Measurement and SI units — KCSE Physics

KCSE Physics · 108 practice questions · 9 syllabus objectives

36 easy36 medium36 hard

What You'll Learn

Key learning outcomes for this topic, aligned to the KNEC KCSE syllabus.

Select the most suitable measuring instrument for a given measurement and read its scale correctly

State the SI base quantities and their units (length – m, mass – kg, time – s, temperature – K, current – A)

Convert between metric prefixes (kilo, centi, milli, micro, nano) and standard SI units

Measure length using a ruler, vernier calliper and micrometer screw gauge and state the precision of each instrument

List the seven SI base quantities and their units with correct symbols

State SI units for derived quantities including speed, force, pressure, energy, power and resistance

Use metric prefixes (nano to giga) and perform unit conversions between SI units

Express numbers in standard form and to a given number of significant figures

Measurement and SI units

Sample Questions

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1
easySHORT ANSWER4 marks

Define the SI unit of the following derived quantities: (a) speed (1 mark) (b) force (1 mark) (c) pressure (1 mark) (d) energy (1 mark)

View Marking Scheme
Part (a) — 1 mark
metre per second (m/s or ms⁻¹) (1 mk)
Part (b) — 1 mark
newton (N) (1 mk)
Part (c) — 1 mark
pascal (Pa or Nm⁻²) (1 mk)
Part (d) — 1 mark
joule (J) (1 mk)
2
easySHORT ANSWER7 marks

Name the seven SI base quantities along with their respective units and symbols. (7 marks)

View Marking Scheme
Part (a) — 7 marks
Length — metre (m) (1 mk)
Mass — kilogram (kg) (1 mk)
Time — second (s) (1 mk)
Electric current — ampere (A) (1 mk)
Thermodynamic temperature — kelvin (K) (1 mk)
Luminous intensity — candela (cd) (1 mk)
Amount of substance — mole (mol) (1 mk)
3
easySHORT ANSWER3 marks

Identify the precision of the following measuring instruments: (a) Ruler (1 mark) (b) Vernier caliper (1 mark) (c) Micrometer screw gauge (1 mark)

View Marking Scheme
Part (a) — 1 mark
0.1 cm (1 mm) (1 mk)
Part (b) — 1 mark
0.01 cm (0.1 mm) (1 mk)
Part (c) — 1 mark
0.001 cm (0.01 mm) (1 mk)
4

List the conversions of the following metric prefixes to their standard SI unit: (a) 5 kilo (k) (1 mark) (b) 10 milli (m) (1 mark) (c) 200 micro (μ) (1 mark) (d) 1 nano (n) (1 mark)

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Why Practise Measurement and SI units?

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