Fundamental qualities and their units

Fundamental qualities and their units

Physics is concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy.

Just as any building is made up of building blocks for construction of varied and elaborate constructs, physics is made up of building blocks, called fundamental quantities, to construct other quantities called derived quantities.

Units

Each fundamental unit has its own unit. Units are important in order to localize measurements. Hence 1 gram of sugar in Jamaica is the same anywhere else in the world. The name of the unit also indicates the type of quantity under consideration.

Quantities are represented by a number followed by a unit example 12 g, 34 K, 12 m.

Examples

• Temperature T, Kelvin K

• Mass m, Kilogram kg

• Length l, Metre m

• Time t, Seconds s

• Amount of substance n, Mole mol.

• Luminous intensity I, Canadela cd

• Electrical current I, Ampere A