Chapter-1 Unit and Dimensions
Topics Covered
1- Introduction
2- International system of unit
3- Dimensions of physical quantities
4- Dimensional formulae and dimensional equations
5- Dimensional analysis and its application
6- Accuracy and precision of instruments
7- Error in measurement
8- Significant figures
Introduction
In this chapter, we are going to discuss about unit, dimensions and other important
aspect when it comes to physical world. As we know that in this physical world, there
are quantities that are measured that quantities are known as physical quantities.
There are two types of physical quantities-
1- Fundamental- Those physical quantities that are independent are known as
Fundamental physical quantities. Ex- Time, Length, Mass etc.
2- Derived – Those physical quantities that depends upon fundamental quantities
for their existence are known as Derived Quantities. Ex- Speed, acceleration,
Force etc.
All physical quantities are measured in some standard measurement. That standard
measurement is known as Units.
Properties of Unit-
1- The unit should be well defined. It must be constant and must not change with
time.
2- It should be easily comparable.
1
3- As we know that 1kg = 1000gm, it means Numerical value ∝
unit
Types of Units
There are two types of units-
1- Fundamental Units- Those units that are independent are known as
Fundamental Units. Ex- meter, kilogram, seconds etc.
2- Derived Units – Those units that depends upon fundamental units for their
existence are known as Derived Units. Ex- m/s, Newton, pascal etc.
S. No Fundamental Physical Fundamental
quantity Unit
1 Length Meter
2 Mass Kilogram
3 Time Seconds
4 Temperature Kelvin
5 Amount of Substance Mole
1
6 Luminous Intensity Candela
7 Current Ampere
3- Supplementary Units- There are two supplementary units- Plane angle (Unit-
Radian) and Solid angle (Unit- Steradian).
4- Derived Units-
S.No Derived Quantity Unit
1 Speed m/s
2 Acceleration m/s^2
3 Force Newton
4 Pressure N/m^2
5 Energy Joule
6 Power Watt
System of Units
There are 4 system of Units-
System of Units
1- MKS System- (Mass-Kilogram), (Length- Meter), (Time- Secon)
2- CGS System – (Mass- Gram), (Length- Centimeter), (Time-Sec)
3- FPS System – (Mass- Pound), (Length - Foot), (Time- Seconds)
4- International System– (Mass-Kg), (Length- Meter), (Time- Sec)
Order of Magnitude
Order of magnitude is defined as power of 10 in the numerical value of measurement
of physical quantity.
Example- Speed of light = 3 ×10 8 m/s . Here order of magnitude is 8.
If the numerical value is greater than 5, then in such case order of magnitude will be
increased by 1.
Notes:-
−3
1 mili(m)=10
−6
1 micro ( μ )=10
−9
1 nano ( n )=10
−12
1 pico ( p )=10
−15
1 fermi( f )=10
Dimensions
1- Dimensions are symbolic representation of units in terms of symbol of
fundamental units.
2- Dimensions are always written in capital alphabet or symbol within square
bracket.
3- Dimension are also of two types- a) Fundamental, b)- Derived
2
4- Supplementary quantities have no dimension but unit will be there.
S.No Physical Unit Dimension
Quantity
1 Length Meter [L]
2 Mass Kilogram [M]
3 Time Sec [T]
4 Temperature Kelvin [K]
5 Electric Current Ampere [A]
6 Amount of Mole [mol.]
Substance
7 Luminous candela [cd.]
Intensity
S.No Derived Quantity Unit Dimension
1 Speed m/s [ LT ]
−1
2 Acceleration m/s^2 −2
[ LT ]
3 Force Newton [ MLT ]
−2
4 Pressure N/m^2 −1 −2
[M L T ]
5 Energy Joule 2
[M L T ]
−2
6 Power Watt 2 −3
[M L T ]
Note-
1- Generally, strain, plane angle and ratio of similar quantities have no dimensions
2- A constant has no dimension but if it is dimensional constant like Gravitational
Constant (G), Coulomb’s Constant(K), Resistance (R) have dimension
3- Dimension of similar quantities are same like all the forces have same
dimension. But this is a drawback too as we can’t say about the quantity, just by
looking to its dimension.
Dimensional Homogeneity
Dimensional homogeneity implies that any relation or equation for physical quantity is
valid if the dimension of LHS = Dimension of RHS
2 2
v =u +2 as
¿
[ L2 T −2 ]=[L2 T −2 ]+ [ L2 T −2 ]
Hence Dimension of each term will be same for any relation between physical
quantities to be valid.
Note-
1- Dimension can’t be added or subtracted but they can be multiplied and divided.
3
Dimensional Analysis
1- With the help of dimensional analysis, we can obtain relation between different
physical quantities.
2- With dimensional analysis, we can’t obtain numerical value of relation. For
1 2
example - Kinetic Energy ∝ m . v 2can be obtain but Kinetic Energy= m . v can’t be
2
obtained.
3- Any relation that consists of addition or subtraction, can’t be obtained by using
dimensional analysis
4- Only similar quantities can be written in subtraction or addition form.
5- With dimensional analysis we can check the validity of any formula or equation.
Accuracy and precision
When there is a physical quantity, that has to be measure, then the actual value is
termed as the true value and the value obtained after our measurement is Measured
value. The difference between true value and measured value is known as Error. So
the value which has least error are Accurate value. If the measured value has higher
number of digits after decimal, then such value is termed as Precise value.
Note- An accurate value may be precise but a precise value doesn’t guarantee an
accurate value. If true value = 1m then if we have 1.01m, 1.001m, 1.1m. Then in such
case 1.001 is accurate and precise too.
