Introduction and Units

• The goals of this course are:
  • to learn how things work
  • to acquire skills in solving problems
  • to practice self-discipline
• We will use the MKS system of units, based on the meter, kilogram and second.
• Important metric prefixes occur every three orders of magnitude, from one billionth ("nano") to one billion ("giga"). Memorize them.
• Be careful when converting units -- especially when a quantity is squared or cubed.
• Use units to help you in remembering formulae; the units on both sides must be the same.

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