Basic Concepts LEARNING OBJECTIVES Acquaint with different systems of measurement of different quantities Understand how we gradually shifted from the British system to the metric system Know the seven basic physical quantities and their units Leam in detail about the units of the seven physical quantities Differentiate between mass and weight Write very large or very small numbers in scientific notation Carry out arithmetical calculations using exponential notation Differentiate between precision and accuracy Define significant figures and learn the rules for deciding significant figures in different kinds of numbers Leam addition, subtraction, multiplication and division ofsignificantfigures ‘* Learn conversion of units from one system to another through dimensional analysis eee ccceee 1.1 INTRODUCTION A substance is associated with physical properties and chemical properties. Some examples of physical properties are colour, odour, smell, density, melting point and boiling point. These properties can be measured without the substance undergoing decomposition or association. Observation of a chemical property requires a chemical change to occur. Chemical properties of a substance include acidic or basic nature, combustibility, etc. ‘We require some parameters to assess certain properties. For example, properties like length, width, area, volume, etc., are quantitative in nature. That is, they are associated with definite values. Any quantitative measurement is represented by a number followed by units in which it is measured. It is absurd to say that a particular substance measures 6—in length we need to specify whether it is 6 cm or 6 m. When we say it is 6 m long, we mean it measures 6 units on the scale of metre. 1.2 I SYSTEMS OF MEASUREMENT In scientific studies and research, two different systems of measurement have been in use. These are the English System and the Metric System. The metric system originated in France in the late eighteenth century and is more convenient to use because it is based on the decimal systemof numbers. Before 1960, both the systems of measurement were being used by the scientific ‘community. Some parts of the globe preferred the English system because they were used to it. Greater proportion of the scientific population advocated a switch to the metric system because it was more convenient and hence more scientific. The metric system is called the International System of Units (called Le Systems International d’ Unites in French and abbreviated as SI units). Historically, this system was established by the 11" General Conference on Weights and Measures (Conference General des Poides at Measures in French and abbreviated as CGPM). The CGPM is an intergovernmental treaty organization created by a diplomatic treaty known as Meter Convention which was signed in Paris in 1875. As a consequence of serial meetings of the international scientific community, it was agreed in 1960 to adopt SI units for scientific experimentation and studies, although both the units continue to be used in textbooks. We have been rather slow in adopting SI units in our works. The SI system has seven base units pertaining to seven fundamental quantities as listed in Table Ll. Table 1.1 Seven basic physical quantities and their units Length i metre m Mass m kilogram kg Time £ second s Electric current I ampere A Thermodynamic t kelvin K temperature Amount ofthe substance n mole mol Luminous intensity i candela ed SI base units are separately defined as under: 1. Metre The metre is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299792458 of a second 2. Kilogram The kilogram is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram. 3. Second The second is the duration of 9192631770 periods of radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom 4. Ampere The ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible circular cross section,The and placed 1 metre apart in vacuum would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2 x 10-7 newton per metre of length, Kelvin The Kelvin is the 1/273.16 fraction of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water. Mole The mole is the amount of substance which contains as many elementary entities are there are atoms in 0.012 kilogram of carbon-12. Its symbol is mol. The elementary entities must be specified and may be one of atoms, molecules, ions, electrons or other specified particles. Candela The candela is the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits monochromatic radiations of 540 x 10'? hertz frequency and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian SI system allows the use of prefixes to indicate the multiples or submultiples of a unit as given below in Table 1.2. In fact, this is the strength of the SI system because it is based on decimal system (multiples or submultiples of 10) Table 1.2 Prefixes in SI system yocto y 10 deca da zepto z 102 hecto h ato 10? kilo k femto f 10° mega M pico P 10° siga G nano iD: 10!2 tera T micro Hw 1015 peta P milli m 10'8 exa Ez centi e 107! zeta Zz deci d 1024 yotta Y The other physical quantities such as speed, acceleration, volume, density, pressure, force, etc., can be derived from the basic seven units. 1.3 Mi [ASS AND WEIGHTMass of a substance is the amount of matter present in it while weight is the force exerted by gravity on an object. The mass of a substance is constant whereas the weight may vary from place to place due to change in gravitational force. The mass of a substance can be determined accurately in the laboratory by using an analytical balance. Presently, we have the electronic top- weighing balance which directly gives the mass of the substance correct up to three or four decimal places depending upon the precision of the balance used. The SI unit of mass is one kg. However, its 10-3 multiple (1 kg = 1000 g), that is gram, is used more frequently for weighing small amounts of chemicals that are used in chemical reactions. Physical quantity measured Base unit $1 abbreviation —_ poe ' © sara i e ampere A © candela od Fig 1.1. Seven base units 1.4 VOLUME The unit of volume is (length)®. As the SI unit of length is metre, the SI unit of volume is (metre)? or m3, In chemical laboratories, we use smaller volumes for experimentation. Hence, volumes are often denoted in cm? or dm? units. Litre (L) which is not an SI unit is used for the measurement of volumes of liquids. 1 L = 1000 mL and 1000 cm3 = 1 dm? Thus, 1L = 1dm3 = 1000 mL = 1000 cm? Volumes of liquids or solutions are measured with the help or graduated cylinders, burettes, pipettes, etc.Derived Si) Units Quantity Volume liter E Force newton N Pressure _ pascal Pa Energy Fig 1.2. Derived SI units 1. Density The density of a substance is its amount per unit mass. The SI unit of density can be computed as under: Slunitof mass Density (in SI units = “et of mass _ nsity (in St units) = ST nit of volume ky 5 “8 orkgm™ m ‘A chemist often expresses the density as g cm7? because the SI unit gives large values. Fig 1.3 Anders Celsius (1701-1744) was a Swedish astronomer. The scale of temperature named after him was devised by him. 2. Temperature Three scales have been in use for the measurement of temperature—degree Celsius (°C), degree Fahrenheit (°F) and Kelvin (K). Kelvin is the SI unit of temperature. However, thermometers are manufactured based on Celsius and Fahrenheit degrees. Generally, Celsius scale thermometers are calibrated from 0° to 100°C based on the freezing and boiling points of water. However, thermometers from 0°C to about 250°C are available when higher temperatures are required to be measured. The Celsius scale of temperature was earlier known as centigrade scale. The Fahrenheit scale is represented between 32°F to 212°F. The temperatures on Fahrenheit and Celsius scales are related to each other by the following relationship.