SI units of measurement

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 SI base units of measurement

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 SI base units
Table: The seven SI base units

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Metre (m)
A metre is the length of the path travelled by light in
a vacuum during a time interval of 1 of
a second. 299 792 458

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Metre (m)
Table 5.2: SI multiples for the metre (m)

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Metre (m)

Figure 5.3: The length

of the Nelson Mandela
bridge in Johannesburg
is 284 m

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Kilogram (kg)

A kilogram is equal to the mass of the

international prototype kilogram (IPK).

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Second (s)

A second is the length of time taken for

9 192 631 770 periods of vibration of the
caesium-133 atom to occur.

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Ampere (A)
An ampere is the constant current that produces
an attractive force of 2 × 10–7 newton per metre
of length between two straight, parallel
conductors of infinite length and negligible
circular cross section placed one metre apart in a
vacuum.

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Kelvin (K)
1
A kelvin is of the difference between
273,16
absolute zero and the triple point of water.

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Candela (cd)
A candela is the luminous intensity, in a given
direction, of a source that emits monochromatic
radiation of frequency 540 × 1012 hertz and that
1
has a radiant intensity in that direction of
683
watt per steradian.

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Mole (mol)
A mole is the amount of substance that
contains as many particles as there are atoms
in 0,012 kg (12 g) of the isotope carbon-12.

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Mole (mol)

Aspirin has the formula C9H8O4.

1 mol of aspirin contains:

• 9 mol of carbon atoms.
• 8 mol of hydrogen atoms.
• 4 mol of oxygen atoms.
Figure 5.4: An aspirin
tablet

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Converting SI units
Unit 5.2

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Scientific notation
All numbers are written as follows: a × 10b

Table 5.3: Conversions between decimal and scientific notation

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Common prefixes
Table 5.4: Common prefixes and their meanings

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Common metric conversions
Table 5.5: Some common metric conversions

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Temperature conversion
Table 5.9: Kelvin temperature conversion formulae

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Temperature conversion
Table 5.10: Fahrenheit temperature conversion formulae

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 SI derived units of
measurement
Unit 5.3

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Speed
• Speed is the rate of change in position of an object.
Distance
Speed 
Time
d
v
t
m/s = m.s -1
• Speed is a scalar quantity.
E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Speed

Figure 5.9: A speedometer

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Velocity
• Velocity is the rate of displacement of an object.
displacement
Average velocity =
elapsed time
s
v
t
1
m/s or m.s
• Velocity is a vector quantity.
E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Acceleration
• Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity per unit time.

change in velocity
Average acceleration =
elapsed time
v
a
t
= m.s  2 or m/s 2

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Force
• A force is an influence that changes the motion of a
body or produces motion or stress in a free body.

Force = mass  acceleration

F m a
2 2
1N = 1 kg  m/s = 1 kg.m.s

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Force

• The newton (N) is the SI unit of force.

2 2
1N = 1 kg  m/s = 1 kg.m.s

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Force

Figure 5.10: 1 N is required to accelerate a body with a mass of

1 kg at 1 m/s2

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Weight
• For the pull of gravity, the force equation can be
written as:
W m g
where
m mass of object
g = 9.81 m/s 2

• The weight of an object is the force with which the

earth attracts the object.
E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Weight

Figure 5.11: Weight of an object

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Mass

Mass is the amount of

matter contained in an
object and may be found
by using ordinary scales.

Figure 5.12: Using a scale to

find the mass of an orange

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Work and energy
• Work is done whenever a force moves along
with, or acts all the time on, an object to
displace it.
Work = force  distance
w F s
1J = 1N  m
• The SI unit of work is the joule.
E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Work and energy

Figure 5.13: A force of 1 N moves an object a distance of 1 m

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Torque
• Torque is a turning moment produced by a force.

Torque = force  radius

 F r
  N.m

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Torque
 F r

r 
F
15

60
0, 25 m or 250 cm
Figure 5.14: Calculate distance x

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Resistance
• The resistance of an electrical element is a measure of
its opposition to an electric current.
potential difference
Resistance =
current
V
R
I
V

A

• The ohm (Ω) is the SI unit of electrical resistance.

