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21.4: Units and Conversion Factors

Last updated

Jul 31, 2019
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- 21.3: Essential Mathematics
- 21.5: Fundamental Physical Constants

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Units of Length
meter (m)	= 39.37 inches (in.) = 1.094 yards (yd)	angstrom (Å)	= 10^–8 cm (exact, definition) = 10^–10 m (exact, definition)
centimeter (cm)	= 0.01 m (exact, definition)	yard (yd)	= 0.9144 m
millimeter (mm)	= 0.001 m (exact, definition)	inch (in.)	= 2.54 cm (exact, definition)
kilometer (km)	= 1000 m (exact, definition)	mile (US)	= 1.60934 km

Units of Volume
liter (L)	= 0.001 m³ (exact, definition) = 1000 cm³ (exact, definition) = 1.057 (US) quarts	liquid quart (US)	= 32 (US) liquid ounces (exact, definition) = 0.25 (US) gallon (exact, definition) = 0.9463 L
milliliter (mL)	= 0.001 L (exact, definition) = 1 cm³ (exact, definition)	dry quart	= 1.1012 L
microliter (μL)	= 10^–6 L (exact, definition) = 10^–3 cm³ (exact, definition)	cubic foot (US)	= 28.316 L

Units of Mass
gram (g)	= 0.001 kg (exact, definition)	ounce (oz) (avoirdupois)	= 28.35 g
milligram (mg)	= 0.001 g (exact, definition)	pound (lb) (avoirdupois)	= 0.4535924 kg
kilogram (kg)	= 1000 g (exact, definition) = 2.205 lb	ton (short)	=2000 lb (exact, definition) = 907.185 kg
ton (metric)	=1000 kg (exact, definition) = 2204.62 lb	ton (long)	= 2240 lb (exact, definition) = 1.016 metric ton

Units of Energy
4.184 joule (J)	= 1 thermochemical calorie (cal)
1 thermochemical calorie (cal)	= 4.184 × 10⁷ erg
erg	= 10^–7 J (exact, definition)
electron-volt (eV)	= 1.60218 × 10⁻¹⁹ J = 23.061 kcal mol⁻¹
liter∙atmosphere	= 24.217 cal = 101.325 J (exact, definition)
nutritional calorie (Cal)	= 1000 cal (exact, definition) = 4184 J
British thermal unit (BTU)	= 1054.804 J¹

Units of Pressure
torr	= 1 mm Hg (exact, definition)
pascal (Pa)	= N m^–2 (exact, definition) = kg m^–1 s^–2 (exact, definition)
atmosphere (atm)	= 760 mm Hg (exact, definition) = 760 torr (exact, definition) = 101,325 N m^–2 (exact, definition) = 101,325 Pa (exact, definition)
bar	= 10⁵ Pa (exact, definition) = 10⁵ kg m^–1 s^–2 (exact, definition)

Footnotes

1 BTU is the amount of energy needed to heat one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. Therefore, the exact relationship of BTU to joules and other energy units depends on the temperature at which BTU is measured. 59 °F (15 °C) is the most widely used reference temperature for BTU definition in the United States. At this temperature, the conversion factor is the one provided in this table.

Footnotes

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