Chapter 1

Introduction
Length (m)
Mass (kg)
Time (s)
other physical quantities can be constructed from
these three
To communicate the result of a measurement
for a quantity, a unit must be defined
Defining units allows everyone to relate to the
same fundamental amount
Quantity Unit Symbol
Length Meter m
Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second s
Electric Current Ampere A
Temperature Kelvin K
Luminous Intensity Candela cd
Amount of
Substance
Mole mol
SI System:
The international system of units established by the
International Committee on Weights and Measures.
Such units are based on strict definitions and are the
only official units for physical quantities.



US Customary Units (USCU):
Older units still in common use by the United States, but
definitions must be based on SI units.



Units
SI meter, m
cgs centimeter, cm
US Customary (uscu) foot, ft
Defined in terms of a meter the distance
traveled by light in a vacuum during a given
time

Units
SI kilogram, kg
cgs gram, g
USCU slug, slug
Defined in terms of kilogram, based on a
specific cylinder kept at the International
Bureau of Weights and Measures
Units
seconds, s in all three systems
Defined in terms of the oscillation of
radiation from a cesium atom
Newtons law of universal gravitation is represented by

2
r
Mm
G F =
where F is the gravitational force, M and m are masses, and r is a
length. Force has the SI units kg m/s
2
. What are the SI units of the
proportionality constant G?
When writing numbers, zeros used ONLY to help in
locating the decimal point are NOT significantothers
are. See examples.
0.0062 cm 2 significant figures
4.0500 cm 5 significant figures
0.1061 cm 4 significant figures
50.0 cm 3 significant figures
50,600 cm 3 significant figures
Rule 1. When approximate numbers are
multiplied or divided, the number of
significant digits in the final answer is the
same as the number of significant digits in
the least accurate of the factors.
Example:
Least significant factor (45) has only two (2) digits so only
two are justified in the answer.
The appropriate way to write the
answer is:
P = 7.0 N/m
2

2
45 N
6.97015 N/m
(3.22 m)(2.005 m)
P = =
Example:
Rule 2. When approximate numbers are added
or subtracted, the number of significant digits
should equal the smallest number of decimal
places of any term in the sum or difference.
Ex: 9.65 cm + 8.4 cm 2.89 cm = 15.16 cm
Note that the least precise measure is 8.4 cm. Thus,
answer must be to nearest tenth of cm even though it
requires 3 significant digits.
The appropriate way to write the
answer is:
15.2 cm
A = LW = (9.57 cm)(3.2 cm) = 30.624 cm
2

Only 2 digits justified:
A = 31 cm
2

Example 4. Find the perimeter of the plate
that is 9.57 cm long and 3.2 cm wide.
p = 9.57 cm + 3.2 cm + 9.57 cm + 3.2 cm
Ans. to tenth of cm:
p = 25.5 cm
If the remainder beyond the last
digit to be reported is less than 5,
drop the last digit.
If the remainder is greater than or equal
to 5, increase the final digit by 1.
If the remainder beyond the last digit to be reported is less than 5, drop
the last digit.

Round the following to 3 significant figures:
4.99499 becomes 4.99
0.09403 becomes 0.0940
95,632 becomes 95,600
0.02032 becomes 0.0203
If the remainder is greater than or equal to 5, increase the final
digit by 1.

Round the following to 3 significant figures:
2.3452 becomes 2.35
0.08757 becomes 0.0876
23,650.01 becomes 23,700
4.99502 becomes 5.00
The speed of light is now defined to be 2.99 7924 58 10
8
m/s.
Express the speed of light to
(a) three significant figures,
(b) five significant figures, and
(c) seven significant figures.
When units are not consistent, you may
need to convert to appropriate ones
Units can be treated like algebraic
quantities that can cancel each other
See the inside of the front cover for an
extensive list of conversion factors


Step 1: Write down quantity to be
converted.
12 in.
Step 2. Define each unit in terms of
desired unit.
1 in. = 2.54 cm
Step 3. For each definition, form two
conversion factors, one being the
reciprocal of the other.

1 in.
2.54 cm
2.54 cm
1 in
Step 4. Multiply by those
factors that will cancel
all but the desired units.
Treat unit symbols
algebraically.
2
1 in. in.
12 in. 4.72
2.54 cm cm
| |
=
|
\ .
2.54 cm
12 in. 30.5 cm
1 in.
| |
=
|
\ .
Wrong
Choice!
Correct
Answer!
1 mi = 5280 ft
1 mi 5280 ft
or
5280 ft 1 mi
1 h = 3600 s
1 ft = 0.0003048 km
1 h 3600 s
or
3600 s 1 h
1. A rectangular building lot measures 100 ft by 150 ft.
Determine the area of this lot in square meters (m
2
).
2. The speed of light is about 3.00 10
8
m/s. Convert this
figure to miles per hour.
3. (a) Find a conversion factor to convert from miles per hour
to kilometers per hour. (b) For a while, federal law
mandated that the maximum highway speed would be 55
mi/h. Use the conversion factor from part (a) to find the
speed in kilometers per hour. (c) The maximum highway
speed has been raised to 65 mi/h in some places. In
kilometers per hour, how much of an increase is this over
the 55-mi/h limit?

