Base units are units of distance, time, mass, charge. Units for other quantities, such as Force and energy, are derived from these units (Force is in units of mass x distance/ sec^2 for example; energy is mass x distance^2/sec^2). You won't understand why the units are this way until you understand the underlying physics. Don't worry about it for now.ben-Newton said:I have just started the AS Physics course and we have been doing base units, base quanntities, derived units and drived quantities. This stuff completely baffles me, and cannot find a site which explains this stuff in bog standard english. Please could someone help me.
The fundamental units used in AS Physics are the meter (m) for length, the kilogram (kg) for mass, the second (s) for time, the ampere (A) for electric current, the kelvin (K) for temperature, the mole (mol) for amount of substance, and the candela (cd) for luminous intensity.
To convert between different units in AS Physics, you can use conversion factors or formulas specific to the type of unit being converted. For example, to convert between Celsius and Kelvin temperature units, you can use the formula K = °C + 273.15. It is important to keep track of units and cancel out any units that appear on both sides of the conversion.
Base units are the fundamental units that are used to measure physical quantities, such as length, mass, time, etc. Derived units, on the other hand, are combinations of base units used to measure more complex physical quantities, such as velocity (m/s) or force (kg*m/s^2).
In AS Physics, it is important to always use units in calculations to ensure that the final answer has the correct units. When performing calculations with units, it is necessary to convert all units to the same base units before performing any mathematical operations. It is also important to keep track of significant figures and round the final answer to the appropriate number of significant figures.
Units in AS Physics are essential for accurately measuring and communicating physical quantities. They provide a common language for scientists to communicate and understand measurements. Units also help to ensure that calculations and experiments are performed accurately and consistently, allowing for reliable and reproducible results.