PHYSICS

PHYSICSAND
ANDCHEMISTRY
CHEMISTRYESO ESO
Physics
Physicsand
andChemistry
ChemistryDepartment
Department

Unit 1. Science and the

scientific method

1
 Science and the scientific method

Contents
ESO – PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY

1. What is Science?

2. Quantities and units

3. Measurement and error

4. Tables and graphs. Data analysis

5. Scientific reports
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 1. What is Science?

1.1. Science and Natural Sciences

Scientists Nature

Make new discoveries

Scientific method
Solve unknown phenomena
ESO – PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY

Much easier and

Results
comfortable life

The scientific method can be used to solve everyday problems

EXPERIMENTATION

REASONING OBSERVATION

SCIENCE
CIENCIA NATURE

LAWS THEORIES 3
 NATURAL
Nature
SCIENCES
SCIENCE
SOCIAL Human behaviour,
SCIENCES societies
ESO – PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY

NATURAL Chemistry
Physics Biology Geology
SCIENCES

The knowledge must be based on observable

Empirical
phenomena and capable of being tested for
Sciences
its validity with experiments.

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 Motion, thermal expansion, change of state

It doesn’t transform into

PHYSICAL other substance/s
CHANGES
It doesn’t change its
PHYSICS chemical composition

Composition
ESO – PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY

EXPERIMENTAL
AND NATURAL MATTER Structure
SCIENCE Properties

CHEMISTRY It transforms into

other substance/s
CHEMICAL
CHANGES It changes its chemical
composition

Iron oxidation, fruit ripening, digestion, respiration 5

 1.2. The scientific method

Sequence of steps that the scientist follows to solve a problem.

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7
1. Observation

Scientists observe nature through their senses.

Their senses have limits.
Technological instruments

Very distant objects Telescopes

Very small objects Microscopes

Radiations (X ray, IR ray,…) Spectrophotometer

Scientific observation consists of receiving knowledge

of the outside world through our senses.

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2. Identify the problem/ask the right question
Complex
What factors affect plant growth?
problem
Amount of water
Amount of oxygen
Amount of sunlight
Amount of carbon dioxide
….
Does the amount of water affect plant growth?
3. Background information

Scientific journals
To answer Specialized books
Information
the question Scientific congresses
Internet research

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4. ANALYSIS OF VARIABLES

Variable a quantitative property of an object that

can take on different values
(length, speed, density, volume…).

variable that a scientist

Independent deliberately changes
during the experiment.
Amount of water

variable that responds

Variables Dependent to the changes in the
independent variable.
Plant growth
Amount of O2
Controlled Amount of sunlight
Amount of CO2
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5. FORMULATE A HYPOTHESIS

Hypothesis an educated guess, a prediction that

must be tested with an experiment.
6. EXPERIMENTATION

Lab equipment

Procedure
Experimental
design Experimental tests Lab
Tables
Data organization
Graphs

5 identical plants with The plants are watered with

the same: soil, air, different amounts of water
sunlight, location, .. during a period of time.
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 7. DATA ANALYSIS
The hypothesis is not valid Formulate a new hypothesis
The hypothesis is valid Law
a concise verbal or mathematical statement which
describes a relationship between the variables of a
determined nature phenomenon.
Newton’s second law F=ma

“When a force is applied on an object this object undergoes an

acceleration which is directly proportional to the applied force”
Explanation of a set of observations and
Theory
scientific laws of an entire group of related
phenomena of nature.
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, the kinetic theory of matter.
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 7. DATA ANALYSIS
The hypothesis is not valid Formulate a new hypothesis
The hypothesis is valid
a concise verbal or mathematical statement which
Law describes a relationship between the variables of a
determined nature phenomenon.
Newton’s second law F=ma

“When a force is applied on an object this object undergoes an

acceleration which is directly proportional to the applied force”
Explanation of a set of observations and
Theory scientific laws of an entire group of related
phenomena of nature.
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, the kinetic theory of matter.
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 1.3. Scientific models
Scientists use simplified representations of nature to study its
changes.

Simplified representation of a physical system that

would be too complicated to analyze in full without the
simplifications.

E.g.: Free fall of an object.

Object: single particle
Conditions: no air resistance, no wind, no earth’s rotation.
Key feature: gravity attraction

E.g.: Atomic models, solar system models …

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 1.4. Science, technology and society
Science, Technology and Society are closely related, they
are interconnected.

New scientific
Science Technology
discoveries

Financial New
investment inventions

Society

A better life
Do activities 15
2. QUANTITIES AND UNITS
2.1. Physical quantities and their units
property of a phenomenon, body or substance
Quantity that can be quantified or measured.
mass, volume, temperature, speed
property of a phenomenon, body or substance
Quality that cannot be quantified or measured.
colour, form...
Measure a compare
compare itit with
with aa chosen
chosen value
value of
of that
that
quantity quantity
quantity to
to express
express its
its value
value with
with aa number.
number.

is a definite magnitude of a particular

Unit
quantity defined by convention.

