Physical quantities are classified as base (or fundamental) quantities and derived quantities.
7 base quantities are chosen to form the base units.
Base Quantity
Base Unit
mass
kilogram (kg)
length
metre (m)
time
second (s)
electric current
ampere (A)
temperature
kelvin (K)
amount of substance
mole (mol)
luminous intensity
candela (cd)
Any other physical quantities can be derived from these base quantities. These are called derived quantities.
Prefixes
Prefixes are attached to a unit when dealing with very large or very small numbers.
Power
Prefix
$10^{-12}$
pico (p)
$10^{-9}$
nano (n)
$10^{-6}$
micro ($\mu$)
$10^{-3}$
milli (m)
$10^{-2}$
centi (c)
$10^{-1}$
deci (d)
$10^3$
kilo (k)
$10^6$
mega (M)
$10^9$
giga (G)
$10^{12}$
tera (T)
Homogeneity of Units in an Equation
A physical equation is said to be homogeneous if each of the terms, separated by plus, minus, equality or inequality signs has the same base units.
Uncertainty
Absolute uncertainty of a measurement of $x$ can be written as $\Delta x$. This means that true value of the measurement is likely to lie in the range $x-\Delta x$ to $x + \Delta x$.
If the values of two or more quantities such as $a$ and $b$ are measured and then these are combined to determine another quantity $Y$, the absolute or percentage uncertainty of $Y$ can be calculated as follows:
If $Y = a\pm b$, then $\Delta Y = \Delta a+\Delta b$
If $Y = ab$ or $Y = \frac{a}{b}$ , then $\frac{\Delta Y}{Y} =\frac{\Delta a}{a}+\frac{\Delta b}{b}$
If $Y = a^n$ then $\frac{\Delta Y}{Y} = n\frac{\Delta a}{a}$
Errors
Systematic errors are errors that, upon repeating the measurement under the same conditions, yield readings with error of same magnitude and sign.
Random errors are errors that, upon repeating the measurement under the same conditions, yield readings with error of different magnitude and sign.
Accuracy and Precision
The accuracy of an experiment is a measure of how close a measured value is to the true value. It is a measure of the correctness of the result.
The precision of an experiment is a measure of how exact the result is without reference to what that the result means. It is a measure of how reproducible the results are, i.e. it is a measure of how small the uncertainty is.
Vectors
A vector quantity has magnitude and direction.
A scalar quantity has magnitude only.
Addition of vectors in 2D: $\vec{a}+\vec{b}=\vec{c}$
Subtraction of vectors in 2D: $\vec{a}-\vec{b}=\vec{d}$
Methods of finding magnitudes of vectors:
resolution of vectors into perpendicular components
