Swamy, Lecturer in Physics, GPUC Aranakatte, Hiriyur Taluk Page | 1

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