Example 1

1. Derive the dimensions for the following physical quantities.

i. Velocity

ii. Force

2. Express the quantities in part 1 in terms of the base units

i. Velocity

ii. Force

Checkpoint 1.1

1. Which of the following physical quantities has the same dimensions as the dimensions of
impulse?

A Potential energy

B Momentum

C Kinetic energy

D Weight and force

1
2. For each of the following physical quantities, derive the dimensions and express its units in
terms of the base units.

i. Momentum

ii. Energy

iii. Frequency

iv. Density

Example 2
1
1. Analyse the dimension of the equation s = ut + at2
2

2. Check the homogeneity of the dimensions for the following equations.

i. s = at2

2
ii. s = vt + vt2

3. The velocity v of waves in a ripple tank depends on the wavelength λ, surface tension γ (in N
m–1) and density ρ of water. Deduce an equation to show the relationship between these
quantities.

3
4. The velocity v of sea waves depends on the wavelength λ of the wave, the surface tension γ
and the density ρ of the sea water. The following values of velocity and wavelength of the
wave are obtained.

v / ms–1 230.0 270.0 340.0 450.0 590.0

λ/m 8.5 6.2 3.9 2.2 1.3
The surface tension and the density of sea water are determined by other methods and the
values obtained are

γ = 4.30 ± 0.05 N m–1 and ρ = 1450 ± 20 kg m–3.

Draw a suitable graph to deduce the proportionality constant in your equation derived in
previous example.

4
5
Checkpoint 1.2

1. Show that the dimensions of the following equations are homogeneous.

i. Impulse, Ft = m(v − u) [MLT–1]

ii. Pressure, p = ℎρg [ML–1T–2]

1 [ML2T–2]
2
iii. Kinetic energy Ek = mv
2

[T]
𝑙
iv. Period, 𝑇 = 2𝜋√
𝑔

where m is mass, t is time, u is initial velocity, v is final velocity, g is acceleration due to

gravity, l is length, ℎ is height, ρ is density and F is force.

6
2. The pressure p of a liquid with density ρ and moving with a velocity v is given by
1
p=k− ρv2
2
where k is a dimensional quantity. What is the dimension of k?

[ML–1T–2]

3. The air resistance F on a vehicle depends on the velocity v of the vehicle, the density ρ of
air and the cross-sectional area A of the vehicle. Derive an expression which relates F to v,
ρ and A. Explain any other symbols in your expression.

[F = kv2ρA]

7
Example 3

1. List out the scalar and vector quantities for the following;

displacement, force, kinetic energy, velocity, power, momentum, work, speed, acceleration

2. For each of the following figures, state the vector R in terms of vector P and Q.

i. ii.

iii. iv.

3. A plane flies 120 km to the north then 50 km to the east. Find the resultant displacement of
the plane.

8
Checkpoint 1.3

1. Four coplanar forces lying on the x-y plane act on a particle as shown in the figure below.

Determine the magnitude and direction of the resultant force. Draw an additional force
showing its direction which acts on the particle so that the resultant force is zero. State the
magnitude of this force.
[30.7 N at 208° from positive x-axis]

9
2. The following three horizontal forces act on a particle;

F1 = 10 N due North

F2 = 7 N due East

F3 = 3 N due West

Determine the resultant force on the particle.

[10.8 N at 68.2° from positive x-axis]

10
3. A ball moves due north on the floor at a constant speed of 3.0 m s–1. It hits an object and after
that moves due east at a speed of 3.0 m s–1. Determine the change in velocity of the ball.

[∆v = 4.2 m s–1 at 45° from positive x-axis]

Example 4

1. In an experiment, a plastic tube with an external diameter d1 was measured at (54

± 2) mm while its internal diameter d2 was measured at (37 ± 1) mm. For the quantity
(d1 − d2), calculate the

i. maximum absolute error

11
ii. maximum percentage error

d1
2. Repeat question 1 for the quantity
d2

i. maximum absolute error

ii. maximum percentage error

12
Checkpoint 1.4

1. The density of a steel ball bearing is obtained by dividing its mass with its volume. The
percentage error of the measurements for mass and diameter were 2% and 3% respectively.
What is the maximum percentage error in the density of the ball?

