Physical Quantities and Measurement

This set of flashcards covers key terms and concepts related to physical quantities, measurements, errors, and graphing as discussed in the lecture.

Physical Quantity

A measurable property that is precisely defined.

Length

The amount by which two points are separated.

Mass

A measure of the amount of matter that a body contains.

Temperature

A numerical measure of the hotness or coldness of a body.

Luminosity

The total amount of energy radiated each second from the surface of a source.

Electric Current

The rate of flow of charge.

Time

A measure of the interval of an event or between events.

Homogeneity of Equations

The condition where the units on both sides of an equation are equivalent.

Derived Quantities

Quantities obtained from other quantities including base quantities.

Accuracy

The closeness of the measured value to the true value of a quantity.

Precision

The similarity of repeated measurements.

Sensitivity

The response of the measuring instrument to a small change.

Parallax Error

Error that occurs when the line of sight is not exactly aligned with what is being measured.

Random Error

Error due to the experimenter that varies in magnitude.

Systematic Error

Error that is consistent and has the same magnitude.

Significant Figures

Digits in a number that carry meaningful information about its precision.

Standard Form

A way to express very large or very small values using powers of ten.

Fractional Error

The ratio of the absolute error to the measured quantity.

Graph Gradient

The slope of a line on a graph, often representing the rate of change.