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Density
• The density of an object is defined as its mass per
unit volume.
mass
Density =
volume
m

V
3
kg/m

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Pressure
• Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction
perpendicular to the surface of an object.
force
Pressure =
area
F
P
A
2
Pa = N/m
• The pascal (Pa) is the SI unit of pressure.
E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Power
• Power is the rate of energy transfer.
energy transferred work done
Power = =
time taken or power time taken
E w
P  or P 
t t
 J / s W

• The watt (W) is the special name given to the

joule per second (J/s).
E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Table 5.11: Summary of terms, unit and their symbols

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Measuring plane and solid angles
There are two units that we use to measure plane
and solid angles:

• Plane angle: radian (rad).

• Solid angle: steradian (sr).

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Radian (rad)

The radian is defined as the plane angle between

the two radii of a circle that are cut off on the
circumference of an arc of length equal to the
radius of that circle.

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Radian (rad)
l
rad  Note:
r
P radians = 180°
where:
1 radian ≈ 57,3°
l  arc length
r  radius of the circle

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Steradian (sr)

The steradian is defined as the solid angle

subtended at the centre of a sphere by an area of
its surface equal to the square of the radius of the
sphere.

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Steradian (sr)

s
sr  2
r
where:
s surface area
r radius of the sphere

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 Other SI derived units
Table 5.12: Examples of derived units

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 1. List the seven SI base units of measurement
• Metre for length.
• Kilogram for mass.
• Second for time.
• Ampere for electric current.
• Kelvin for temperature.
• Candela for luminous intensity.
• Mole for the amount of
substance.

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 2. Copy and complete the table below.
Table 5.12: Examples of derived units
Without SI prefix With SI prefix
a) 2 000 W
b) 5 500 g
c) 15 000 Pa
d) 1 000 000 J
e) 2 500 V

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 3. State the SI units of each of the following quantities:

a) Area

b) Volume

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 4. State whether the following are true or false:

• False a) The prefix M stands for milli.

• False b) The prefix k means multiply by 100.
• False c) To convert mm to cm, you must multiply by 10.
• False d) To convert km to m, divide by 1 000.
• False e) When you convert 100 cm3 to m3, the answer is
1 × 10–2 m3.

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 5. Define the following terms:

a) Density is the object’s mass per unit volume.

b) Potential difference (or voltage) is the difference in

electrical potential between two points in a circuit. It is the
work done to move one unit of charge between two points
in a circuit and is measured in volts (V).

c) Power is the rate of energy transfer.

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
6. The Rathete family are going on holiday to Cape Town. The family
consists of Mr and Mrs Rathete and their two children, Prince and
Beauty. Mr Rathete calculated the distance from his house in
Houghton, Gauteng to Manenberg, CT as 1 800 km.

a) What is this distance in metres? 1 800 000 m

b) Mrs Rathete packs 2 l of mango juice for the long trip. How many
millilitres is 2 l? 2 000 ml
c) Prince estimates the total weight of the entire luggage as 50 kg.
Convert the weight into grams. 50 000 g
d) Beauty pours 500 ml of oil into the engine. How many litres did
Beauty pour into the engine? 0,5 l
E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 7. A force of 20 N is applied at the end of a handle
500 mm in length. The handle is rotated five complete
revolutions. Calculate how much work is done.

Work done = 20 (2 3,14 0,5) 5

= 315 J

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 8. Maria has a body temperature of 101 °F. What is
the temperature equivalent on the Celsius scale?

5
 C ( F  32) 
9
5
(101  32) 
9
5
69 
9
39.3 C
E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 9. Calculate the force required to accelerate a body with
a mass of 750 g at 10 m/s.

Force = mass acceleration

0.75 10

7.5N

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 10. A torque wrench is used as shown in Figure 5.17.
Calculate the force F required to produce 25 N·m of
torque.

Figure 5.17: Using a torque wrench

E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y
 10. A torque wrench is used as shown in Figure 5.17.
Calculate the force F required to produce 25 N·m of
torque.
torque
Force =
distance
25

0, 4

= 62,5 N
E n g i n e e r i n g Te c h n o l o g y