0 000000001 10
0 000001 10
0 001 10
1 10
1000 10
1 000 000 10
1 000 000 000 10
9
6
3
0
3
6
9
.
.
.
, ,
, , ,
=
=
=
=
=
=
=



Scientific notation provides a short-hand method for expressing
very small and very large numbers.
Examples:
93,000,000 mi = 9.30 x 10
7
mi
0.00457 m = 4.57 x 10
-3
m
2
-3
876 m 8.76 x 10 m
0.00370 s 3.70 x 10 s
v = =
5
3.24 x 10 m/s v =
Power Prefix Abbreviation
10
-12
pico p
10
-9
nano n
10
-6
micro
10
-3
mili m
10
-2
centi c
10
-1
deci d
10
3
kilo k
10
6
mega M
10
9
giga G
10
12
tera T
1) Write this number in scientific notations with 3 significant figures:
a) 56397123694.023
b) 689430267069513694
c) 0.00003658947
d) 0.0000000000033695873
2) Using the calculator, find, in scientific notation with
appropriate rounding,

a) (3.5694 x 10
9
)(1.36894 x 10
-4
) / (5.36482 x 10
6
)
b) (0.00006948)(596792648) / (0.00356915)
All physical quantities encountered in
physics will be either a scalar or a vector.

A vector quantity has both magnitude
(size) and direction.

A scalar is completely specified by only a
magnitude (size)
A scalar quantity:
Contains magnitude
only and consists of a
number and a unit.
(20 m, 40 mi/h, 10 gal)
A
B
Distance is the length of the actual path
taken by an object.
s = 20 m
A vector quantity:
Contains magnitude
AND direction, a
number, unit & angle.
(12 m, 30
0
; 8 km/h, N)
A
B
D = 12 m, 20
o

Displacement is the straight-line
separation of two points in a specified
direction.
u
A common way of identifying direction is
by reference to East, North, West, and
South. (Locate points below.)
40 m, 50
o
N of E
E W
S
N
40 m, 60
o
N of W
40 m, 60
o
W of S
40 m, 60
o
S of E
Length = 40 m
50
o

60
o

60
o

60
o

Write the angles shown below by using
references to east, south, west, north.
E W
S
N
45
o

E W
N
50
o

S
50
0
S of E 45
0
W of N
When handwritten, use an arrow:
When printed, will be in bold print with an
arrow:
When dealing with just the magnitude of a
vector in print, an italic letter will be used: A

A
A
Equality of Two Vectors
Two vectors are equal if they have the same
magnitude and the same direction
Movement of vectors in a diagram
Any vector can be moved parallel to itself without
being affected
Negative Vectors
Two vectors are negative if they have the same
magnitude but are 180 apart (opposite directions)


Resultant Vector
The resultant vector is the sum of a given set of
vectors


( )
; 0 = + = A B A A
= + R A B
When adding vectors, their directions must be
taken into account
Units must be the same
Geometric Methods
Use scale drawings
Algebraic Methods
More convenient
Choose a scale
Draw the first vector with the appropriate
length and in the direction specified, with
respect to a coordinate system
Draw the next vector with the appropriate
length and in the direction specified, with
respect to a coordinate system whose origin
is the end of vector and parallel to the
coordinate system used for
A
A
Continue drawing the
vectors tip-to-tail
The resultant is
drawn from the origin
of to the end of the
last vector
Measure the length of
and its angle
Use the scale factor to
convert length to actual
magnitude
A
R
When you have many
vectors, just keep
repeating the process
until all are included
The resultant is still
drawn from the origin
of the first vector to
the end of the last
vector
Vectors obey the
Commutative Law
of Addition
The order in which
the vectors are
added doesnt
affect the result

+ = + A B B A
Special case of
vector addition
Add the negative of
the subtracted
vector

Continue with
standard vector
addition
procedure
( )
= + A B A B
The result of the multiplication or division
is a vector
The magnitude of the vector is multiplied or
divided by the scalar
If the scalar is positive, the direction of the
result is the same as of the original vector
If the scalar is negative, the direction of the
result is opposite that of the original vector
A component is a
part
It is useful to use
rectangular
components
These are the
projections of the
vector along the x-
and y-axes

The x-component of a vector is the
projection along the x-axis


The y-component of a vector is the projection
along the y-axis

Then,
cos A A u =
x
sin
y
A A u =
x y
= + A A A
The components are the legs of the right
triangle whose hypotenuse is


May still have to find with respect to the
positive x-axis
The value will be correct only if the angle lies in
the first or fourth quadrant
In the second or third quadrant, add 180

2 2 1
tan
y
x y
x
A
A A A and
A
u

| |
= + =
|
\ .
A
Choose a coordinate system and sketch the
vectors
Find the x- and y-components of all the
vectors
Add all the x-components
This gives R
x
:

=
x x
v R
Add all the y-components
This gives R
y
:
Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the
magnitude of the resultant:
Use the inverse tangent function to find the
direction of R:

=
y y
v R
2
y
2
x
R R R + =
x
y
1
R
R
tan

= u


Given the vectors above , (a) draw the vector sum
C = A + B and the vector difference D = A B.
(b) Calculate C and D, first in terms of unit
vectors and then in terms of polar coordinates,
with angles measured with respect to the +x axis.


A = 2.00

i + 6.00

j
and
B = 3.00

i 2.00

j
,
An airplane starting from airport A flies 300
km east, then 350 km at 30.0 west of north,
and then 150 km north to arrive finally at
airport B. (a) The next day, another plane flies
directly from A to B in a straight line. In what
direction should the pilot travel in this direct
flight? (b) How far will the pilot travel in this
direct flight? Assume there is no wind during
these flights.
A Vector has a magnitude of 8.00 units and
makes an angle of 45.0 with the positive x-
axis. Vector B also has a magnitude of 8.00
units and is directed along the negative x-axis.
Using graphical methods, find (a) the vector
sum + B and (b) the vector difference B .

A
A
A