[11%]

2. Suggest two methods of reducing random errors when using a micrometer screw gauge to
measure the diameter of a wire.

3. What are parallax errors? Are parallax error systematic errors or random errors? Explain
your answer.

13
Tutorial 1

1. Which of the following physical quantities is a scalar quantity?

A Velocity C Density

B Acceleration D Magnetic force

2. In a motion which involves uniform acceleration, the velocity v is given by the equation
v2 = a + bx where a and b are constants and x is a variable. If a, b, and x have dimensions,
then the dimensions for the term bx in the equation are

A L C LT–2

B LT–1 D L2T–2

3. The time taken for a body to fall to the floor from a tower is 2.0 ± 0.1 s. What is the height
of the tower? (Assume the acceleration due to gravity = 10 ms–1)

A 20 ± 0.2 m C 20 ± 1.5 m

B 20 ± 0.1 m D 20 ± 2 m

4. Which of the following physical quantities have the same dimensions as energy per unit
volume?

A Force C Velocity

B Acceleration D Pressure

5. Among the following statements, which is the correct statement about the error in
measurement?

A Zero error is a random error.

B Accurate measurements are measurements with low random error.

C Systematic error can be caused by instruments of low sensitivity.

D Random error can be decreased by repeating the measurements.

14
6. The probable maximum magnitude and the probable minimum magnitude for the
resultant of two forces are respectively 10 N and 4 N. The magnitudes of the two forces are

A 3 N and 7 N C 4 N and 10 N

B 4 N and 6 N D 6 N and 14 N

7. The dimensions for power are

A MLT–1 C ML2T–2

B MLT–2 D ML2T–3

8. Which of the following experiment techniques can reduce systematic error of the quantity
being measured?

A Measuring the diameter of a wire at different points along the wire.

B Adjusting an ammeter to read zero before measuring a current.

C Timing a large number of oscillations to find the period of a pendulum.

D Measuring the thickness of a large number of pieces of paper to find the thickness of
one piece.

9. Four physical quantities A, B, C and D are related by the equation A = B + CD. Which
statement must be correct for the equation to be dimensionally consistent?

A A, B, C and D have the same unit.

B CD must be numerically equal to A − B.

C CD has the same dimension as A and B. D

A, B, C and D all are scalar quantities.

10. The tensile strength of a wire is the maximum stress on the wire just before it breaks. What
is the dimension of tensile strength?

A ML–1T–1 C MLT–1

B ML–1T–2 D MLT–2

15
11. The quantity X is given by
𝐹
𝑋=𝑘√
𝜇

where k is a dimensionless constant, F and μ represent force and mass per unit length
respectively. Determine the base units of X.

12. A sphere of radius r moves at speed v in a viscous fluid. The sphere is acted on by a viscous
force F which is given by

F = krv

Determine the dimensions of k.

16
13. Five coplanar forces act on a particle, as shown in the following figure. Determine the
magnitude and direction of the resultant of these forces.

y
4N 4N

x
45°

3N
45°
2N

5N

14. A ball moves along the y-axis on the floor at a constant speed of 3.0 m s–1. It hits an object
and after that moves to positive x-axis direction at a speed of 2.0 m s–1. Determine the change
in velocity of the ball.

17
15. Fermi’s energy EF of a metal is the energy for the state of highest energy of the occupied
conduction electron. The energy given by

EF = kℎxmynz

Where ℎ is Planck’s constant ( J s)

m is the mass of electron

n is the number of electrons per unit volume

k is a numerical constant

Deduce the values of x, y and z.

18