LESSON 1: THE EFFECT OF
INSTRUMENTS ON
MEASUREMENTS
CAMARODIN U. MUTO, MAED
MASTER TEACHER-I
SCIENTIFIC NOTATION
• It is a convenient way of expressing very large or very small numbers.
• It is also known as the “powers-of-ten notation”
• The coefficient contains the number before the base.
• The mantissa is the part of the logarithm that follows the decimal point.
• The base is always equal to 10.
• The exponent, positive or negative, in the uppercase of the base states
the number of times a number is multiplied to itself.
RULES:
1. The base is always 10.
2. The exponent is a non-zero integer.
3. The absolute value of the coefficient is greater than or equal
to 1 and strictly less than 10.
4. The coefficient carries the sign.
5. The mantissa carries the rest of the significant digits.
• A laser speed gun estimates the speed of a moving vehicle by
measuring its distance. It shoots a very rapid surge of infrared laser light
and then waits for it to reflect off the vehicle. This is used to supervise
and apprehend vehicles that would violate the speed limit regulation.
Speed limits are established to guarantee the safety of motorists.
• Guide questions:
Would the results vary from one laser speed gun to the other?
How does the instrument affect the measurement gathered?
MEASUREMENTS IN PHYSICS
• Measurement is the process of comparing a specific quantity
of matter with an agreed standard. It is a method of
describing physical phenomena.
• Physics is an experimental science. Physicists perform
experiments to test hypotheses. Its conclusions are derived
from measurements. Numbers and certain values are used to
describe measurements known as a physical quantity.
Physical Quantities
-These are measurable quantities gathered by scientists during
experimentation or analysis of phenomena. These quantities
are considered base quantities. They have numerical values
and units of measurement.
Fundamental Quantities
-These quantities cannot be expressed in terms of other
quantities. They are independent on their own.
-The seven fundamental quantities are length (m), mass (kg),
time (s), electric current (A), temperature (K), amount of
substance (mol) and luminous intensity (cd).
Derived Quantities
-These quantities are the result of combining fundamental
• The measurement of physical quantities is expressed in terms of
units, which are standardized values.
• For example, the length of a racetrack, a physical quantity, can be
expressed in meters (for sprinters) or kilometers (for long distance
runners).
• Without standardized units, it would be extremely difficult to
express and compare measured values in a meaningful way.
• Scientist all around the globe agreed on the standardized units
which paved the way to the two systems of units as follows:
• British or English System
• SI (Systeme Internationale) or Metric System
IN METRIC SYSTEMS, THESE ARE THE
STANDARD DEFINITION FOR
MEASUREMENTS:
THE SI OR METRIC UNITS
• The metric system is based on multiples of ten. Thus, it
allows facility in computation and conversion.
• Some common English to metric and metric to English
conversion factors, as well as the SI prefixes are given in the
following tables.
