Chapter 1
Introduction: The Nature of Science and Physics
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The four fundamental units we will use in this text are the meter (for length), the kilogram (for mass), the second (for time), and the ampere (for electric current). All units can be expressed as combinations of four fundamental units Physics is the most basic of the sciences, concerning itself with energy, matter, space and time, and their interactions Scientific laws and theories express the general truths of nature and the body of knowledge they encompass.
Key terms
- physics
- the science concerned with describing the interactions of energy, matter, space, and time; it is especially interested in what fundamental mechanisms underlie every phenomenon
- law
- a description, using concise language or a mathematical formula, a generalized pattern in nature that is supported by scientific evidence and repeated experiments
- fundamental units
- units that can only be expressed relative to the procedure used to measure them
- units
- a standard used for expressing and comparing measurements
- meter
- the SI unit for length, abbreviated (m)
- kilogram
- the SI unit for mass, abbreviated (kg)
- second
- the SI unit for time, abbreviated (s)
- method of adding percents
- the percent uncertainty in a quantity calculated by multiplication or division is the sum of the percent uncertainties in the items used to make the calculation