SMK Tat Beng Physics Form 4 1.2 Physical Quantities
SMK Tat Beng Physics Form 4 1.2 Physical Quantities
SMK Tat Beng Physics Form 4 1.2 Physical Quantities
PHYSICS
FORM 4
Example
Room temperature = 27 oC
Length l metre m
Mass m kilogram kg
Time t second s
Temperature T Kelvin K
Electric Current I ampere A
Prefixs
Prefixes are used to represent physical quantities which are
very big or very small in SI units.
Prefixes Symbol Multiplication factor
Tera T x 1012
Giga G x 109
Mega M x 106
Kilo K x 103
Deci d x 10-1
Centi c x 10-2
Milli m x 10-3
Micro µ x 10-6
Nano n x 10-9
Standard Form (Bentuk Piawai)/ Scientific
notation
Numerical values which are very big or very small can be
written in standard form, i.e.
A x 10 n
where 1 ≤ A < 10 and n is a positive or negative integer.
For example, the height of Mount Everest = 8 848 m. In
standard form, the height of Mount Everest = 8.848 x 103m.
(A = 8.848, n = 3)
The use of standard form to represent data is to ensure
that the data is neat, short and can be easily compared.
The magnitude of a physical quantity is usually rounded up
to 3 or 4 significant figures.
Standard Form (Bentuk Piawai)/ Scientific
notation
Example
For each of the following, express the magnitude using
scientific notation.
(1) The length of a virus = 0.00000008 m
(2) The mass of a ship = 75 000000 kg
Solution
1. The length of a virus = 0.00000008 m
= 8.0 x 10-8m
Example 1
Write (a) 100 cm in metres (m) and (b) 52 MA in A. Then
write the answer in standard form.
Solution
Multiplication factor
Prefix
Example
(a) 0.03m = _________ cm
(b) 2 x 10-9s = _________ ns
Solution
x multiplication factor
÷ multiplication
factor
Derived Quantities
A derived quantity is a physical quantity produced from the
combination of base quantities through multiplication,
division or both.
Derived Relationship with Relationship with Derived
Symbol
quantity base quantities (formula) base unit unit
Example
5.23 mm = __________ km
Solution
5.23mm = 5.23 x 10-3 mm Change to base unit