The word “Physics” has struck terror into the heart of many an individual. After you have gone through and succeeded in this class you will think to yourself, “Why did I even worry about this?”

Two of the most basic ideas that we will have to deal with in Physics are that of Time and Distance. These are the two most fundamental properties of the universe. With respect to Time we can see how things change over that period of time and also how we cannot make time stand still. It is constantly moving forward. This steadily forward movement of time creates a past, present, and future. This can easily been seen in how we mature as we grow. How things change motivates us in trying to understand how nature works. If there is anything constant about nature it is change!

Another important quality of the universe is that it has three dimensions. Length, Height, and Width In order to learn more about the universe and the things which it contains, you need to be able to measure distances, sizes, etc. It is important to note here that these distances can be tremendously large as in the case of the universe or microscopically small, as in the case of atoms. To be able to do this you will need units of length. And these can be quantified into units that are close to the measurement that is needed. For example, your height is measured in feet and inches, whereas the distance from here to Cedar Point is measured in miles There is also the factor of Metric versus English measurement. Units of the Metric system can also be equally represented by increments in the English system, for example 1 meter or 100 cm can be represented by 39 inches or 1 yard 3 inches. But more about that later!

Time There are two ways to think about time. We can look at a particular instant in time. What time is it? This tells us the time relative to the rest of the universe and everyone in it. For example 12:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time Zone, today. Or we can look at a length of time or a time frame. How long did this lecture take? It can be specific, 23 minutes and 45 seconds. Or it can be generalized, “It took an eternity!”

So how is time measured? For most of physical science we measure and record time in seconds. There are many units of time. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, decades, centuries, millennia. Some other units of time may be better suited to what you are measuring. It is up to you to decide which unit of time you want to use. A race may be measured in seconds. Your age is measured in years.

So how do all of these units of time interact with one another? We can use these units together, or by themselves. All we need to do is to know how they are related. What are the conversions for these units of time? 60 seconds in 1 minute 60 minutes in 1 hour 24 hours in 1 day 7 days in 1 week 52 weeks in 1 year 10 years in 1 decade 10 decades in 1 century 10 centuries in 1 millennia

We should be able to calculate the number of different units for each individual time frame. For example, You’ll need to be able to tell me how many seconds there are in; 1 year 2.5 years 3.78 years How are you going to do that? You are going to have to be able to covert into different units and end up with the needed unit for the final response.

Let’s try these and see how they are done! 1 Year equals how many seconds? How many days in a year? 365 How many hours in a day? 24 How many minutes in an hour? 60 How many seconds in a minute? 365 days x 24 hours x 60 min. x 60 sec. 1 year 1 day 1 hour 1min. Equals 31,536,000 seconds!

Here’s an easy way to remember how to do this! Always start with the known unit, and take that number and place it over the number “1.” From that point start setting the problem up so that the known unit is being cancelled out by a relationship that uses that unit and move to the next one in the order needed. For example, 47 days = ? Weeks 47days X 1 week 1 7days

What did you get for the answers for the other two examples that I gave you? 2.5 years equals how many seconds? 78,840,000 3.78 years equals how many seconds? 119,206,080

The most important thing that all of you can remember is this fact! No matter what, “Time Marches On!” Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) - World Time GMT is also called “Zulu” Time! REMEMBER THAT! World Clock