EMH150S
Measurements, Unit Conversion and Numbers
Measurements are taken so as to ascertain the parameters (size, weight, etc) of
physical quantities as well as systems efficiencies.
Units are ascribed to measurements so as to forestall ambiguity. Conversion of units
is necessary since measurement of a given quantity can be given in different units.
Basic Quantities
Physical
Quantities
Derived Quantities
Basic Quantities
Physical SI Unit SI Unit Other Units
Quantity (Name) (Symbol)
Length Metre m mm, cm, km, mile, foot, etc
Mass Kilogram kg g, tonne (metric), etc
Time Second s min., hr, days, weeks, etc
SI is an acronym for International System of units.
Derived Quantities
Physical SI Unit SI Unit Other Units
Quantity (Name) (Symbol)
Area Square m2 cm2, km2, square miles, square
meters inches (in2), etc
Volume Cubic m3 litres (l), mm3, cm3, ml, l, Pints,
meters quarts, gills
Weight Newton N pounds/pound force, etc
Pressure Pascal Pa bars, atmosphere, psi (pounds
per square inch) lbf/in2
Force Newton N
Speed/Velocity Metres per m/s or ms-1 km/h, mph (miles per hour), etc
second
Acceleration metres per (m/s2 or m.s-2)
second
square
Energy Joule J
Power Watt W Horse power (hp)
Torque Newton- Nm
Meter
2
Some Conversions
Length
1 cm = 10 mm
1m = 100 cm = 102 cm
1m = 1000 mm = 103 mm
1 km = 1000 m = 103 m
1 km = 1000000 mm = 106 mm
Area
1 m2 = 1 m x 1 m = (100 cm) x 100 cm = 10000 cm2 = 104 cm2
OR
1 m2 = (1 m)2 = (100 cm)2 = 1002 x cm2 = 104 cm2
Volume
1 m3 = (1 m)3 = (1000 mm)3 = (1000)3 x mm3 = (103)3 x mm3 = 109 mm3
1 m3 = (1 m)3 = (100 cm)3 = (100)3 x cm3 = (102)3 x cm3 = 106 mm3
1 litre (l) = 1000 cm3
Mass
1 kg = 1000 g
1 tonne (t) = 1000 kg
Time
1 min. = 60 s
1 hr. = 60 min.
1 hr = 60 x 1min. = 60 x 60 s = 3600 s
1 day = 24 hours.
Exercise 1
1. Convert 20 cm2 to m2 (0.002 m2)
2. If the speed of light is obtained to be 300000 km/s and given that 1 mile = 1610 m
what will the speed be in mph (miles per hour)?
3. Do the following conversions:
(a) 12 m/s to km/h (b) 25 mm3 to m3 (c) 12 g to kg
Decimal Places
The quantity of number(s) or the number of digit(s) after the decimal comma is known
as the decimal place(s).
Example: 345,4 (1 decimal place)
345,46 (2 decimal places)
345,468 (3 decimal places)
3
Rounding Off of Numbers and Significant Digits
Some of the numbers we come across are usually ridiculously and contain far too
many figures. We need to be able to round off where necessary and also to know
which numbers in a numerical value are significant (i.e. have meaning) without
loosing the essential value of the number.
Rounding-Off of Numbers
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
50 0 50 1
Exercise 2
Round off the following numbers to 2 decimal places
(a) 675,4322 (b) 5643,9876 (c) 98,0253
Significant Digit (sd) is a measure of the degree of accuracy of any quantity.
0,3159 mm (most accurate)
0,315 mm
0,31 mm
0,3 mm (least accurate)
Note:
1. Zeros that precede a decimal comma is NOT significant if the zero is not
preceded by a counting number
2. Zeros that follow a decimal comma is NOT significant if the decimal comma is not
preceded by a counting number
3. Zeros that follow a decimal comma is significant if the decimal comma is
preceded by a counting number
4. Zeros within counting numbers are significant
5. Zeros at the end of a number (trailing zeros) are usually considered insignificant
although in some circumstances they can be taken to be significant. We will
consider trailing zeros not significant
Exercise 3
How many significant digits are these numbers?
1. 0,0254
2. 104,6
3. 250,7
4. 0,80254
5. 3,5000
6. 35000
7. 4500
8. 4,50 x 103
9. 4,5 x 103
4
Scientific and Engineering Notations
A more compact way of handling too large or too small numbers is to either express
them in Scientific Notation or Engineering Notation.
Scientific notation is of the form:
A x 10n
Where
A is any number between 1 and 10
n is any real number (1, 2, 3, 4, ……..) which can either be positive (+) or
negative(-). The value of n locates the decimal comma
Exercise 4
Write the following numbers in scientific notation
1. 350000000000 km (3,5 x 1011 km)
2. 360000 N
3. 0.000000019 m (1,9 x 10-8 m)
4. 0.000024 A
NOTE
When decimal comma is shifted to the left hand side, the power of ten is positive (+)
and vice versa.
Engineering notation is of the form:
A x 10n
Where
A is any real number including decimal
n is any real number multiples of 3 (3, 6, 9, 12 ……..) which can either be
positive (+) or negative(-). The value of n locates the decimal comma
Exercise 5
Write the following numbers in scientific notation
1. 350000000000 km (0,35 x 1012 km or 350 x 109 km, etc)
2. 360000 N
3. 0.000000019 m (19 x 10-9 m or 0,019 x 10-6 m, etc)
4. 0.000024 A
Metric Prefixes
Prefixes are usually used to replace the powers of ten which are in multiples of three
(3). By so doing too large or too small numbers can be handled in a much more
compact form.
5
Name Symbol Numerical Value Power of Ten
Exa E 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 1018
1015
Peta P 1 000 000 000 000 000
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
1 100
milli m 1/1 000 10-3
micro 1/1 000 000 10-6
nano n 1/1 000 000 000 10-9
pico p 1/ 1 000 000 000 000 10-12
femto f 1/1 000 000 000 000 000 10-15
atto a 1/1 000 000 000 000 000 000 10-18
Example
0,35 x 106 W = 0, 35 MW (megawatts)
2 x 109 bytes = 2 Gbytes (gigabytes)
Exercise 6
Express the following quantities in Engineering Notation and make use of the
appropriate prefixes.
1. 360000 N
2. 0.000000019 m
3. 0.000024 A
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