SI Units

The International System of Units (SI) is system of units of measurements that is widely used all over the world. This
modern form of the Metric system is based around the number 10 for convenience. A set unit of prefixes have been
established and are known as the SI prefixes or the metric prefixes (or units). The prefixes indicate whether the unit is
a multiple or a fraction of the base ten. It allows the reduction of zeros of a very small number or a very larger
number such as 0.000000001 meter and 7,500,000 Joules into 1 nanometer and 7.5 Megajoules respectively. These
SI prefixes also have a set of symbols that precede unit symbol.
However countries such as the United States, Liberia, and Berma have not officially adopted the International System
of Units as their primary system of measurements. Since the SI Units are nearly globally though, the scientific and
mathematical field will use these SI units in order to provide ease between the sharing data with one another because
of a common set of measurements.

Base Units
The SI contains seven BASE UNITS that each represent a different kind of physical quantity. These are commonly
used as a convention.

PHYSICAL QUANTITY NAME OF UNIT ABBREVIATION

Mass Kilogram kg

Length Meter m

Time Second s

Temperature Kelvin K

Amount of Substance Mole mol

Electric Current Ampere A

Luminous Intensity Candela cd

Derived Units
Derived Units are created by mathematical relationships between other Base Units and are expressed in a
combination of fundamental and base quantities.

DERIVED QUANTITY NAME ABBREVIATION

Area Square Meter m2

Volume Cubic Meter m3

Mass Density Kilogram Per Cubic Meter kg/m3

Specific Volume Cubic Meter Per Kilogram m3/kg

Prefixes
Metric units use a prefix, used for conversion from or to an SI unit. Below is a chart illustrating how prefixes are
labeled in metric measurements.

SYMBOL PREFIX MULTIPLICATION FACTOR

T Tera 1012

G Giga 109

M Mega 106

k Kilo 103
 h Hecto 102

da Deka 101

d Deci 10-1

c Centi 10-2

m Milli 10-3

µ Micro 10-6

n Nano 10-9

p Pico 10-12

Temperature
Temperature is usually measured in Celsius (although the U.S. still uses Fahrenheit), but is often converted to for the
absolute Kelvin scale for many chemistry problems.
For Fahrenheit to Celsius:
9
F= × C + 32
5
For Celsius to Fahrenheit:
5
C= × F − 32
9
For Celsius to Kelvin:

K = C + 273.15

Reference Points:
Melting Point of ice is 0° C = 32° F
Boiling Point of water is 100° C = 212° F
The Kelvin scale does not use the degree symbol (°) and only K, which can only be positive since it is an absolute
scale

Mass
Mass is usually measured by a sensitive balance machine
1 kilograms = 2.205 lbs.
(Remember that 1 kg = 1000 grams)

Length
The U.S. usually makes measurements in inches and feet, but the SI system prefers meters as the unit for length.
1 meter = 3.281 feet.
1 inches = 2.54 centimeters

Volume
SI units commonly uses derived units for Volume such as meters cubed to liters.
1 cm3 (centimeter cubed) = 1 mL (mililiter)
1000 cm3 = 1 L = 1 dm3

Energy
1 calorie = 4.184 Joules
Amount of Substance
1 mole = 6.022 x 1023 molecules/atoms
(Avogadro's number)

Problems
Convert to the appropriate SI Units:
1. 1 Day 4 Hours and 20 Minutes
2. 10.8 Lbs.
3. 58.8 Ft.
4. 10,288 grams
5. 128,968,888 mL
6. 1.4 Degrees Celcius
7. 16.13 Cal
8. 18,888,888 km

Answers
#1-4
#5-8

References
1. Petrucci, Ralph H. General Chemistry. 9th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.
2. Ryamond, Kenneth W. General, Organic, & Biological Chemistry. 2nd Ed. Danvers, MA: John Wiley & Sons Inc.,
2008.

Contributors and Attributions

SI Units is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.