CHAPTER
1 Units and Dimensions
PHYSICAL QUANTITIES distance travelled
speed =
A quantity that we can measure is termed as a Physical Quantity.
time taken
A physical quantity shall have a numeric value or magnitude ∴ Unit of= unit of distance metre
which can represent the exact amount of the object to be measured.
Speed = = ms −1
unit of time second
For e.g. length can be measured in metres, mass of an object can
be measured in Kgs and so on. Thus, the unit of speed is derived from fundamental units of length
Physical quantities are divided into two types and time.
Fundamental Quantities
Derived Quantities Fundamental Unit Symbol Derived Unit Symbol
Quantity Quantity
PHYSICAL QUANTITIES Length metre m Area metre2 m2
Time second s Volume metre3 m3
Fundamental/ Base Derived Quantities
Quantities kilogram/
Mass kilogram kg Density kg/m3
metre3
These quantities are These quantities do not
self-sufficient in nature have their own identities, Electric metre/
which means they need not they are derived or ampere A Velocity m/s
Current second
depend on other quantities expressed in terms of the
to completely define fundamental quantities. Accelera- metre/
itself. There are seven Temperature kelvin K m/s2
tion second2
Fundamental e.g. volume, density, area,
e.g. Length, Time, velocity, acceleration etc. joule/
Mass, Electric Current, Luminous Electric
candela cd coulomb V
Temperature, Luminous Intensity Potential
or Volt
intensity, Amount of
substance. volt/
Amount of
mole mol Resistance ampere or Ω
substance
Ohm
UNITS
To estimate the size or to measure a physical quantity we need a
reference point or a reference standard. This point of reference is SYSTEM OF UNITS
called a Unit of the given physical quantity.
A collection of units which can be used to measure all fundamental
and derived quantities is called a system of units. Some of the most
Units are Divided into two types accepted system of units are given as follows:
1. Fundamental units
2. Derived units CGS System
Fundamental Units: The unit which gives an idea of the amount The Centimetre-Gram-Second (CGS) System is also called the
or size of the fundamental Quantities are called Fundamental Units. Gaussian System of Units. In this system we use centimetre (cm)
Derived Units: The units which give an idea of the amount or size of as unit of length, gram (g) as unit of mass, and second(s) as unit
the Derived Quantities are called Derived Units. of time.
e.g., Let us consider the unit of speed. Dyne is used as the unit of Force.
FPS System metre, e.g., the radius of an electron, the distance of the nearby galaxy
from earth. All these distances are huge in terms of sheer numbers. So
The Foot-Pound-Second (FPS) System is a British Engineering
System of units. In this system we use foot (ft) as unit of length, to make it easy, some conversions are followed–
pound (lb) as unit of mass, and second(s) as unit of time.
Units to measure small Units to measure large
Poundal (pdl) is used as the unit of Force. distances distances
MKS System 1 cm = 10-2 m
1 Light Year = 9.46 × 1015 m
In the Metre-Kilogram-Second (MKS) System of units, we use 1 mm = 10-3 m
metre(m) as unit of length, kilogram(kg) as unit of mass, and
second(s) as unit of time. 1 micron (µ) = 10-6 m
Newton is used as the unit of Force. 1 Parsec = 3.08 × 1016 m
1 nanometre (nm) = 10-9 m = 3.26 × 1 light year
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS
1 angstrom (Å)= 10-10 m 1 Astronomical Unit(AU)
The International System of Units generally called S.I. units is the
latest form of the metric system. The S.I. system consists of seven 1 fermi = 10-15 m = 1.496 × 1011 m
fundamental units and two supplementary units stated below
Fundamental Units DIMENSIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL
Fundamental Quantity S.I. Unit Symbol
QUANTITIES
Length metre m
Fundamental Quantity Dimension
Time second s
Length [L]
Mass kilogram kg
Time [T]
Electric Current ampere A
Mass [M]
Temperature kelvin K
Luminous Intensity candela cd Electric Current [A]
Amount of substance mole mol Thermodynamic temperature [K]
Luminous Intensity [cd]
Supplementary Units
Amount of substance [mol]
Supplementary Quantity S.I. Unit Symbol
Plane Angle radian rad
Solid Angle steradian sr
DIMENSIONAL FORMULA
The expression which shows how and which of the base quantities
represent the dimensions of a physical quantity is called the
UNIT CONVERSIONS (LENGTH) dimensional formula of the given physical quantity. For example, the
The length is measured in terms of metre as per the SI system, but dimensional formula of the density is [ML-3 T°], and that of force is
it gets complicated to denote very small and very large distances in [MLT-2].
DIMENSIONAL FORMULAE AND SI UNITS OF SOME BASIC PHYSICAL QUANTITIES
Physical Quantity Formula Dimensional Formula S.I. Unit
Velocity v=
displacement [ L] ° -1 m/s
time [T ] = [M LT ]
velocity LT -1
Acceleration a= = [M0LT-2] m/s2
time [T ]
Force F = mass × acceleration [M][LT-2] = [MLT-2] Newton
Work W = Fscosθ [MLT-2][L] = [ML2T-2] Joule
4
Physical Quantity Formula Dimensional Formula S.I. Unit
1 2
Kinetic energy K.E = mv [M][LT-1]2 = [ML2T-2] Joule
2
Potential energy P.E = mgh [M][LT-2][L] = [ML2T-2] Joule
Torque τ = Frsinθ [MLT-2][L] = [ML2T-2] N-m
Work ML2T -2
Power P= = [ML2T-3] J/s or Watt
time [T ]
Linear Momentum p = mass × velocity [M][LT-1] = [MLT-1] kg-m/s
Impulse Impulse = Force × time [MLT-2][T] = [MLT-1] N-s
arc [ L] = [M0L0T0]
Angle è= rad
radius [ L]
∆L ∆V [ L] - dimensionless
Strain Strain = or No unit
L V [ L]
1 1
Frequency f = = [M0L0T-1] Hz
time period [T ]
angle M 0 L0T 0
Angular velocity ω= 0 0 -1 rad/s
time [T ] = [M L T ]
Moment of inertia I = ∑mr2 [M][L]2 = [ML2T0] kg-m2
Angular momentum L = Iw [ML2][T-1] = [ML2T-1] kg-m2/s
F MLT -2
Surface tension Surface tension = = [ML0T-2] N/m
L [ L]
F MLT -2
Spring constant k = = [ML0T-2] N/m
x [ L]
energy ML2T -2
Surface energy Surface energy = = [ML0T-2] J/m2
area L2
energy ML2 T −2
Intensity Intensity = = [ML0T-3] J/m2-s
area × time L2 × [ T ]
ML2T -2
E
Planck’s constant h= = [ML2T-1] J-s
í T -1
F× d ML2T -2
Coefficient of viscosity ç= = [ML-1T-1] Nm-2s
A×v L3T -1
Units and Dimensions 5
