Physics Important Symbols.

Physics Symbols for Some Basic Quantities:

Physical Quantity	Symbol(s)	Symbol Name	Scalar/ Vector	SI Unit
Mass	m	–	scalar	Kilogram (Kg)
Time	t	–	scalar	Seconds (s)
Distance, Length	l, d, r	–	scalar	Meter (m)
Area	A	–	scalar	m2
Volume	V	–	scalar	m3
Density	D	–	scalar	kg/m3
Temperature	T	–	scalar	Kelvin (K)
Frequency	f, v	v = nu	scalar	Hertz (Hz)
Heat	Q	–	vector	Joule (J)
Specific Heat Capacity	c	–	scalar	J kg−1 K−1
Wavelength	λ	lambda	scalar	meter (m)
Angular Displacement	θ	theta	scalar	Radian (rad)
Speed of light & sound	c	–	scalar	m/s
Angular frequency	ω	omega	pseudovector	Radian per second (rad/s)

Physics Symbols in Mechanics:

Physical Quantity

Symbol(s)

Symbol Name

Scalar/ Vector

SI Unit

Velocity

v

–

vector

m/s

Acceleration

a

–

scalar

meters per second squared (m/s2)

Angular acceleration

α

alpha

vector

radian per second squared (rad/s2)

Momentum

p

–

vector

kg m/s

Period

T

–

scalar

S or sec

Force

F

–

vector

Newton (N)

Torque

Τ

tau

vector

Newton meter (N m)

Power

P

–

scalar

Watt (W)

Mechanical Work

W

scalar

Joule (J)

Energy

E

–

scalar

Joule (J)

Pressure

p

–

scalar

Pascal (Pa)

Moment of Inertia

I

–

scalar

kg m2

Angular Momentum

L

–

vector

N m s

Friction

f

–

vector

Newton (N)

Coefficient of Friction

µ

mu

scalar

unitless

Kinetic Energy

K

–

scalar

Joule (J)

Potential Energy

U

–

scalar

Joule (J)

Physics Symbols in Electricity & Magnetism:

Physical Quantity	Symbol(s)	Symbol Name	Scalar/ Vector	SI Unit
Charge	q, Q	–	scalar	Coulomb (C)
Current	I	–	scalar	Ampere (A)
Resistance	R	–	scalar	Ohms (Ω)
Inductance	L	–	scalar	Henry (H)
Capacitance	C	–	scalar	Farad (F)
Electric Potential Difference	V	–	scalar	Volt (V)
Electric Field	E	–	vector	Newton per coulomb (N C-1)
Magnetization	M	–	scalar	Ampere per meter (A/m)
Magnetic Induction	B	–	vector	Tesla or weber per square meter (Wb/m2)
Magnetic Field Strength	H	–	vector	ampere per meter (A/m)
Electric charge density	ρ	rho	scalar	Coulomb per cubic meter (C/m3)