Thanks to visit codestin.com
Credit goes to www.scribd.com

0% found this document useful (0 votes)
50 views5 pages

The Modern Metric System : Si Quick Reference Guide: International System of Units (SI)

Reference Guide

Uploaded by

k.boukhari
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
50 views5 pages

The Modern Metric System : Si Quick Reference Guide: International System of Units (SI)

Reference Guide

Uploaded by

k.boukhari
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

SI QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE:

International System of Units (SI)


The Modern Metric System*

UNITS
The International System of Units (SI) is based on seven base units:

Base Units

Quantity Name Symbol

length metre m
mass kilogram kg
time second s
electric current ampere A
thermodynamic temperature kelvin K
amount of substance mole mol
luminous intensity candela cd

and a number of derived units which are combinations of base units and which may have special names and symbols:

Examples of Derived Units

Quantity Expression Name Symbol

acceleration
angular rad/s2
linear m/s2
angle
plane dimensionless radian rad
solid dimensionless steradian sr
area m2
Celsius temperature K degree Celsius °C
density
heat flux W/m2
mass kg/m3
current A/m2
energy, enthalpy
work, heat N·m joule J
specific J/kg
entropy
heat capacity J/K
specific J/(kg·K)
flow, mass kg/s
flow, volume m3/s
force kg·m/s2 newton N
frequency
periodic 1/s hertz Hz
rotating rev/s
inductance Wb/A henry H
magnetic flux V·s weber Wb
mass flow kg/s
moment of a force N·m
potential, electric W/A volt V
power, radiant flux J/s watt W
pressure, stress N/m2 pascal Pa
resistance, electric V/A ohm Ω
thermal conductivity W/(m·K)
velocity
angular rad/s
linear m/s
viscosity
dynamic (absolute) (µ) Pa·s
kinematic (ν) m2/s
volume m3
volume, specific m3/kg

* For compete information see IEEE/ASTM SI-10.

Copyright by ASTM Int'l (all rights reserved);


SYMBOLS

Symbol Name Quantity Formula


A ampere electric current base unit
Bq becquerel activity (of a radio nuclide) 1/s
C coulomb electric charge A·s
°C degree Celsius temperature interval °C = K
cd candela luminous intensity base unit
F farad electric capacitance C/V
Gy gray absorbed dose J/kg
g gram mass kg/1000
H henry inductance Wb/A
Hz hertz frequency 1/s
ha hectare* area 10 000 m2
J joule energy, work, heat N·m
K kelvin temperature base unit
kg kilogram mass base unit
L litre volume m3/1000
lm lumen luminous flux cd·sr
lx lux illuminance lm/m2
m metre length base unit
mol mole amount of substance base unit
N newton force kg·m/s2
Ω ohm electric resistance V/A
Pa pascal pressure, stress N/m2
rad radian plane angle m/m (dimensionless)
S siemens electric conductance A/V
Sv sievert dose equivalent J/kg
s second time base unit
sr steradian solid angle m2/m2 (dimensionless)
T tesla magnetic flux density Wb/m2
t tonne, metric ton mass 1000 kg; Mg
V volt electric potential W/A
W watt power, radiant flux J/s
Wb weber magnetic flux V·s
* allowed with SI

Use of Symbols Examples: 115 W, not 115W; 0.75 L, not 0.75L


88 °C, not 88°C or 88° C
The correct use of symbols is important because an incorrect
symbol may change the meaning of a quantity. Some SI Exception: No space is left between the numerical value and
symbols are listed in the Symbol table. symbol for degree of plane angle.
SI has no abbreviations—only symbols. Therefore, no peri-
ods follow a symbol except at the end of a sentence. Examples: 73°, not 73 °

Examples: A, not amp; s not sec; SI, not S.I. Note: Symbol for coulomb is C; for degree Celsius it is °C

Symbols appear in lower case unless the unit name has been Do not mix symbols and names in the same expression.
taken from a proper name. In this case the first letter of the
symbol is capitalized. Examples: radians per second or rad/s,
not radians/second; not radians/s
Examples: m, metre; Pa, pascal; W, watt m/s or metres per second,
not metres/second; not metres/s
Exception: L, litre J/kg or joules per kilogram,
not joules/kilogram; not joules/kg
Symbols and prefixes are printed in upright (roman) type
regardless of the type style in surrounding text. Symbol for product—use the raised dot (·)

Example: . . . a distance of 73 km between . . . Examples: N·m; mPa·s; W/(m2·K)

Unit symbols are the same whether singular or plural. Symbol for quotient—use one of the following forms:

Examples: 1 mm, 100 mm; 1 kg, 65 kg Examples: m/s or m⁄s or use the negative exponent

Leave a space between the value and the symbol. Note: Use only one solidus (/) per expression and parenthe-
ses to avoid any ambiguity.

