Measurements and Experimentation

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts related to measurements in physics, as outlined in the lecture notes.

Measurement

The process of comparison of a given physical quantity with a known standard quantity of the same nature.

Unit

A quantity of a constant magnitude used to measure magnitudes of other quantities of the same nature.

Fundamental Units

Units that are independent of any other unit, such as mass, length, time, temperature, current, and amount of substance.

Derived Units

Units of quantities that can be expressed in terms of fundamental units.

S.I. System

System of units established as the standardized international system for measurement, including seven fundamental units.

Length

A fundamental quantity measured in units such as metre (m), with corresponding subunits like centimetre (cm) and millimetre (mm).

Kilogram (kg)

The S.I. unit of mass, originally defined as the mass of a cylindrical piece of platinum-iridium kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures.

Time

A fundamental quantity measured in seconds (s), which has various smaller and larger units such as minutes and hours.

Frequency

The number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time, measured in hertz (Hz) or seconds^-1.

Area

A derived unit measured as length x breadth, expressed as square metres (m²).

Volume

A derived unit measured as length x breadth x height, expressed as cubic metres (m³).

Speed

A derived unit defined as distance traveled over time, expressed as metres per second (m/s).

Force

A derived unit defined as mass x acceleration, often expressed in newtons (N).

Pressure

The force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area, expressed in pascals (Pa).

Temperature

A physical quantity expressing hot and cold, with the S.I. unit being kelvin (K).

Ampere (A)

The S.I. unit of electric current, defined as the flow of electric charge.

Avogadro Number

A constant that represents the number of molecules or atoms in one mole of a substance, approximately 6.02 x 10²³.