MODULE 1.

QUANTITIES AND MEASUREMENT 1

1.1 WHY MEASURE?

LEARNING COMPETENCIES

 Enumerate basic quantities and their respective units.

 Enumerate derive quantities and their respective units and symbols.
 Solve measurement problems involving of units’ expression of
measurements in scientific notation.

THINK OF THIS!
Remember when the dressmaker measure the length of your
uniform. The time when you unconsciously check the number of steps
recorded in your phone and its equivalent to kilometres or miles. The
moment when you rode a jeepney that felt like the 30-minute ride became
2-hours.
These moments are common examples of the lessons in this
module.

1.1.1 BASIC QUANTITIES

Exercise No. 1. GET TO KNOW THE SEVEN PHYSICAL QUANTITIES
(refer to your General Physics 1 book to answer the questions)

A. What are the seven basic quantities based from the SI (Système
International) and the base unit of each quantity?
(the first one is given to you- 10 points)
BASE QUANTITY BASE UNIT

LENGTH Meter (m)

1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

7. 8.

9. 10.

POINT: ___/10

NOTE:

Check the case of the base unit, if it is expressed

or written in lower case or capitalized.

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B. Prefixes. Complete the other units by adding the correct

prefixes.
Example: Length. 1 meter = 100 centimetre (can be written as1 × 10−2 m)
Explanation: Why did it use -2 as an exponent instead of
+2? It is negative since meter is higher in terms of value, from
millimetre, centimetre, to meter. Exponent 2 since it moved two
places 100 cm to 1 m.

1. 10−18 =
2. 10−8 =
3. 109 =
4. 10−3 =
5. 106 =

POINT: ___/5

1.1.2. CONVERSION OF MEASUREMENTS TO SI UNIT

 To convert measurements to SI units, use common
conversions. Example: 1 hour= 60 minutes= 3600 seconds
or definitions of unit prefixes (example: 1 mm= 10-3 meter.
 It is necessary to write the conversion as a ratio and multiply
it to the measurement.

EXAMPLE 1:
Convert 7.5 kilometers (km) to centimeters (cm).
Remember the first tip given above, use common conversion.
1 km= 1000 m=100 000 cm. Follow the pattern below.
100 000 𝑐𝑚
7.5 𝑘𝑚 =
1 𝑘𝑚
100 000 𝑐𝑚
7.5 𝑘𝑚 × = 750 000 𝑐𝑚
1 𝑘𝑚
Same units are cancelled once it’s placed in opposite position.

NOTE:
Prefixes help identify the differences from base unit. This
is an important context in conversion. Also, familiarize the
abbreviations of the units.

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1.1.2. CONVERSION OF MEASUREMENTS TO SI UNIT

EXAMPLE 2:
Convert 80 kilometres per hour (km/h) to meters per
second (m/s)
Remember the first tip given above, use common conversion.
1 km= 1000 m and for an hour it has 3600 seconds. Follow the pattern below.
𝑘𝑚 1000 𝑚 1 ℎ𝑟
80 = =
ℎ𝑟 1 𝑘𝑚 3600 𝑠
𝑘𝑚 1000 𝑚 1 ℎ𝑟
80 × × = 22. 22 𝑚/𝑠
ℎ𝑟 1 𝑘𝑚 3600 𝑠
This means that the object has a velocity of 22.22 m/s and in real-
life, we can say that it travels so fast.

EXERCISE NO. 2

1. A piece of metal measures 2 𝑚𝑚 × 5 𝑐𝑚 × 5𝑚 and its

mass is 1.35 kg. Calculate
(a) The volume of the metal piece in cubic meter (m3),
and
(b)The density of materials in kg/m3
Given:

Solution:

POINT: ___/10

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1.1.3. UNCERTAINTY IN MEASUREMENT

LEARNING COMPETENCIES

 Use the least count concept to estimate errors associated with single
measurements.
 Differentiate accuracy from precision.
 Write the value of a measurement to the correct number of significant
figures.
THINK OF THIS…

Why it takes time to come up with the vaccine for an outbreak? Scientists
are careful when dealing with the substances they will use in the laboratory. The
same thing among chefs, engineers, and all works that require measurement. But,
what are the factors that affect the uncertainties in measurement? Why do
scientists perform how many trials before they come up with the specific product?
These questions are given answers in this lesson about uncertainty in
measurement and significant figures.

