The International System of Units Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering SI base units, SI prefixes, derived units, and quantitative measurements based on the lecture notes.

Quantitative properties

Properties of a system that can be measured, which must always include a unit.

International System of Units (SI Units)

The revised metric system designed for universal use by scientists, consisting of seven base units.

Meter ($m$)

The SI base unit for measuring length.

Kilogram ($kg$)

The SI base unit for measuring mass.

Second ($s$)

The SI base unit for measuring time.

Ampere ($A$)

The SI base unit for measuring electric current.

Kelvin ($K$)

The SI base unit for measuring temperature.

Mole ($mol$)

The SI base unit for measuring the amount of a substance.

Candela ($cd$)

The SI base unit for measuring luminous intensity.

SI Prefixes

Prefixes added to SI base units to describe very large or very small measurements by powers of 10.

Tera- ($T$)

SI prefix representing a multiplier of $10^{12}$.

Giga- ($G$)

SI prefix representing a multiplier of $10^9$.

Mega- ($M$)

SI prefix representing a multiplier of $10^6$.

Kilo- ($k$)

SI prefix representing a multiplier of $10^3$ or 1000.

Deci- ($d$)

SI prefix representing a multiplier of $10^{-1}$.

Centi- ($c$)

SI prefix representing a multiplier of $10^{-2}$ or 1/100.

Milli- ($m$)

SI prefix representing a multiplier of $10^{-3}$.

Micro- ($\mu$)

SI prefix representing a multiplier of $10^{-6}$.

Nano- ($n$)

SI prefix representing a multiplier of $10^{-9}$.

Pico- ($p$)

SI prefix representing a multiplier of $10^{-12}$.

Femto- ($f$)

SI prefix representing a multiplier of $10^{-15}$.

Atto- ($a$)

SI prefix representing a multiplier of $10^{-18}$.

SI Derived Units

Units formed from the products or powers of one or more SI base units, such as units for area, volume, speed, and acceleration.

Volume

A three-dimensional measurement whose SI derived unit is the cubic meter ($m^3$).

Hertz ($Hz$)

The SI derived unit for frequency, with derivation $s^{-1}$.

Newton ($N$)

The SI derived unit for force, with derivation $kg \cdot m/s^2$.