Physical Quantities, SI Units, and Dimensional Analysis

Flashcards covering fundamental quantities, SI base units, prefixes, dimensional analysis, and unit conversions from the lecture notes.

What are the four fundamental physical quantities mentioned in the lecture?

Length, mass, time, and electric current.

Which three fundamental quantities are emphasized for this course?

Length (meters), mass (kilograms), and time (seconds).

What is the SI base unit for length and its symbol?

Meter, symbol m.

What is the SI base unit for mass and its symbol?

Kilogram, symbol kg.

What is the SI base unit for time and its symbol?

Second, symbol s.

What does CGS stand for and how does it differ from MKS?

CGS stands for centimeter-gram-second; MKS stands for meter-kilogram-second.

What is the base unit system often referred to as SI or MKS?

System International (SI); sometimes called MKS (meter-kilogram-second).

What is the common smaller unit used with meters for everyday length measurements?

Centimeter (cm).

How is the speed of light fundamentally related to the meter definition?

The meter is defined by the distance light travels in vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second (c ≈ 3.00×10^8 m/s).

How is the meter defined in terms of light travel?

The distance light travels in vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.

How is the second defined?

The cesium-133 atom vibrates 9,192,631,770 times in one second.

How was the kilogram historically defined?

By a platinum–iridium alloy cylinder used as a physical standard to calibrate other kilograms.

What common confusion exists between pounds and grams in everyday language?

Pounds are often used for mass, but in physics pounds denote weight (a force).

What is the derived unit for area?

Square meter (m^2).

What is the derived unit for volume?

Cubic meter (m^3).

What is the derived unit for speed and its symbol?

Meter per second (m/s).

What is the derived unit for acceleration and its symbol?

Meter per second squared (m/s^2).

What is the dimension of speed?

Length divided by time (L/T).

What is the dimension of acceleration?

Length divided by time squared (L/T^2).