THE 12 MOST RELEVANT EXAMPLES OF SCALAR QUANTITIES - MATHS - 2024

The examples of scalars are present in everyday life. They are those physical quantities that are determined only by a real number, which expresses its measurement accompanied by the corresponding units.

On the contrary, a vector quantity is one that, in addition to having a real number and units of measurement, also needs a direction and a sense to be completely determined.

The most common examples of scalar quantities are used on a daily basis by most people. Examples include the time, temperature, mass, and length of an object.

The 12 main examples of scalar quantities

1- Length

The length consists of the dimension of an object considering its extension in a straight line. The unit of measurement used in the International System of Units (SIU) is the meter and is denoted by the letter m.

For example, the length of the ruler in the following image is 30 cm.

2- Mass

In physics, mass is defined as the amount of matter in a body. The most commonly used unit of measure is the kilogram and is denoted by kg.

For example, the mass of a box is 4 kg.

3- Time

One of the most common uses is that of time. It can be measured in seconds, minutes and hours. It is a magnitude that is used to measure the interval in which events occur.

For example, the duration of a soccer game is 90 minutes.

4- Temperature

It is a physical quantity that measures the amount of heat or cold of an object or the environment.

The unit of measurement is degrees Celsius, although other scales such as degrees Fahrenheit or degrees Kelvin are also commonly used.

One of the biggest uses is to know the ambient temperature; the clothing to wear at any given time depends on it.

5- Electric current

This scalar quantity represents the flow of electric charge that passes through a material. This flow is due to the movement of charges inside said material.

The unit of measurement used for electric current is amperes and is denoted by the letter A.

This scalar magnitude can be found on the labels of electrical appliances, where the amount of ampere with which they work is indicated.

6- Light intensity

Luminous intensity is the luminous flux in a certain direction, radiated by a unit of solid angle. The unit of measurement is the candela, denoted by the form cd.

More everyday, the light intensity is what is called brightness. This is present in objects such as a light bulb, a telephone or any object that emits light.

7- Amount of substance

The unit of measurement used to measure the amount of substance is the mole. This is a very important scalar quantity in the field of chemistry.

A mole contains Avogadro's number of particles, and its mass is its atomic or molecular mass in grams.

8- Pressure

Pressure is a scalar physical quantity that measures force in a perpendicular direction per unit area.

The unit of measurement used is the Pascal and is denoted by the syllable Pa or simply by the letter P.

An example is ambient pressure, which is the weight that the mass of air in the atmosphere exerts on things.

9- Energy

Energy is defined as the ability of matter to act chemically or physically. The unit of measure used is joules (joule) and is denoted by the letter J.

10- The volume

Volume is the measure of the three-dimensional space occupied by a body. It is usually measured in cubic meters and is denoted by m³.

For example, a milk container may have the capacity to hold 900 cm³.

11- Frequency

Frequency is the number of times or repetitions of a periodic phenomenon or event, carried out in a given unit of time.

The unit of measurement used for this scalar quantity is hertz or hertz and is denoted by the letters Hz.

For example, a young person may hear sounds that are between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz. When the sound falls outside that band, people cannot perceive it.

12- Density

It is the relationship that exists between the mass of an object and the volume it occupies. Its unit of measurement can be, for example, kilograms per cubic meter "kg / m³".

Two objects of the same shape and size can have different densities. One can be made of lead and the other of cork, the former being denser than the latter.

References

1. Ercilla, SB, & Muñoz, CG (2003). General Physics. Editorial Tebar.
2. Ferrer, JF, & Carrera, MP (1981). Introduction to Physics, Volume 1. Reverte.
3. Advanced teleportation physics. (2014). Edu NaSZ.
4. García Rua, J., & Martínez Sánchez, JM (1997). Elementary basic mathematics. Ministry of Education.
5. Ledanois, J.-M., & Ramos, AL (1996). Magnitudes, Dimensions and Unit Conversions. Equinox.