A unit of measurement is a reference measurement used to measure other quantities of the same nature.
There are, for example, units of measurement for length, volume, mass, area, capacity, temperature, etc. For each quantity measured, there are basic units which have been grouped together under the name: The International System of Units (SI).
The SI defines an international convention for the various units of measurement. The table below lists the main units of measurement used in mathematics. The units that are part of the SI are indicated in blue.
|
Measure |
Unit |
Symbol |
|---|---|---|
|
Temperature |
Degrees Celsius |
°C |
|
Time |
Second |
s |
|
Length |
Millimetre |
mm |
|
Area |
Square centimetre |
cm2 |
|
Volume |
Cubic centimetre |
cm3 |
|
Mass |
Milligram |
mg |
|
Angles |
Radian |
rad |
Conversion is the act of transforming one unit of measurement to another. For example, conversion is useful when changing from metres to centimetres.
It is possible to convert certain units by adding prefixes to the base unit of the SI.
|
Factor by which |
Number |
Prefix Name |
Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|10^{12}| |
1 000 000,000 000 |
tera |
T |
|
|10^9| |
1,000 000 000 |
giga |
G |
|
|10^6| |
1,000 000 |
mega |
M |
|
|10^3| |
1000 |
kilo |
k |
|
|10^2| |
100 |
hecto |
h |
|
|10^1| |
10 |
deca |
da |
|
|10^{-1}| |
0.1 |
deci |
d |
|
|10^{-2}| |
0.01 |
centi |
c |
|
|10^{-3}| |
0.001 |
milli |
m |
|
|10^{-6}| |
0.000 001 |
micro |
μ |
|
|10^{-9}| |
0.000 000 001 |
nano |
n |
|
|10^{-12}| |
0.000 000 000 001 |
pico |
p |
|
|10^{-15}| |
0.000 000 000 000 001 |
femto |
f |
|
|10^{-18}| |
0.000 000 000 000 000 001 |
atto |
a |
Other units of measurement can be converted using particular conversion formulas. For example, this is the case for measuring temperature.