Units of Measure: What is it, Characteristics and Meaning
Units of Measure
What are Units of Measure:
A unit of measurement is called a conventional reference that is used to measure the physical magnitude of a certain object, substance or phenomenon.
This reference is established by setting by convention a standard quantity, which allows to calculate the dimensions of the matter.
Units of measure allow you to calculate or measure things like length, mass, capacity, area, volume, temperature, time, electrical intensity, or light intensity.
Units of measurement have been used since ancient times. For this reason, they have varied over time, depending not only on human needs but also on the technology available. This implies that there have been, and still exist, various systems of measurement units.
International System of Units
At present, the most widespread of the measurement systems is the so-called International System of Units (SI), based on the metric system.
In the International System of Units, the quantities that are quantified are:
| Magnitudes | Unit of measurement | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| Length | meter | m |
| Mass | kilogram | Kg |
| Time | second | s |
| Temperature | Kelvin | K |
| Electric current intensity | amp | TO |
| Amount of substance | mole | mole |
| Light intensity | candle | CD |
From this list, the International System of Units contemplates a set of derived measurement units . Among them, we can mention the following:
| Derived quantities | unit of measurement | symbol |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | cubic meter / liter | m 2 or L |
| Density | kilogram per cubic meter | kg / m 2 |
| Frequency | Hertz or Hertz | Hz |
| Force | Newton | N |
| Work and energy | July | J |
| Pressure | Pascal | Pa |
| Power | Watt or watt | W |
| Electric charge | Columbio | C |
| Electric potential | Volt | V |
| Electric resistance | Ohm | Ω |
| Absorbed radiation dose | Sievert | Sv |
Units of measurement of length in the SI
| Unit | Symbol | Equivalence |
|---|---|---|
| Kilometer | km | 1000 m |
| Hectometer | hm | 100 m |
| Decameter | dam | 10 m |
| Meter | m | 1 m |
| Decimeter | dm | 0.1 m |
| Centimeter | cm | 0.01 m |
| Millimeter | mm | 0.001 m |
Units of surface measurement in the SI
| Unit | Symbol | Equivalence |
|---|---|---|
| Square kilometer | km 2 | 1 000 000 m 2 |
| Square hectometer | hm 2 | 10 000 m 2 |
| Square decameter | dam 2 | 100 m 2 |
| Square meter | m 2 | 1 m 2 |
| Square decimeter | dm 2 | 0.01 m 2 |
| Square centimeter | cm 2 | 0.0001 m 2 |
| Square millimeter | mm 2 | 0.000001 m 2 |
Units of mass measurement in the SI
| Unit | Symbol | Equivalence |
|---|---|---|
| Kilogram | kg | 1000 g |
| Hectogram | hg | 100 g |
| Decagram | dag | 10 g |
| Gram | g | 1 g |
| Decigram | dg | 0.1 g |
| Centigram | cg | 0.01 g |
| Milligram | mg | 0.001 g |
Units of measurement of capacity in the SI
| Unit | Symbol | Equivalence |
|---|---|---|
| Kiloliter | kl | 1000 l. |
| Hectolitre | hl | 100 l. |
| Decaliter | dal | 10 l. |
| Liter | l | 1 l. |
| Deciliter | dl | 0.1 l. |
| Centiliter | cl | 0.01 l. |
| Milliliter | ml | 0.001 l. |
Units of measurement of volume in the SI
| Unit | Symbol | Equivalence |
|---|---|---|
| Cubic kilometer | km 3 | 1 000 000 000 m 3 |
| Cubic hectameter | hc 3 | 1 000 000 m 3 |
| Cubic decameter | dac 3 | 1 000 m 3 |
| Cubic meter | m 3 | 1 m 3 |
| Cubic decimeter | dc 3 | 0.0001 m 3 |
| Cubic centimeter | cm 3 | 0.000001 m 3 |
| Cubic millimeter | mm 3 | 0.000000001 m 3 |
Anglo-Saxon system of measurement units
To date, the only countries that have not adopted the International System of Units are the United States, Burma and Liberia.
In these countries the so-called Anglo-Saxon model of units is still applied , which applies to the magnitudes of mass, length, surface area and volume.
- Length: in this model the following units of measure are used: mil, inch (in), foot (ft), yard (yd), rod (rd), chain (ch), furlong (fur), mile (mi) and league.
- Area: square foot (sq ft or ft²); square yard (sq yd or yd²); square rod (sq rd or '' rd²); rood; acre (ac); homestead; square mile (sq mi or mi²) and square league.
- Mass: grain (gr), drachma; ounce (oz); pound (lb); stone (st); at sign; short quintal (US ctw); long quintal (UK ctw); short quarter (US qtr); long quarter (UK qtr); short ton (US ton); long ton (UK ton).
- Volume :
- Volume for solids: cubic inch (in³ or cu in); cubic foot (ft³ or cu ft); cubic yard (yd³ or cu yd); acre-foot; cubic mile (mi³ or cu mi).
- Volume for dry: pint (pt); fourth (qt); gallon (gal); peck (pk); bushel (bu).
- Volume for liquids: minim; liquid drachma (fl dr); fluid ounce (fl oz); gill; pint (pt); fourth (qt); gallon (gal) and barrel.
Equivalences between the Anglo-Saxon model and the SI
To better understand the equivalences between both systems, let's follow the following scheme where the most used units are expressed:
- Mass
- 1 ounce ( ounce ) = 28.35 g
- 1 pound ( pound ) = 453.6 g
- 1 stone ( stone ) = 6.35 kg
- Length
- 1 inch ( inch ) = 2.54 cm
- 1 foot ( foot ) = 30.48 cm
- 1 yard ( yard ) = 91.44 cm
- 1 mile ( mile ) = 1,609 km
- Volume
- 1 pint ( pint ) = 473.17 ml
- 1 gallon ( gallon ) = 3.78 l
Units of measurement in computing
Informatics today encompasses all areas of production and social communication. Therefore, it is convenient to know the current measurement units, which apply to all kinds of computing devices such as computers (computers), smartphones and more.
The units of measurement in computing are classified according to three categories: storage, frequency (processor, memory and graphics) and communications (speed in data transfer).
Storage Units of Measure
Units of measurement for computer storage use binary code as a reference.
| Units | Symbol | Equivalence |
|---|---|---|
| Bit | 1 | |
| Byte | b | 8 bits |
| Kilobyte | KB | 1024 bytes |
| Megabyte | MB | 1024 KB |
| Gigabyte | GB | 1024 MB |
| Terabyte | TB | 1024 GB |
| Petabyte | PB | 1024 TB |
| Exabyte | EB | 1024 PB |
| Zetabyte | ZB | 1024 EB |
| Yottabyte | YB | 1024 ZB |
| Brontobyte | BB | 1024 YB |
Computational Frequency Measurement Units
The speed at which data is processed in computing, whether in reference to the processor, graphics or memory, among other elements, is measured in Hertz or Hertz (Hz). Currently, megahertz or megahertz (MHz) and gigahertz or gigahertz (GHz) are used.
Units of measurement of data transfer (computer communication)
Units of measurement in computer communication are expressed in bps , that is, bits per second. The main ones are:
| Units | Symbol | Equivalence |
|---|---|---|
| Kilobit | Kbps | 1,000 bps |
| Megabit | Mbps | 1,000,000 bps or 1,000 Kbps |
| Gigabit | Gbps | 1,000,000,000 bps or 1,000 Mbps |
- Update date: March 11, 2021.
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