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CAIE
1. Physical quantities and units
1.1 Physical quantities
- understand that all physical quantities consist of a numerical magnitude and a unit
- make reasonable estimates of physical quantities included within the syllabus
1.2 SI units
- recall the following SI base quantities and their units: mass (kg), length (m), time (s), current (A), temperature (K)
- express derived units as products or quotients of the SI base units and use the derived units for quantities listed in this syllabus as appropriate
- use SI base units to check the homogeneity of physical equations
- recall and use the following prefixes and their symbols to indicate decimal submultiples or multiples of both base and derived units: pico (p), nano (n), micro (μ), milli (m), centi (c), deci (d), kilo (k), mega (M), giga (G), tera (T)
1.3 Errors and uncertainties
- understand and explain the effects of systematic errors (including zero errors) and random errors in measurements
- understand the distinction between precision and accuracy
- assess the uncertainty in a derived quantity by simple addition of absolute or percentage uncertainties
1.4 Scalars and vectors
- understand the difference between scalar and vector quantities and give examples of scalar and vector quantities included in the syllabus
- add and subtract coplanar vectors
- represent a vector as two perpendicular components