Unit and Conversion

Chapter 1
Introduction to Engineering
Calculations

What are in this chapter?

Unit and
Conversion
SI and
American
Unit

Dimensio
n Unit

Conversi
on of
Units

Topic outcomes
At the end of Chapter 1, you should:
Identify the units commonly used to express in

SI and British units.

Convert one set of units in a function or
equation into another equivalent set for mass,
length, area, volume, time, energy and force
using conversion factor tables.

Systems of Units

Systems of Units

StandardInternation
al System (SI)

American
Engineering System/

CentimetreGramSec
ond System(CGS)

Systems of Units

Base units - units for the dimensions of mass,

length, time, temperature, electrical current, and
light intensity.
Multiple units- multiple or fractions of base unit.
E.g.: for time can be hours, millisecond, year, etc.
Derived units - units that are obtained in one or two
ways;
a) By multiplying and dividing base units; also
referred to as compound units. Eg.: ft/min
(velocity), cm2(area), kg.m/s2 (force)
b) As defined equivalent of compound unit.
(Newton = 1 kg.m/s2)

Base Units
System/
Dimension

SI

American

CGS

Length

meter, m

foot, ft

centimeter,
cm

Mass

kilogram, kg

Moles

gram-mole,
mole

pound-mass,
lbm
pound mole,
lb-mole

gram-mole,
mole

Time

second, s

second, s

second, s

Temperatur
e

Kelvin, k

Rankine, R

Kelvin, K

gram, g

Multiple SI Units
Prefix

Factor

tera (T)
giga (G)
mega (M)
kilo (k)
centi (c)
milli (m)
micro ()

10 12
10 9
10 6
10 3
10 -2
10 -3
10 -6

nano (n)

10

-9

Derived SI Units
Quantity

Unit

Symbol Equivalent to the Base

Unit

Volume

Liter

0.001 m3 = 1000 cm3

Force

Newton (SI)
Dyne (CGS)

1 kg m s-2
1 g cm s-2

Pressure

Pascal

Pa

1 N m-2

Energy/ Work

Joule
Calorie

J
cal

1 N m = 1 kg m2 s-2
4.184 J = 4.184 kg m2 s-2

Power

Watt

1 J s-1 = 1 kg.m2 s-3

Units and Dimensions

Dimensions are:
Properties that can be measured such as

length, time, mass, temperature.

Properties that can calculated by multiplying or
dividing other dimensions, such as velocity
(length/time), volume, density.
Units are used for expressing the dimensions such
as feet (ft) or meter (m) for length, hours/seconds
(hr/s) for time.

Contain significant amount of information

Conversion of Units
A measured quantity can be expressed in terms of any

units having the appropriate dimension.

To convert a quantity expressed in terms of one unit to
equivalent in terms of another unit, multiply the given
quantity by the conversion factor.
Conversion factor a ratio of equivalent values of a
quantity expressed in different units.
Let say to convert 36 mg to gram
36 mg

1g

1000 mg

0.036 g
0.001 is a
conversion
factor

Dimensional Equation
To convert a quantity with a unit to its

equivalent in term of other units, set up a

dimensional equation:
Write the given quantity and units on left
b) Write the units of conversion factors that
cancel the old unit and replace them with the
desired unit
c) Fill the value of the conversion factors
d) Carry out the arithmetic value
a)

Dimensional Equation
Convert 1 cm/s2 to km/yr2

Dimensional Equation
Convert 8 mm2 to in2?

Dimensional Equation
Convert 4 kg/m3 to lbm/ft3

Dimensional Equation
Nanotechnology is the generic term that refer to the
synthesis and application of such small particles. An
example of a semiconductor is ZnS with a particle
diameter of 1.8nm. Meanwhile, our 5 cent coin has a
diameter of 16mm. How many times 5 cent coin is
bigger than this nano particle?

Exercise
uc

u = fluid velocity
drop
p = pressure
= density
c = constant
What is the unit for constant c?

Force and Weight

Force is proportional to product of
mass and acceleration (i.e. F = m
x a)
Usually defined using derived
units ;
1 Newton (N) = 1 kg m s-2
1 dyne
= 1 g cm s-2
1 Ibf
= 32.174 Ibm ft s-2
Weight of an object is force
exerted on the object by
gravitational attraction of the
earth i.e. force of gravity, g.
gc is used to denote the
conversion factor from
am
natural
1
kg
gc to a derived
force unit
-2 force unit.

s /1N

9.806
6 m s-2
2

Value
Value
of
of g
g

32.17
-2
4 ft s-2

980.6
6 cm
-2
s-2

32.174 lbm ft
s-2 / 1 lbf

Force and Weight Example

Given the density of 2 ft3 water is 62.4
lbm/ft3. At the sea level, the gravitational
acceleration is 32.174 ft/s2. What is the
weight of the water in lbf?

What have you learned?

Introduction to
Engineering
Calculation
Units &
Dimension
s

Conversio
n of Units

Systems
of Units