Copyright by ASTM Int'l (all rights reserved);


PREFIXES MJ/kg not kJ/g

Most prefixes indicate orders of magnitude in steps of 1000 Compound prefixes formed by a combination of two or
and provide a convenient way to express large and small more prefixes are not used. Use only one prefix.
numbers and to eliminate nonsignificant digits and leading
zeroes in decimal fractions. Examples: 2 nm not 2 mµm;
6 m3not 6 kL;
Examples: 64 000 watts is the same as 64 kilowatts* 6 mPa not 6 kkPA
0.057 metre is the same as 57 millimetres
16 000 metres is the same as 16 kilometres* Exponential Powers. An exponent attached to a symbol
*except for intended accuracy containing a prefix indicates that the multiple (of the unit with
its prefix) is raised to the power of 10 expressed by the
Prefix Symbol Represents exponent.
yotta Y 1024
zetta Z 1021 Examples: 1 mm3 = (10-3 m)3 = 10-9 m3
exa E 1018 1 ns-1 = (10-9 s)-1 = 109 s-1
peta P 1015
tera T 1012 1 mm2/s = (10-3 m)2/s = 10-6 m2/s
giga G 109
mega M 106
kilo k 103
NUMBERS
hecto h* 102
deka da* 101 International practice separates the digits of large numbers
deci d* 10-1
centi c* 10-2
into groups of three, counting from the decimal to the left and
milli m 10-3 to the right, and inserts a space to separate the groups. In
micro µ 10-6 numbers of four digits, the space is not necessary except for the
nano n 10-9
pico p 10-12
uniformity in tables.
femto f 10-15
atto a 10-18 Examples: 6.358 568; 85 365; 51 845 953; 88 000;
zepto z 10-21
yocto y 10-24 0.246 113 562; 7 258
* allowed
with SI
Small Numbers. When writing a number between one and
minus one, put a zero before the decimal marker.
To realize the full benefit of the prefixes when expressing a
quantity by numerical value, choose a prefix so that the number Note: This applies to large numbers which have an exponent:
lies between 0.1 and 1000. For simplicity, give preference to as -0.1 × 10^6. This rule is given colloquially as “never use a
prefixes representing 1000 raised to an integral power (i.e., naked decimal point.”
mm, µm, km).
Decimal Marker. The recommended decimal marker is a
*Exceptions: In expressing area and volume, the prefixes dot on the line (period). (In some countries, a comma is used
hecto, deka, deci, and centi may be required; as the decimal marker.)
for example, cubic decimetre (L), square
hectometre (hectare), cubic centimetre. Because billion means a million million in most countries
but a thousand million in the United States, avoid using billion
Tables of values of the same quantity. in technical writing.

Comparison of values. DO’S AND DON’TS

For certain quantities in particular applications. For The units in the international system of units are called SI
example, the millimetre is used for linear dimensions in units—not Metric Units and not SI Metric Units.
architectural and engineering drawings even when the values
lie far outside the range of 0.1 mm to 1000 mm; the centimetre Non-SI units include inch-pound units, old metric units and
is usually used for anatomical measurements and clothing many other units. Inch=pound units (IP) refers to sets of units
sizes. which contain inches and pounds. These include so-called
customary units, US customary units, conventional units,
Compound Units. A compound unit is a derived unit imperial units, and English units.
expressed with two or more units. The prefix is attached to a
unit in the numerator. Treat all spelled out names as nouns. Therefore, do not
capitalize the first letter of a unit except at the beginning of a
Examples: V/m not mV/mm sentence or in capitalized material such as a title.

Copyright by ASTM Int'l (all rights reserved);


Example: kiloampere
Examples: watt; pascal; ampere; volt; newton; kelvin Exceptions: hectare; kilohm; megohm
Exception: Always capitalize the first letter of Celsius.
When a derived unit name is formed by multiplication, leave
Do not begin a sentence with a unit symbol—either rear- a space between units that are multiplied.
range the unit names or write the unit name in full.
Examples: newton metre, not newton-metre;
Use plurals for spelled out unit names when required by the volt ampere, not volt-ampere
rules of grammar.
Use the modifier squared or cubed after the unit name.
Examples: metre—metres; henry—henries;
kilogram—kilograms; kelvin—kelvins Example: metre per second squared
Irregular: hertz—hertz; lux—lux; siemens—siemens Exception: For area or volume the modifier may be
placed before the units.
Do not put a space or hyphen between the prefix and unit Example: square millimetre; cubic metre
name.
When derived units are formed by division, use the word
Examples: kilometre not kilo metre or kilo-metre; per, not a solidus (/).
milliwatt not milli watt or milli-watt
Examples: metre per second, not metre/second; watt
When a prefix ends with a vowel and the unit name begins per square metre, not watt/square meter
with a vowel, retain and pronounce both vowels.

