<p>The initial <a data-lesson="ideal-gas-laws" data-subject="chemistry" data-tutorial="states-of-matter" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/chemistry/states-of-matter/ideal-gas-laws">units</a> of the metric system, which eventually evolved into the SI system, were established in France during the French Revolution. The original standards for the meter and the kilogram were adopted there in 1799 and eventually by other countries. This lesson introduces four of the SI base units commonly used in chemistry. Other SI units will be introduced in subsequent lessons.</p>
<h2 data-type="title">Length</h2>
<p>The standard unit of <strong>length</strong> in both the SI and original metric systems is the <span data-type="term"><strong>meter</strong> (m)</span>. A meter was originally specified as 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the North Pole to the equator. It is now defined as the distance light in a vacuum travels in 1/299,792,458 of a second. A meter is about 3 inches longer than a yard (<a href="#attachment_96142">see figure below</a>); one meter is about 39.37 inches or 1.094 yards. Longer distances are often reported in kilometers (1 km = 1000 m = 10<sup>3</sup> m), whereas shorter distances can be reported in centimeters (1 cm = 0.01 m = 10<sup>−2</sup> m) or millimeters (1 mm = 0.001 m = 10<sup>−3</sup> m).</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_96142" style="width: 800px"><a href="https://data.ulearngo.com/assets/952da420-c025-4cee-99f6-cbe06cbfeab5"><img alt="lengths" class="size-full wp-image-96142" height="393" src="https://data.ulearngo.com/assets/952da420-c025-4cee-99f6-cbe06cbfeab5" width="800"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The relative lengths of 1 m, 1 yd, 1 cm, and 1 in. are shown (not actual size), as well as comparisons of 2.54 cm and 1 in., and of 1 m and 1.094 yd. Image credit: OpenStax, Chemistry</p></div>
<h2>Mass</h2>
<p>The standard unit of <strong>mass</strong> in the SI system is the <span data-type="term"><strong>kilogram</strong> (kg)</span>. A kilogram was originally defined as the mass of a liter of water (a cube of water with an edge length of exactly 0.1 meter). It is now defined by a certain cylinder of platinum-iridium alloy, which is kept in France (<a href="#attachment_82250">see image below</a>). Any object with the same mass as this cylinder is said to have a mass of 1 kilogram. One kilogram is about 2.2 pounds (lbs). The gram (g) is exactly equal to 1/1000 of the mass of the kilogram (10<sup>−3</sup> kg).</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_82250" style="width: 325px"><a href="https://data.ulearngo.com/assets/f5729dc2-bf29-4637-a7b2-3ef27ea463d9"><img alt="prototype-kilogram" class="size-full wp-image-82250" height="460" src="https://data.ulearngo.com/assets/f5729dc2-bf29-4637-a7b2-3ef27ea463d9" width="325"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">This replica prototype kilogram is housed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Maryland. Image credit: National Institutes of Standards and Technology</p></div>
<h2 data-type="title">Temperature</h2>
<p id="fs-idp3379184">Temperature is an intensive property. The SI unit of temperature is the <strong>kelvin (K)</strong>. The IUPAC convention is to use kelvin (all lowercase) for the word, K (uppercase) for the unit symbol, and neither the word “degree” nor the degree symbol (°).</p>
<p>The degree <strong>Celsius (°C)</strong> is also allowed in the SI system, with both the word “degree” and the degree symbol used for Celsius measurements. Celsius degrees are the same magnitude as those of kelvin, but the two scales place their zeros in different places. Water freezes at 273.15 K (0 °C) and boils at 373.15 K (100 °C) by definition, and normal human body temperature is approximately 310 K (37 °C). The conversion between these two units and the Fahrenheit scale will be discussed later in this chapter.</p>
<h2 data-type="title">Time</h2>
<p id="fs-idm101738864">The SI base unit of time is the <strong>second (s)</strong>. Small and large time intervals can be expressed with the appropriate prefixes; for example, 3 microseconds = 0.000003 s = 3 × 10<sup>−6</sup> and 5 megaseconds = 5,000,000 s = 5 × 10<sup>6</sup> s. Alternatively, hours, days, and years can be used.</p>

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SI Base Units

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SI Base Units

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