Units of Measurement


SI (Systeme International) Base Units

Physical
Quantity

Name
of Unit

Abbreviation

Length

meter

m

Mass

kilogram

kg

Time

second

s

Temperature

kelvin

K

Amount of substance

mole

mol

Electric current

ampere

A

Luminous intensity

candela

cd

Prefixes Used in the SI System

Prefix

Symbol

Meaning

Exponential
Notation

exa

E

1,000,000,000,000,000,000

1018

peta

P

1,000,000,000,000,000

1015

tera

T

1,000,000,000,000

1012

giga

G

1,000,000,000

109

mega

M

1,000,000

106

kilo

k

1,000

103

hecto

h

100

102

deka

da

10

101

1

100

deci

d

0.1

10-1

centi

c

0.01

10-2

milli

m

0.001

10-3

micro

0.000001

10-6

nano

n

0.000000001

10-9

pico

p

0.000000000001

10-12

femto

f

0.000000000000001

10-15

atto

a

0.000000000000000001

10-18


Derived Units

Physical
Quantity

Unit

Symbol

Definition

Volume

liter

l

1000 cm3

Temperature

Celsius

C

K - 273.16

Temperature

Fahrenheit

F

Heat

joule

J

The work performed by a
force of 1 newton acting
through a distance of 1 meter

Pressure

Pascal

Pa

The force of 1 newton acting
on an area of 1 m2

Density

g/cm3

F

The mass of 1 cm3

Here is a diagram which relates the SI Base Units to all of the derived units.