7/18/2022

PHY101
General Physics I
Textbook: Physics for Scientists and Engineers with
modern physics, 9th Edition by R. Serway and John W.
Jewett

Instructor : MAEN GHARAIBEH

Office: PH3-L1

Evaluation: Midterm Exam 50% (Ch 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

Final Exam 50% (Ch 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)

Introduction

What is Physics?

Physics is the science of matter and energy

and their interactions and motion through
space and time

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Physics:

Divided into six major areas:

Classical Mechanics Relativity
Thermodynamics Electromagnetism
Optics Quantum Mechanics

Objective of Physics:

To find the limited number of fundamental laws that govern natural

phenomena
To use these laws to develop theories that can predict the results of
future experiments
Express the laws in the language of mathematics
Mathematics provides the bridge between theory and experiment.

Fundamental Quantities and Their Units

Quantity SI Unit
Length meter

Mass kilogram

Time second

Temperature Kelvin

Electric Current Ampere

Luminous Intensity Candela

Amount of Substance mole

Section 1.1

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Quantities Used in Mechanics

In mechanics, three fundamental quantities are used:
All other quantities in mechanics can be expressed in terms of
the three fundamental quantities.
Dimension SI (mks) Unit Definition

Length meters (m) Distance traveled by light in

1/(299,792,458) s

Mass kilogram (kg) Mass of a specific platinum-

iridium alloy cylinder kept by
Intl. Bureau of Weights and
Measures at France

Time seconds (s) 9,192,631,700 oscillations of

cesium atom

Prefixes:

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Basic Quantities and Their Dimension

Length [L]
Mass [M]
Time [T]

Basic Sciences Department - Physics Section 7 Monday, 18 July 2022

Units vs. Dimensions

 Dimensions: L, T, M, L/T …
 Units: m, mm, cm, kg, g, mg, s, hr, years …
 When equation is all algebra: check dimensions
 When numbers are inserted: check units
 Units obey same rules as dimensions:
Never add terms with different units
 Angles are dimensionless but have units (degrees
or radians)
 In physics sin(Y) or cos(Y) never occur unless Y is
dimensionless

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Example:

Check the equation for dimensional consistency:

mc 2
mgh   mc 2

1  (v / c ) 2
Here, m is a mass, g is an acceleration, c is a velocity, h is a length

Example:

Consider the equation:

v2 Mm
m G 2
r r

Where m and M are masses, r is a radius and 𝑣 is a velocity.

What are the dimensions of G ?

L3/(MT2)

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Example:
Given “x” has dimensions of distance, “𝑣” has dimensions
of velocity, “m” has dimensions of mass and “g” has
dimensions of acceleration.

Is this equation dimensionally valid?

vt
x
1  mgt 2

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