The SI System

The SI system or the metric system is the official system for weights and measurement. The SI system is a decimal system with all multiples, divisions based on a factor of 10. It is the most commonly used measurement system. Table A provides the base units for the SI system.

Table A: Base Units for SI

Length	Meter (m)
Weight	Gram (g)
Volume	Liter (L or l)

Table B provides the prefixes that represent multiples of fractions of the measurements in Table A.

Table B: Prefixes for SI system

Length Base unit is meter (m)	1 kilometer (km)	= 1000 meters
	1 meter (m)	= 1 meter
	1 centimeter (cm)	= 1 X 10-2 meters
	1 millimeter (mm)	= 1 X 10-3 meters
	1 micrometer (µm)	= 1 X 10-6 meters
Weight Base unit is gram (g)	1 kilogram (kg)	= 1000 grams
	1 gram (g)	= 1 gram
	1 milligram (mg)	= 1 X 10-3 grams
	1 microgram (µmg or mcg)	= 1 X 10-6 grams
	1 nanogram (ng)	= 1 X 10-9 grams
Volume Base unit in liter (l)	1 liter (l)	= 1 liter
	1 deciliter (dl)	= 1 X 10-1 liters
	1 centiliter (cl)	= 1 X 10-2 liters
	1 milliliter (ml)	= 1 X 10-3 liters
	1 microliter (µl)	= 1 X 10-6 liters