11/12/2017 PhysicsLAB: Metric Units of Measurement

Resource Lesson
Metric Units of Measurement

Given in the table below are the fundamental units of measure for the Systeme Internationale - or the MKS
metric system. Also shown is a second popular collection of units is called the CGS system.

SI fundamental units
Quantity Name MKS Unit CGS Unit
length meter m cm
mass kilogram kg g
time second s s
electric current ampere A
temperature kelvin K
amount of substance mole mol
luminous intensity candela cd

These are the basic units from which all other metric units of measure are derived. For example:

Speed is a derived quantity that expresses how rapidly an object travels a given distance with
respect to time. It is measured in m/sec.

(scalar) quantity: speed

(formula) variable: r
units of measure: m/sec

Presented below are the most common derived units from mechanics. This link will take you to a more
complete summary of the formulas and units of measure used in standard introductory physics courses.

common unit of
name vector/scalar variable relationships
formula measure

length scalar L m 1 m = 100 cm

height scalar h m

area scalar A A=L w m2 1 m2 = (100 cm)2

volume scalar V V=L w h m3 1 m3 = (100 cm)3

mass scalar m or M kg 1 kg = 1000 g

density scalar D D=M/V kg/m3 1 kg/m3 = 10-3 g/cm3
distance scalar d m
displacement vector s m
time scalar t sec
speed scalar r r=d/t m/sec
velocity vector v v=s/t m/sec
momentum vector p p = mv kg m/sec
acceleration vector a a = v /t m/sec/sec m/sec2

gravity vector g g = GME/RE2 m/sec2 9.8 m/sec2

force vector F F = ma

MKS: kg(m/sec2) nt, N (newton)

dyne
CGS: g(cm/sec2)
1 N = 105 dynes
tension vector T nt strings, wires
spring scalar k F = ks nt/m

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11/12/2017 PhysicsLAB: Metric Units of Measurement
constant
impulse vector J J = p = Ft kg m/sec nt sec
pressure vector P P=F/A nt/m2 Pa (Pascal)

work scalar W W = Fs

MKS: kg(m2/sec2) nt m = J (Joule)

erg
CGS: g(cm2/sec2)
1 J = 107 ergs
energy scalar E W = E kg(m2/sec2) nt m = J (Joule)

gravitational potential energy PEg = mgh

elastic potential energy PEe = ks2

kinetic energy KE = mv2

power scalar P P=W/t watt = J / sec

frequency scalar f f = #events / t 1/sec hz (hertz)
period scalar T T=1/f sec
angle scalar or radians 90 = /2 rads
torque vector = FL m nt

temperature scalar T K or C 0 K = -273C

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Catharine H. Colwell
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