Result of a includes a number and the chosen

measurement unit for the measurement. 16
 Base Types of Derived
quantities quantities quantities

common to every quantities that

object or phenomenon derive from the
and are assumed to be base quantities
mutually independent. volume, area,
density, speed
International system of units (SI)
Base Quantity Symbol Base Unit Symbol
Length l, x, r, … metre m
Mass m kilogram kg
Time t second s
Intensity of electric current I, i ampere A
Temperature T kelvin K
Amount of substance n mole mol
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Luminous intensity Iv candela cd
Base units can be too large or too small for some
measurements, so the base units may be modified by
attaching prefixes.
Secondary units and prefixes
The size of any secondary unit is defined as a multiple of the
base or derived unit.

The base or derived unit may be multiplied by a power of 10.

The size of the secondary unit is then indicated by attaching

a modifying prefix to the name of the base or derived unit.

These prefixes indicate the power of 10 by which the base or

derived unit has been multiplied.

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Decimal multiples and submultiples of SI units. SI prefixes
Factor Prefix Name Symbol
106 (1 000 000) mega M
103 (1 000) kilo k
102 (100) hecto h
101 (10) deca da
10-1 (0,1) deci d
10-2 (0,01) centi c
10-3 (0,001) mili m
10-6 (0,000 001) micro 

Examples
Decimetre: 1 dm = 0,1 m. Centimetre: 1 cm = 0,01 m.

Hectometre: 1 hm = 100 m.
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Other derived quantities and their units (SI)

Derived quantity SI Unit Symbol Other units

Area (A) Square metre m2
Volume (V) Cubic metre m3 litre (L)
Kilogram per cubic
Density (d, ) kg/m3 g/L or g/cm3
metre
Velocity (v) Metre per second m/s km/h
Metre per square
Acceleration (a) m/s2
second
Force (F) Newton N
mm Hg or
Pressure (P) Pascal Pa
atm
Energy (E) Joule J
Work (W) Joule J
Power (P) Watt W
Electric charge (q, Q) Coulomb C
Electrical resistance (R) Ohm 
Voltaje (V) Volt V
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LENGTH UNITS

× 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10

km hm dam m dm cm mm

÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10

MASS UNITS

× 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10

kg hg dag g dg cg mg

÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10

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AREA UNITS
× 100 × 100 × 100 × 100 × 100 × 100

km2 hm2 dam2 m2 dm2 cm2 mm2

÷ 100 ÷ 100 ÷ 100 ÷ 100 ÷ 100 ÷ 100

VOLUME UNITS

The amount of 3-dimensional space an object occupies.

× 1000 × 1000 × 1000 × 1000 × 1000 × 1000

km3 hm3 dam3 m3 dm3 cm3 mm3

÷ 1000 ÷ 1000 ÷ 1000 ÷ 1000 ÷ 1000 ÷ 1000

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CAPACITY UNITS
× 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10

kL hL daL L dL cL mL

÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10 ÷ 10

CAPACITY AND VOLUME CONVERSION

capacity
× 1000 × 1000

m3 dm3 cm3
÷ 1000 ÷ 1000

kL hL daL L dL cL mL
10 10 10 10 10 10

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TIME UNITS
Name Value (SI Units) Name Symbol Value (SI Units)
second hour h 1 h = 60 min = 3.600 s
minute 1 min = 60 s day d 1 d = 24 h = 86.400 s

× 24 × 60 × 60

day hour minute second time

÷ 24 ÷ 60 ÷ 60

Do activities 24
 2.2. Unit conversions
Conversion factor: A ratio of units which expresses a
quantity expressed in some unit or units divided by its
equal expressed in some different unit or units.

The unit conversion method

1. Write the quantity you want to change its unit. 2000 mL

2. Write the equality between the old unit and the

1L = 1000 mL
new unit. Remember the table of prefixes.

3. Write the conversion factor with the two units  1L 

2000 mL    
properly combined to give the desired final unit.  1000 mL 

4. Multiply the quantity by the conversion factor,  1L 

2000 mL      2 L
cancel the old units and express the final result.  1000 mL 
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Example

It also be used to convert units of derived quantities

which are composed of two different units. In this
case, you must use a conversion factor for each unit.

Example

km  1000 m   1 h  m
120        33 ,33
h  1 km   3600 s  s
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2.3. Scientific notation
It is a way of writing very large and very small numbers
in standard decimal notation, based on powers of the
base number 10.
LARGE NUMBERS
coefficient
base
87 600 000 = 8,76  107

To write a number in scientific notation:

a) Find the coefficient: Put the decimal after the first digit
and drop the zeroes.
b) Find the exponent: Count the number of the places from
the decimal to the end of the number.

