INTRODUCTION TO THE S.I.

SYSTEM

1. WHAT IS THE SI SYSTEM? – S.I. are the initial letters for System Internationale or in plain
English the Metric System. It is a system of measurement based on the following seven
base units:

 Metre (m) - unit of LENGTH *SEE NOTE BELOW

 Kilogram (kg) - unit of MASS
 Second (s) - unit of TIME
 Ampere (A) - unit of ELECTRIC CURRENT
 Kelvin (K) - unit of THERMODYNAMIC TEMPERATURE
 Candela (cd) - unit of LUMINOUS INTENSITY
 Mole (mol) - unit of AMOUNT OF SUBSTANCE

From these seven base units numerous other units, known as derived units, are obtained.
For example:

 combining metres with metres *NOTE - words shown in bold

gives the derived unit of AREA. upper case italics are known
i.e. metres x metres = m² as QUANTITIES.

 combining metres with seconds

gives the derived unit of VELOCITY.
i.e. metres ÷ seconds = m/s (or m.s-1)

 combining kilograms with cubic metres

gives the derived unit of DENSITY.
i.e. kilograms ÷ cubic metres = kg/m³ (or kg.m-3)

 combining metres per second with seconds

gives the derived unit of ACCELERATION.
i.e. metres per second per second = m/s² (or m.s-2)

 combining kilograms with metres per second²

gives the derived unit of FORCE.
i.e. kilograms x metres per second² = kg x m/s² = newtons

2. MULTIPLES AND SUB-MULTIPLES OF SI UNITS – there are many occasions when

quantities are too big or too small to measure conveniently in the base or derived units,
resulting in either:

 Lots of noughts (or zeroes) 58 000 metres

 Lots of decimal places 0.000 12 metres

In such situations multiples and sub-multiples are introduced. Therefore:

 The distance from Stockport to Sheffield is approximately 58 000 metres

or more conveniently 58 kilometres (i.e. a multiple of a metre)
 The thickness of this piece of paper is approximately 0.000 12 metres
or more conveniently 0.12 millimetres (i.e. a sub-multiple of a metre)

Both kilo and milli are examples of a prefix and indicate that a multiple and/or sub-multiple
is being used. It is recommended that they are used to keep numerical values of quantities
generally between 0.1 and 1000. Note how the decimal point has moved in the two examples
above. The table on page 2 shows most of the SI unit prefixes.

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 MULTIPLICATION FACTOR PREFIX SYMBOL

1 000 000 000 000 = 1012 TERA T

1 000 000 000 = 109 GIGA G

Use these to
1 000 000 = 106 MEGA M move the
decimal point
1 000 = 103 KILO k this way.

100 = 102 HECTO h

10 = 101 DECA da

......................................................................................................................................................

0.1 = 10-1 DECI d

0.01 = 10-2 CENTI c

Use these to
0.001 = 10-3 MILLI m move the
decimal point
0.000 001 = 10-6 MICRO  this way.

0.000 000 001 = 10-9 NANO n

0.000 000 000 001 = 10-12 PICO p

EXAMPLES - change each of the following to a numerical value between 0.1 and 1000 and
include the appropriate prefix.

1. 72 000 newtons 2. 0.004 newtons 3. 95 000 000 watts

= = =

= = =

4. 0.000 007 watts 5. 0.005 metres 6. 15 650 metres

= = =

= = =

7. 1 348 000 000 newtons 8. 0.000 001 583 958 farads

= =

= =

Or Or

= =

= =

3. CONVERSION OF METRIC UNITS

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GUIDELINES (i) Change any multiple/sub-multiple back into base or derived unit form.
(ii) Change LARGE to SMALL by multiplying by a power of 10.
(iii) Change SMALL to LARGE by dividing by a power of 10.

EXAMPLE 9 – convert 8 m2 into mm2

EXAMPLE 10 – convert 80 000 m2 into km2

EXAMPLE 11 – convert 70 MN into kN

EXAMPLE 12 – convert 70 MN/m2 into kN/mm2

EXAMPLE 13 – convert 105 Ns/mm2 into kNh/m2

EXAMPLE 14 - convert 0.05 m/s into mm/min

EXAMPLE 15 - convert 50 mg/cm3 into g/mm3

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4. TYPES OF STANDARD AND DEFINITIONS OF S.I. BASE UNITS

 Primary Standards – primary standards for measurements are given in the official definitions of
units, such as the definitions of the seven S.I. base units given below. Any measuring process,
or instrument, must be reliably related to the appropriate primary standard(s).

 Secondary Standards – U.K. national standards are based upon the internationally accepted
primary standards, and are set and maintained by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) at
Teddington, England and the National Engineering Laboratory (NEL) at East Kilbride, Scotland.
These national standards are secondary standards and are verified in terms of the primary
standards to the highest order of precision permitted by current technology. Research is
constantly in progress to improve the precision of standard verification.

 Tertiary Standards – measuring standards used by industry (i.e. companies) to establish the
accuracy of in-house measuring processes, or equipment, are tertiary standards. These
standards require to be related to primary standards, via secondary standards, and this task is
performed by the British Calibration Service (BCS) which is operated by the NPL. Company
standards can be submitted to the BCS for calibration against the national standards. The BCS
will issue a calibration certificate stating the difference between the calibrated item and the
primary standard.

 Definitions of Primary Standards (i.e. S.I. Base Units)

(a) Metre – the International Metre was redefined in 1983 as the length of the path travelled by
light, in a vacuum, during 3.33564095 x 10-9 seconds. In the U.K., at the NPL, this can be
reproduced to better than 3 parts in 1011. This is equivalent to measuring the mean
circumference of the earth to the nearest 1 mm.

(b) Kilogram – the International Prototype Kilogram, legalised in 1889, is the primary standard for
mass. It consists of a cylinder of equal diameter and height made from an alloy of 90%
platinum and 10% iridium. Duplicates are held in several countries, including the U.K., which
can be compared with the prototype to better than 1 part in 108.

(c) Second – the second is defined as the duration of, or the time for, 9 192 631 770 periods of
oscillation of the radiation emitted by the Caesium isotope 133Cs under precisely defined
conditions of resonance. It is reproducible within 1 part in 1011.

(d) Ampere – the ampere is defined as that constant current which if maintained in two straight
parallel conductors, of infinite length, of negligible circular cross-sectional area and placed 1
metre apart in a vacuum, would produce a force equal to 2 x 10-7 newtons per metre of length.

(e) Kelvin – the triple point of water, liquid + vapour + solid, and absolute zero, were selected as
the fixed points of the thermodynamic temperature scale. The triple point occurs at 273.15K.
This is equivalent to 0°C. The temperature in degrees kelvin (or kelvin) is equal to the
(temperature in degrees Centigrade + 273.15). e.g. the boiling point of nitrogen is 77 K or
-196.15°C.

(f) Candela – the candela is defined as the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source
that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 x 1012 Hz and has a radiant intensity in
that direction of 1.46413 x 10-3 watts per steradian.

(g) Mole – the mole is defined as the amount of substance of a system which contains as many
elementary “entities” as there are atoms in 0.012 kg of C12, i.e. 6.023 x 1023. The term “entity”
may refer to atoms, molecules, protons etc, and must be specified.