Physical Quantities
- Page ID
- 31008
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Chemistry is a quantitative science. Amounts of substances and energies must always be expressed in numbers and units (in order to make some sense of what you are talking about). You should also develop a sensation about quantities every time you encounter them; you should be familiar with the name, prefix, and symbol used for various quantities.
However, due to the many different units we use, expression of quantities is rather complicated. We will deal with the number part of quantities on this page, using SI Units.
Words Number Prefix Symbol Exponent ----- --------------------- ------ ------ -of 10-- Quindrillion 1,000,000,000,000,000 e15 Trillion 1,000,000,000,000 Tera- T e12 Billion 1,000,000,000 Giga- G e9 Million 1,000,000 Mega- M e6 Thousand 1,000 Kilo- k e3 Hundred 100 Ten 10 One 1 Tenth 0.1 Deci- d Hundredth 0.01 Centi- c Thousandth 0.001 Milli- m e-3 Millionth 0.000001 Micro- u (mu) e-6 Billionth 0.000000001 Nano- n e-9 Trillionth 0.000000000001 Pico- p e-12 ----- --------------------- ------ ------ -------
By now, you probably realized that every time the number increases by a factor of a thousand, we give a new name, a new prefix, and a new symbol in its expression.
Reading Numbers
After you are familiar with the words associated with these numbers, you should be able to communicate numbers with ease. Consider the following number:
123,456,789,101,234,567
In words, this 18-digit number takes up a few lines:
One hundred twenty three quindrillions, four hundred fifty six trillions, seven hundred eighty nine billions, one hundred and one millions, two hundred and thirty four thousands, five hundred and sixty seven.
If a quantity makes use of this number, the quantity has been measured precisely. Most quantities do not have a precise measurement to warrant so many significant figures. The above number may often be expressed as 123e15 or read as one hundred twenty three quindrillions.
== Basic Quantity == ==== Unit =====
Name Symbol Symbol Name
============= ====== ====== ========
Length l m meter
Mass m kg Kilogram
Time t s Second
Electric current I A Ampere (C/s)
Temperature T K Kelvin
Amount of substance n mol Mole
Luminous intensity Iv cd Candela
============= ====== ====== ========
*The unit ampere, A, is equal to Coulombs per second, (A = C/s).
Contributors and Attributions
Chung (Peter) Chieh (Professor Emeritus, Chemistry @ University of Waterloo)