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 SMALL NUMBERS
To write a number in scientific notation that is less than 1:
a) Find the coefficient: Move the decimal to the right after
the first non-zero digit.
b) Find the exponent: Count the number of the places the
decimal point was moved and the exponent is 10 raised
to the negative of that number.

0,00000087 = 8,7  107

Quantity Scientific notation

Earth-Sun distance: 150 000 000 000 m 1,5  1011 m
Electric charge of the proton: 0,0000000000000000001602 C 1,602  1019 C
Mass of the electron: 0,00000000000000000000000000000091 kg 9,1  1031 kg

Do the activities
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 2.4. Scalar and vector quantities

Scalar quantities: physical quantities that are completely

described by its magnitude, a number and a unit.
E.g.: mass, volume, time …

Vector quantities: physical quantities that are defined by a

magnitude and a direction.
E.g.: velocity, force, …

Vector: Magnitude or modulus and direction

r

A
v B
 2.5. Dimensional equations

Dimension of a quantity: denotes its physical nature.

Base quantities do not depend on others, and their units

are independent.
Derived quantities depend on other quantities.
Their units are expressed in terms of base units.
This is the way to obtain their dimensional equations.

v   L
T
A physical equation must always be dimensionally
consistent, which means that the dimensional equation of
both sides of the physical equation must be the same.
Dimensional analysis: dimensions can be treated as
algebraic quantities (they can be added or subtracted if
they have the same dimensions).

L L L L L L
v  v0  a  t    2 T   
T T T T T T

Do the activities
3. MEASUREMENT AND ERROR

3.1. Measuring instruments

Measuring instrument: device for measuring a physical

quantity.

Measuring range: range of values the instrument measures.

Sensitivity of a measurement instrument: It is the smallest

amount of a quantity that the instrument can detect.

Sensitivity = 0,5 cm

Sensitivity = 0,1 cm

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Precision or reproducibility of a
measurement instrument: It is the
degree to which repeated measurements
of the same quantity under unchanged
conditions show the same results.
0,2 0,3

ACCURACY of a measurement instrument: degree of

closeness of the measurements of a determined quantity to
that quantity’s true value.

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3.2. Measurement
Direct measurement: determination of the value of a quantity
with a measurement instrument (measurement of the mass of
an object with a balance).
Example: measurement of the length of a pencil.

Measurement: L = 17  1 cm (ruler in cm)

Indirect measurement: determination of the value of a

quantity by calculation.
Example: determination of the density of a substance.
•Direct measurement of its mass with the balance.
•Measurement of its volume with a graduated cylinder. m
•Calculation of the density with its equation. d
V 34
3.3. Errors
Error is a comparison between the measured value and
the true value of a measurement.

Systematic or determined errors: errors that produce a

result that differs from the true value by a fixed amount.
They can be identified and corrected.
These errors result from biases introduced by
1. Instrumental bias.
2. Human bias.
3. Method bias.
4. Operative bias.
Random errors: are caused by unknown and unpredictable
changes in the measurement.
These changes may occur in the measuring instruments or in
the environmental conditions.
They cannot be corrected but the can be minimized. 35
 They cannot be corrected but the can be minimized:

1. Making several measurements.

2. Calculating the arithmetic mean.

Example. Several measurements of the mass of an object:

2,350 g, 2,352 g, 2,348 g, 2,350 g.

2 ,350  2 ,352  2 ,348  2 ,350

Arithmetic mean   2 ,350 g
4
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ABSOLUTE ERROR: It is the difference between the
measured value (Vm) and the true or exact value (Vr).
E a = Vm  V r
If Ea > 0  absolute error is positive, error in excess.
If Ea < 0  absolute error is negative: scant measurement.
RELATIVE ERROR: it is computed by dividing the absolute
error by the true value.
It is the error per unit of measured quantity.
Ea Ea
Er  E r (%)  100
Vr Vr
It gives an indication of how good a measurement is
relative to the size of the thing being measured. It indicates
the accuracy of a measurement.
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Do the activities
UNCERTAINTY OR MARGIN OR ERROR OF A
MEASUREMENT: It is the range of values likely to enclose
the true value. It depends on the sensitivity of the
measurement instrument.

