English
Karnataka Board PUCPUC Science Class 11

If All the Terms in an Equation Have Same Units, is It Necessary that They Have Same Dimensions? If All the Terms in an Equation Have Same Dimensions, is It Necessary that They Have Same Units?

Advertisements
Advertisements

Question

If all the terms in an equation have same units, is it necessary that they have same dimensions? If all the terms in an equation have same dimensions, is it necessary that they have same units?

Short/Brief Note
Advertisements

Solution

Yes, if all the terms in an equation have the same units, it is necessary that they have the same dimension.

No, if all the terms in an equation have the same dimensions, it is not necessary that they have the same unit. This is because two quantities with different units can have the same dimension, but two quantities with different dimensions cannot have the same unit. For example, angular frequency and frequency have the dimensions `[ T ^- 1 ]`, but the units of angular frequency are rad/s and frequency is Hertz. Another example is energy per unit volume and pressure. Both have the dimensions of  `[ ML ^(-1) T ^(-2)]` but units of pressure is N/m2 and that of energy per unit volume is J/m3

shaalaa.com
  Is there an error in this question or solution?
Chapter 1: Introduction to Physics - Short Answers [Page 9]

APPEARS IN

HC Verma Concepts of Physics Volume 1 and 2 [English]
Chapter 1 Introduction to Physics
Short Answers | Q 4 | Page 9

RELATED QUESTIONS

“Every great physical theory starts as a heresy and ends as a dogma”. Give some examples from the history of science of the validity of this incisive remark


What are the dimensions of the ratio of the volume of a cube of edge a to the volume of a sphere of radius a?


If two quantities have same dimensions, do they represent same physical content?


A physical quantity is measured and the result is expressed as nu where u is the unit used and n is the numerical value. If the result is expressed in various units then 


A unitless quantity


Find the dimensions of
(a) angular speed ω,
(b) angular acceleration α,
(c) torque τ and
(d) moment of interia I.
Some of the equations involving these quantities are \[\omega = \frac{\theta_2 - \theta_1}{t_2 - t_1}, \alpha = \frac{\omega_2 - \omega_1}{t_2 - t_1}, \tau = F . r \text{ and }I = m r^2\].
The symbols have standard meanings.


Find the dimensions of magnetic field B.
The relevant equation are \[F = qE, F = qvB, \text{ and }B = \frac{\mu_0 I}{2 \pi a};\]

where F is force, q is charge, v is speed, I is current, and a is distance.


Find the dimensions of Planck's constant h from the equation E = hv where E is the energy and v is the frequency.


Theory of relativity reveals that mass can be converted into energy. The energy E so obtained is proportional to certain powers of mass m and the speed c of light. Guess a relation among the quantities using the method of dimensions.


Test if the following equation is dimensionally correct:
\[h = \frac{2S cos\theta}{\text{ prg }},\]
where h = height, S = surface tension, ρ = density, I = moment of interia.


Test if the following equation is dimensionally correct:
\[V = \frac{\pi P r^4 t}{8 \eta l}\]

where v = frequency, P = pressure, η = coefficient of viscosity.


Can a vector have zero component along a line and still have nonzero magnitude?


Is the vector sum of the unit vectors  \[\vec{i}\] and \[\vec{i}\] a unit vector? If no, can you multiply this sum by a scalar number to get a unit vector?

 


The resultant of  \[\vec{A} \text { and } \vec{B}\] makes an angle α with  \[\vec{A}\] and β with \[\vec{B}\],


The x-component of the resultant of several vectors
(a) is equal to the sum of the x-components of the vectors of the vectors
(b) may be smaller than the sum of the magnitudes of the vectors
(c) may be greater than the sum of the magnitudes of the vectors
(d) may be equal to the sum of the magnitudes of the vectors.


Let \[\vec{A} \text { and } \vec{B}\] be the two vectors of magnitude 10 unit each. If they are inclined to the X-axis at angle 30° and 60° respectively, find the resultant.


Let A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A1 be a regular hexagon. Write the x-components of the vectors represented by the six sides taken in order. Use the fact the resultant of these six vectors is zero, to prove that
cos 0 + cos π/3 + cos 2π/3 + cos 3π/3 + cos 4π/3 + cos 5π/3 = 0.
Use the known cosine values to verify the result.


Prove that \[\vec{A} . \left( \vec{A} \times \vec{B} \right) = 0\].


If  \[\vec{A} = 2 \vec{i} + 3 \vec{j} + 4 \vec{k} \text { and } \vec{B} = 4 \vec{i} + 3 \vec{j} + 2 \vec{k}\] find \[\vec{A} \times \vec{B}\].


A curve is represented by y = sin x. If x is changed from \[\frac{\pi}{3}\text{ to }\frac{\pi}{3} + \frac{\pi}{100}\] , find approximately the change in y. 


Share
Notifications

Englishहिंदीमराठी


      Forgot password?
Use app×