EXERCISE NO. 3

 Read and analyse the explanation on page 4-5 of your General Physics 1 to
answer the following questions.
A. What factors are associated to uncertainties of measurement? Give
three and briefly explain how each factor affects the uncertainties
in measurement. (6 points)

1. _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
______________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
______________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
______________________________________________

B. It is used to indicate the approximate number of digits that should

be retained at the end of the calculation (1). _________________
C. What does the symbol or this sign ± mean? (1) ________________
D. Why is it necessary to now the number of significant figures in a
sample value? (2)________________________________________

POINT: ___/10

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E. Give the uncertainty measurements for some common measuring

instruments.
Table 1. Estimated errors
INSTRUMENT SMALLEST SCALE DIVISION EXAMPLE
Vernier Calipers 0.2 mm or 0.02 cm (2.50± 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏)cm
Micrometer screw gauge
Digital stopwatch
Burette
Digital balance
Protractor

POINT: ___/10

1.1.4 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

 In arithmetic, a number, say the number 20, will always have the same
value. On the other hand, a time of 20 s measured by a wall clock is different
from a time 20.000 s measured by a digital stopwatch. The second
measurement is precise up to a thousandth of a second, while the first is
precise up to a second only. The added zeroes in the second measurement
cannot be discarded: they are significant figures.
 Read and apply the rules in determining the number of significant figures on
pages 5-9.

EXERCISE NO. 4. APPLY THE RULES!

A. Write the rule that is applied in every item (3 pts. each).

a. 11 has 2 significant figures. 98 762 has 5 significant figures

b. 2 × 103 has 1 significant figure

c. 2.00 × 103 has 3 significant figures

d. 2009 has 4 significant figures

e. 0.012 has 2 significant figures

POINT: ___/15

NOTE:
Notice that we don’t use comma in 98 762. Read the insight on page 2.

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B. Solve the following word problem applying the rules in adding, subtracting,
multiplying and dividing significant numbers. Refer to example 1.1 Carpet
Calculations on page 7. (5 points each)

a. The height of Mount Everest is 8444 m. Express the height in

standard form and to:
(a) two significant figures,
(b) three significant figures.

Solution:

b. If x= 34 and y= 2.4, solve the following to the correct number of

significant figures.
1. 𝑥 + 𝑦
2. 𝑥 − 𝑦
3. 𝑥𝑦
𝑥
4. 𝑦
5. sin 𝑥 𝑜

Solution:

POINT: ___/15

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1.1.5. ESTIMATES AND ORDER-OF-MAGNITUDE CALCULATIONS

LEARNING
LEARNING COMPETENCIES
COMPETENCIES

 Differentiate random errors from systematic errors

 Estimate errors from multiple measurements of a physical quantity using
variance
 Estimate the uncertainty of a derived quantity from the estimated values
and uncertainties of directly measured quantities
THINK OF THIS…

 There are cases when we sole word problems in Science or Math, we often
encounter the difference of the answer though you followed the steps and
used the same values based from the given data. You tend to ask your
teacher what is the cause of this. Now , these experiences will be explained.
 This part covers the measurement errors and when do we classify the
results as accurate and precise.
 Read and take note the important ideas on page 10-12 of your General Physics 1
book.

MEASUREMENT OF ERRORS
1. Measurement errors in experiments are inevitable. It does not ruin an
expeirment; on the contrary, a good scientific study accounts for all
measurement errors. There are trwo types of measurement errors :
systematic errors and random errors.
2. SYSTEMATIC ERRORS are uncertainties in the measurement of a
physical quantity due to the instruments, physical conditions of the
surroundings of physical limitations of the observer.
3. RANDOM ERRORS are errors in a measurement caused mainly by the
action of the observer .

ACCURACY AND PRECISION

LEARNING COMPETENCIES

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EXERCISE NO. 5. ACCURACY VS. PRECISION

Solution:

POINT: ___/10

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