L = 17  1 cm (ruler in cm) L = 17,6  0,1 cm (ruler in cm)

RESULT OF ANY PHYSICAL MEASUREMENT

measurement = best estimate ± uncertainty
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SIGNIFICANT FIGURES: digits that carry meaning
contributing to its precision.
 Nonzero integers always count as significant figures.
452  3 2,227  4
 Zeros appearing between two significant digits are
significant.
101,25  5
 Leading zeros (zeros that precede all the nonzero digits)
are not significant.
0,706  3 0,0007080  4
 Trailing zeros (zeroes at the right end of the number) in a
number containing a decimal point are significant.
13,4300  6 5,030  4 35,00  4
40
0,00134300  6 35,0  3
 In scientific notation, all the figures that appear before 10
are significant.
1,430  105  4

 If you perform an arithmetic operation (addition, subtraction,

multiplication or division), the number of significant figures
of the result mustn’t exceed the lowest number of significant
figures of the numbers.
3,5432 + 2,531 = 6,0742  6,074
2,33  2,4 = 5,592  5,6

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 Example

Measurement No. of significant figures Measurement No. of significant figures

0,0005090 dg 4 6 · 108 kg 1
0,0036 g 2 4,07 · 1016 m 3
0,007050 m 4 3,05 hm 3
7,64 cm 3 18,5 s 3
248 m 3 7,35 s 3
64,01 kg 4 0,220 kg 3
0,00003 m 1 42,05 km 4
2,40 · 106 kg 3 0,075 m 2
2.500 mm 4 80,0 s 3

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ROUNDING: It is the process of replacing a number by
another number of approximately the same value but having
fewer digits.
If the digit following the last digit to be retained is:
1. 5 or greater than 5 the last digit should be increased by 1.
2. less than 5 the last digit should be stay the same.
3. It is advisable to round a number only until two decimal
places (Er < 1 %).

Example:  = 3,1415926...
3,141593
3,14159
3,1416
3,142
3,14 44
6. TABLES AND GRAPHS

Tables
The experimental data of the experiment must be ordered in
a table in order to find a relationship between two quantities,
the independent variable and the dependent variable,
indicating at the top of the table each quantity and its unit.

Example: Study of the relationship between the extension of a

spring, x, and the weight of an object suspended from it, F.

45
 Graphs
1.Graphs are done on graph paper. The graph is two-
dimensional: it represents the possible relationship
between two variables.

46
2.The independent variable represented with a horizontal
straight line, from a central point in the graph, called the
origin. This horizontal line is known as the X-axis and
should be labelled with the corresponding quantity what it
measures and its units at the end of the line.

47
3.The dependent variable is represented with a vertical
straight line from the origin. This vertical line is known as
the Y-axis and should be labelled with the corresponding
quantity what it measures and its units at the end of the
line.

48
4.The scale of the axes should be chosen to include all data
points and to allow as much room as possible on both
axes.

49
6.The experimental data must be plotted in the graph with
points corresponding to both coordinates. You mustn’t
draw lines parallel to the axes to determine the plotted
points.

50
7. It is important to add a title to the top of the graph.

Relationship between the extension of a spring, x, and

the weight of an object suspended from it, F.

51
The form of the line that connects the plotted data points
shows the mathematical relationship between the two
variables.
a) A straight line
It is represented as the straight line equation.
It means that the two variables are directly proportional.
m is the slope or
the gradient of the
straight line.
y 2  y1
m
x 2  x1
x: independent variable
y: dependent variable
y0: y value when x = 0
52
Example: Study of the relationship between the extension of a
spring, x, and the weight of an object suspended from it, F.

F and x: are directly proportional.

Equation of the straight line: x = 2  F
53
Hooke’s Law: F = k  x
b) A hyperbola
If the plotted data points do not form a straight line but appear
to form a equilateral hyperbola we can do a change of one
the variables to obtain a graph of a straight line and proceed
as before.
Example: Study of the relationship between the volume of a
gas, V, and its pressure, P.

y=V
1
Change of P for 1/P x = 1/P V C
P
m=C
54
y0 = 0
c) A parabola
If the plotted data points do not form a straight line but appear
to form a parabola we can do a change of one the variables
to obtain a graph of a straight line and proceed as before.
Example: Study of the free fall of an object. Relationship
between height, s, and time, t.
s = 1/2  g  t2
y=s
x = t2
m=C
y0 = 0
Change of t for t2

Do the activities
24-27. 55
6. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
Scientists communicate their results to the rest of the
scientific community by publishing a scientific report
1. To evaluate and validate the published research done.
2. Information in future research projects.
Format has the following headings:
1.A title.
2. An introduction. Problem investigated based on
background information, why this research is carried out
and your hypothesis.
3. The method. Procedure in steps, the materials (chemical
substances, equipment…) and the measuring instruments
with their sensitivit, subheaded.
4. Results. Tables and graphs.
5. Discussion. Relationships of your results, if they agree or
contradict your initial hypothesis and a final conclusion.
6. Bibliography. Citations of articles, books or web pages
consulted.