Fundamentals of Measurement

Measurement

It is a quantity that has both a number and a unit

Qualitative Observation

Describing something using the senses without using numbers

Quantitative Observation

Describing something using numbers or measurements

British (English) System

System of measurement that uses units like inches, feet, pounds and gallons.

Imperial System

Other name called for the mostly used system of measurement in the United Kingdom

Metric System

System of measurement that is based on powers of 10 and uses standard units like meters, liters, and grams.

1866

Year which the U.S. government officially adopted the metric system and is legalized for trade and commerce

Fundamental quantities

seven dimensionally independent quantities that are the basic physical measurements that cannot be broken down into other quantities

Derived quantities

Physical quantities that are calculated using two or more fundamental quantities

MKS System

It is the other term used to refer to the metric system, acronym for meter-kilometer-seconds.

Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM)

International organization that sets and maintains global standards for measurement

Système International d’Unités (SI)

modern form of the metric system used worldwide for standardized measurement in science, industry, and everyday life

Derived units

Multiples/combinations of fundamental units

Accuracy

Measure of how close a measurement comes to the actual or true value of whatever is measured

Precision

Measure of how close a series of measurements are to one another

Random Errors

Unpredictable and unknown changes or variations in measurements that can happen by chance in the measuring instrument or environment and affect accuracy

Systematic error

Consistent and repeatable errors that occur due to a flaw relating with the measurement system or instrument, such as something being wrong with its data handling system or pure misuse

Scientific Notation (Power-of-10 Notation)

Used to express very small or large numbers to make it easier to read

Scalar quantity

Physical quantity that only has magnitude, no direction

Vector quantity

Physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction

Graphical method

Way of solving problems using diagrams or graphs, especially to add or subtract vectors by drawing them to scale with head-to-tail method

Analytical method

Way of solving vector problems or operations using math and equations, like trigonometry and the Pythagorean theorem, to find the magnitude and direction of the resultant vector

Resultant vector

A single vector that represents the combined effect of two or more vectors, showing the overall magnitude and direction

Vector addition

Process of combining two or more vectors to find a single resultant vector with overall magnitude and direction

Tail-to-head method

Way of adding vectors by placing the tail of one vector at the head of another, then drawing the resultant vector from the tail of the first to head of the last

One-dimensional vector

A vector that acts along a straight line in only one direction

Two-dimensional vector

A vector that acts in a plane and has two directions

Triangle method

A method of adding two vectors by placing them head-to-tail, then drawing the resultant vector from the tail of the first to the head of the second, forming a triangle

Parallelogram method

A method of adding two vectors by drawing them from the same starting point, completing a parallelogram and the diagonal represents the resultant vector

Polygon method

Used to add three or more vectors by connecting them head-to-tail in sequence; the resultant is the vector from the start of the first to the end of the last

Pythagorean Theorem Method

Used to find the magnitude of the resultant vector when two vectors are at right angles with formula R=√A²+B²​

Laws of Sine and Cosine Method

Used to solve vector problems when vectors form non-right triangles

Component method

Breaks vectors into horizontal and vertical parts, adds them separately, then combines them to find the resultant vector