Unit 1 Measurement

Text Reference: IB Physics Course Companion

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE

TOPIC

By measurement any quantity is compared to a particular unit. The most important system
of units is Systeme International (SI). In SI, the standard unit of length is meter (m), the
standard unit of mass is kilogram (kg), and the standard unit of time is the second (s).
The metric system incorporates a series of prefixes to show multiples of the base unit. The
kilo in our standard mass unit represents 103 or 1000 grams. A table of metric prefixes is
included on your physics formula sheet.

Study and
Practice

Read
Chapter 1,
pp 1-8

Vectors and
Scalars
pp. 18-19

Accuracy is how close a measurement is to the true value. An accurate measurement has
very little error.
Precision means how repeatable a measurement is. Precise measurements may have large
error.
Significant figures represent the number of reliably known digits in a number. The
following rule summarizes significant digits: Any calculations should be rounded to match
the level of precision (number of decimal places) of the original measurements
Any quantity that requires both a length (magnitude) and a direction is called a vector
quantity.
Any quantity that can be completely described by a single number is called a scalar
quantity. For example, mass and time are scalars.
A
B
Adding single-dimensional vectors: when two vectors are
pointing in the same direction, we add their magnitudes; the
R=A+B
answer contains the final magnitude and direction. When
A
vectors are opposite in direction, we subtract the magnitudes
and we keep the direction of the vector with the largest
R=AB
magnitude.
B
Adding two-dimensional vectors: when two vectors are
R
perpendicular we apply the method called head-to-tail: we
B
place them head-to-tail (tip-to-tail) and then draw the
resultant of the vectors by connecting the tail of the first
A
vector to the head of the last vector. To find the magnitude of
the resultant, use the Pythagorean theorem : R2 = A2 + B2

Adding
singledimensional
vectors
pp. 20-21

Do Practice
Problems:
#1-6, p. 24
#12, p. 26