SELECTED CONVERSION FACTORS

CAUTION: These conversion values are rounded to three or four significant figures, which is sufficiently accurate for most applications. When making conversions,
remember that a converted value is no more precise than the original value. Round off the final value to the same number of significant figures as those in the
original value. See ANSI SI 10 for additional conversions with more significant figures.

Multiply By To Obtain
acre 0.4047 ha
atmosphere, standard *101.325 kPa
bar *100 kPa
barrel (42 US gal, petroleum) 159 L
Btu, (International Table) 1.055 kJ
Btu/lb·°F (specific heat, CP) 4.184 kJ/(kg·K)
bushel 0.03524 m3
calorie, kilogram (kilocalorie) 4.187 kJ
candle, candlepower *1.0 cd
centipoise, dynamic viscosity, µ *1.00 mPa·s
centistokes, kinematic viscosity, ν *1.00 mm2/s
ft *0.3048 m
ft *304.8 mm
ft/min, fpm *0.00508 m/s
ft/s, fps *0.3048 m/s
ft of water 2.99 kPa
ft2 0.09290 m2
ft2/s, kinematic viscosity, ν 92 900 mm2/s
ft3 28.32 L
ft3 0.02832 m3
ft3/h, cfh 7.866 mL/s
ft3/min, cfm 0.4719 L/s
ft3/s, cfs 28.32 L/s
footcandle 10.76 lx
ft·lbf (torque or moment) 1.36 N·m
ft·lbf (work) 1.36 J
ft·lbf/lb (specific energy) 2.99 J/kg
ft·lbf/min (power) 0.0226 W
gallon, US (*231 in3) 3.785 L
gph 1.05 mL/s
gpm 0.0631 L/s
gpm/ft2 0.6791 L/(s·m2)
gr/gal 17.1 g/m3
horsepower (550 ft·lbf/s) 0.746 kW
inch *25.4 mm
in of mercury (60°F) 3.377 kPa

Copyright by ASTM Int'l (all rights reserved);


Multiply By To Obtain
in of water (60°F) 248.8 Pa
in·lbf (torque or moment) 113 mN·m
in2 645 mm2
in3 (volume) 16.4 mL
in3 (section modulus) 16 400 mm3
in4 (section moment) 416 200 mm4
km/h 0.278 m/s
kWh *3.60 MJ
kip/in2 (ksi) 6.895 MPa
litre *0.001 m3
micron (µm) of mercury (60°F) 133 mPa
mil (0.001 in.) *25.4 mm
mile 1.61 km
mile, nautical 1.85 km
mph 1.61 km/h
mph 0.447 m/s
millibar *0.100 kPa
mm of mercury (60°F) 0.133 kPa
mm of water (60°F) 9.80 Pa
ounce (mass, avoirdupois) 28.35 g
ounce (force of thrust) 0.278 N
ounce (liquid, US) 29.6 mL
ounce (avoirdupois) per gallon 7.49 kg/m3
pint (liquid, US) 473 mL
pound
lbm (mass) 0.4536 kg
lbm (mass) 453.6 g
lbf (force or thrust) 4.45 N
lbm/ft (uniform load) 1.49 kg/m
lbm/(ft·h) (dynamic viscosity, µ) 0.413 mPa·s
lbm/(ft·s) (dynamic viscosity, µ) 1490 mPa·s
lbf·s/ft2 (dynamic viscosity, µ) 47 880 mPa·s
lbm/min 0.00756 kg/s
lbm/h 0.126 g/s
lbf/ft2 47.9 Pa
lbm/ft2 4.88 kg/m2
lbm/ft3 (density, ρ) 16.0 kg/m3
lbm/gallon 120 kg/m3
ppm (by mass) *1.00 mg/kg
psi 6.895 kPa
quad (1015 Btu) 1.06 EJ
quart (liquid, US) 0.946 L
rpm 0.105 rad/s
tablespoon (approx.) 15 mL
teaspoon (approx.) 5 mL
therm (100,000 Btu) 105.5 MJ
ton, short (2000 lb) 0.907 Mg; t (tonne)
yd *0.9144 m
yd2 0.836 m2
yd3 0.7646 m3

* Conversion factor is exact.

Note: In this list the kelvin (K) expresses temperature intervals. The degree Celsius symbol (C) may be used for this purpose as well

Copyright by ASTM Int'l (all rights reserved);

You might also like