ERROR
It is defined as difference between True value and Measured Value.
Error= True Value Measured Value
There are two types of Error-
1- Systematic Error
2- Random Error
Systematic Error- The error which arises due to human error, instrument error or
zero error, is termed as Systematic Error. Error due to human imperfection is known as
Human Error. Error arises due to instrument misplacement or other issue can give
rise to Instrumental Error. If the measuring scale has issue in zero position, then
such error is known as Zero Error.
Random Error- Error that arises due to uncertain reason, then such type of error is
known as Random error. Random Error can be minimized by taking more readings and
then obtaining it’s mean.
Absolute Error, Relative Error and Percentage Error- Let there be any
experiment in which multiple reading like a1, a2………..an, then
a1 +a 2+ … … … .. an
Mean Value ( a m )=
n
Absolute Error of the readings is given by the modulus value of (a n-am). So mean
absolute value is given by
4
|a 1−a m|+|a 2−am|… … … … … .|an−am|
∆ am =
n
∆ am
Relative Error is given by. =
am
∆ am
Percentage Error is given by = ×100.
am
Combination Of Errors
1- Sum/ Difference of Error- If we have two physical quantity x and y, having
their sum represented by z, then
z=x + y
z +∆ z=( x +∆ x ) + ( y + ∆ y )
z +∆ z=( x + y ) + ( ∆ x + ∆ y )
∆ z=∆ x+ ∆ y
∆z ∆x ∆ y
= +
z x+ y x+ y
∆z
z
×100= (
∆x ∆ y
+
x+ y x+ y
×100 )
Where ∆ x∧∆ y represents error in the physical quantity. Above equation is for
maximum permissible error.
If z=x− y ,then,
∆z
z
×100=
∆x
(
+
∆y
x− y x − y
× 100 )
2- For Multiplication and Division- If we have two physical quantities that are in
product or in division then,
z=x × y
z +∆ z=( x +∆ x ) ( y +∆ y )
∆ z= y ∆ x + x ∆ y
∆z ∆x ∆ y
= +
z x y
∆z ∆x ∆ y
×100=( + )× 100
z x y
Note-
1- Above result is also valid for z= x/y
2- If the physical quantity is of the form P = (A a. Bb) / (Cc. Dd), then
∆P ∆A ∆B ∆C ∆D
=a +b +c +d
P A B C D
5
Above relation is true for max permissible error of the physical quantity given by
P.
Significant Figure
Significant figures are defined as the number of digits which is compulsory to give the
accurate result of any experiment or a calculation. Significant figures are number of
digits which is known reliably and also number which is uncertain. The accuracy
increases when the number of significant figures increases.
Significant Figures Rules
The rules which are used for the determination of significant figures are given here.
1. Every non – zero digits are significant figures. e.g., 454.76 has 5 (five)
significant figures.
2. All zeroes which lie between two non – zero digits are also significant figures.
e.g., 703.004 has 6 (six) significant figures.
3. All zeros after decimal but before a non – zero digit is not considered a
significant figure.e.g.,0.00465 has only 3 (three) significant figures.
4. All zeros which are at the right side of decimal and also at the right side of a non
– zero digits are considered as significant figures. E.g., 0.64000 has 5
(five)significant figures
5. When the given number does not contain a decimal point, then the final zeroes
are ambiguous and they are not considered as significant figures. E.g., 75000
has two (2) significant figures but when the number which is obtained on the
basis of actual (real) measurement, then all zeroes which are to the right of the
last non zero digit are also considered as significant figures. E.g., 8070 has four
(4) significant figures.
6. When a decimal is present at the end of a whole number, then all zeros which
are at the right end just before the decimal are considered as significant figures.
E.g., 13300. Has five (5) significant figures.
7. When the number contains both an integral part as well as a decimal part, then
all zeros in the number are considered as significant figures. e.g., 34.40 has four
(4) significant figures.
Rules for Rounding Significant Figures
6
A number is rounded to the needed number of significant digits by leaving one or
more digits to the right. If the first digit on the left is less than the number 5, then the
last digit must remain constant. If the first digit is more than the number 5, then the
last digit of the significant figure is rounded up. If the remaining digit is exactly equal
to the number 5, then the retained number is rounded up or down to get an even
number. If more than one digit remains, round as a whole rather than one digit.
Rules for rounding a given number to the appropriate significant figures are given
below.
1. When the digit after the last significant digit is more than the number 5, then
the last digit of the significant figure (or significant digit) is raised by one (1).
2. When the digit after the last significant digit is less than the number five (5)),
then the last digit of the significant figure (or significant digit) is left without
making any changes.
3. When the digit after the last significant digit is equal to the number five (5),
then the last digit of the significant figure (or significant digit) is not altered
when the number is even and is increased by 1 when it is odd .
Accuracy
Accuracy is the agreement between a measured value and correct value. When a
clock strikes twelve and the sun is directly overhead, then the clock is considered
accurate. The ability of an apparatus to measure an exact value is termed as
accuracy. In other words, accuracy is the closeness of measured value to a value
which is considered as standard. Accuracy is attained with small readings. The small
reading reduces the error in calculation.
Precision
Precision is the repeatability of measurement or measured value. Precision is not
necessary to know the standard value or true value. The proximity or closeness of two
or more measurements or measured value to each other is considered to be the
precision of a material. If we weigh a given substance 4 (four) times and get 4.2 kg all
the time, then our measurement is said to be very precise, but not necessarily that
measurement is accurate.
