IP Physics Notes (Upper Secondary, Year 3-4): 1) Physical Quantities, Units & Measurements

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29 Sep 2025, 00:00 Z

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Chee Wei Jie·Academic Advisor (Physics)

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Q: What does IP Physics Notes (Upper Secondary, Year 3-4): 1) Physical Quantities, Units & Measurements cover?
A: Base quantities, prefixes, conversion strategies, and lab skills for IP Year 3 measurement questions.

Quick recap -- Every measurement must carry a magnitude, a unit, and an honest statement about precision. Know your SI base units, keep prefixes on autopilot, eliminate zero/parallax errors, and present data with significant figures that match your apparatus.

Keep your practice loop tight via our IP Physics tuition hub-it links each topic here to quizzes, diagnostics, and WA-style problem sets.

These notes align with SEAB GCE O-Level Physics (6091) content used in IP programmes (exams from 2026).

Status: SEAB O-Level Physics 6091 syllabus (exams from 2026) checked 2025-11-30 - scope unchanged; remains the reference for these notes.

Base & Derived Quantities

Seven base quantities anchor the SI system. Everything else is built from them.

Base quantity	Symbol	SI unit	Unit symbol
Length	$l$	metre	m
Mass	$m$

Prefix	Symbol	Factor
giga	$\pu{G}$	$10^{9}$
mega	$\pu{M}$	$10^{6}$
kilo	$\pu{k}$	$10^{3}$
centi	$\pu{c}$	$10^{-2}$
milli	$\pu{m}$	$10^{-3}$
micro	$\mu$	$10^{-6}$
nano	$\pu{n}$	$10^{-9}$

IP Physics Notes (Upper Secondary, Year 3-4): 1) Physical Quantities, Units & Measurements

Base & Derived Quantities

Prefixes & Scientific Notation

Precision, Accuracy & Error Types

Significant Figures & Decimal Places

Converting Units Systematically

Measuring Length & Time Reliably

Recording, Processing & Presenting Data

Precautions & Improvements

Practice Quiz

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