Metric system

Scientists from around the world use one set of units to communicate information. This set of units is known as the International System of Units, or more commonly referred to as the SI system.

There are many SI base units of measurements. For this course, we will concentrate on the 5 base units listed below:

1. For a measurement of MASS, the base unit is kilogram.
2. For a measurment of LENGTH, the base unit is meter.
3. For a measurement of VOLUME^** , the base unit is liter.
4. For a measurement of TIME, the base unit is second.
5. For a measurement of TEMPERATURE, the base unit is Kelvin.

^** The base units of length and volume are connected in the SI system. By definition, a liter is equal to the volume of a cube exactly 10 cm in length, 10 cm width, and 10 cm height. Because the volume of the cube is 1000 cm³ and a liter contains 1000 milliliters, 1 milliliter is equivalent to 1 cm³.

1 mL = 1cm³

The gram was originally defined as the mass of 1 mL of water at 4°C.

Content suitability

BCIT courses: CHEM 0011