O-Science (Physics) Summary Map: Physical Quantities, Units and Measurement

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from physical quantities, units, and measurement, including definitions of scalar and vector quantities, base and derived units, and measurement tools.

Physical Quantity

A quantity that can be measured.

Scalar Quantity

A quantity that has only magnitude and no direction. Examples include distance, speed, and temperature.

Vector Quantity

A quantity that has both magnitude and direction. Examples include velocity, displacement, force, moment, and pressure.

Magnitude

The numerical value of a physical quantity.

Base Quantities

Fundamental physical quantities such as length, mass, time, temperature, electric current, and amount of substance.

SI Units

The standard international units used for base quantities, e.g., metre for length, kilogram for mass, second for time.

Derived Quantities

Quantities that are expressed as combinations of base quantities. Examples include speed (length/time), volume (length)^3, and density (mass/volume).

Metre (m)

The SI unit for length.

Kilogram (kg)

The SI unit for mass.

Second (s)

The SI unit for time.

Kelvin (K)

The SI unit for temperature.

Ampere (A)

The SI unit for electric current.

Mole (mol)

The SI unit for amount of substance.

Prefixes

Multipliers used with SI units to indicate powers of ten, such as tera (10^12), giga (10^9), mega (10^6), kilo (10^3), deci (10^-1), centi (10^-2), milli (10^-3), micro (10^-6), and nano (10^-9).

Metre rule

A measuring instrument for length, typically with 0.1 cm precision.

Digital Calipers

A measuring instrument for length, typically with 0.001 cm precision.

Digital Micrometer Screw Gauge

A highly precise measuring instrument for length, typically with 0.0001 cm precision.

Oscillation

The path of one complete swing of a pendulum, e.g., moving from X to Y to Z to Y to X.

Period (T)

The time taken for one complete oscillation of a pendulum.