10/22/2013

CHEMICAL PROCESS
PRINCIPLES
LECTURE- 03

UNITS & DIMENSIONS

SYSTEM OF UNITS
TYPES OF MEASUREMENTS

ESTIMATION
Estimation is using your knowledge of something
similar in size or amount to determine the size of the
new object.
o Helps to make a rough
measurement of an
object.
o Usefully when you are in a
hurry and exact numbers
are not required.

PRECISION AND ACCURACY

Precision is a
description of how close
measurements are to
each other.

Accuracy is
comparing your
measurement to the
actual or accepted
value.

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UNITS AND DIMENSIONS

All

measured property has a value and a

unit

dimension is a property that can be

measured, or calculated by multiplying or
dividing other dimensions.

Measurable

units are specific values of

dimensions that have been defined by
convention, custom, or law.

Numerical values of two quantities may be added

or subtracted only if the units are the same

Numerical values and their corresponding units

may always be combined by multiplication or
division

Dimensions are concepts of measurement in

engineering works

The basic dimensions we are familiar with are length, mass,

temperature and time

Other dimensions are called derived dimensions, because

they are
derived from the basic dimensions

The common derived dimensions are force, pressure,

energy,
concentration, etc

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RELATION BETWEEN BASIC AND

DERIVED DIMENSIONS
Density
Volume
Flow Rate

Volume

Time
Area

Mass
Flow
Rate

Mass

Velocity

Length

Force

Acceleration

DIMENSIONS
Dimension

Symbol

Length

[L]

Mass

[M]

time

[T]

force

[F]

electric current

[A]

absolute temperature

[q]

luminous intensity

[/]

UNITS
Units are the means of expressing the dimensions
such as metre(m) for length, kilogram(kg) for mass, degree
Celcius(C) for temperature and second(s) for time.
Derived units are those that can be developed in
terms of fundamental units such as Newton(N) for
force, Pascal(Pa) for pressure, Joules(J) for energy and
Molar(M) for concentration.

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SYSTEMS OF UNITS

SI system
AES (American Engineering System)

16.1 HISTORY OF UNITS - SI UNITS

Le Systeme International dUnites, French for the
International System of Units
Improvements in the definitions of the base units
continue to be made by the General Conference of
Weights and Measures as science dictates

THE SI SYSTEM OF UNITS

Modernized Unit system adopted by the General
Conference, a multi-national organization which
includes the United States
Built on a foundation of seven base units, plus
two supplementary ones
All other SI units are derived from these nine
units

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THE SI SYSTEM OF UNITS

Multiples and sub-multiples are expressed using
a decimal system
Generally, the first letter of a symbol is
capitalized if the name of the symbol is derived
from a persons name, otherwise it is lowercase

COMMON DIMENSIONS AND UNITS (SI)

Dimensions
Length
Mass
Time
Temperature
Force
Molar amount

Units
metre
kilogram
second
Kelvin
Newton
mole

Symbols for units

m
kg
s
K
N
mol
J
W
Kg/m3

Velocity
Acceleration

Joule
Watt
kilogram per cubic
metre
metre per second
metre per second squared

Pressure
Heat Capacity

Pascal
Joule per kilogram Kelvin

Pa
J/kg K

Energy
Power
Density

m/s
m/s2

COMMON DIMENSIONS AND UNITS (AE)

Dimensions
Length

Units
foot

Symbols for units

ft

Mass

pound mass

lbm

Time

second, minute, hour, day

s, min, hr, day

Temperature

degree Rankine or degree

Fharenheit

R or F

Force
Molar amount
Energy
Power
Density
Velocity
Acceleration
Pressure
Heat Capacity

pound force

lbf

pound mole

lb mol

British thermal unit

Btu

horsepower

hp

pound mass per cubic foot

lbm/ft3

feet per second

ft/s

feet per second squared

ft/s2

pound force per square inch

psi

Btu per pound mass per

degree F

Btu/lbm F

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PREFIXES
Defined for the SI system
Used instead of writing extremely large or very
small numbers
All items in a given context should use the same
prefix, for example in a table
Notation in powers of 10 is often used in place of
a prefix

PREFIXES
Prefix Symbol

Numerical Multiplier

Exponential
Multiplier

yotta

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

1024

zetta

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

1021

exa

1,000,000,000,000,000,000

1018

peta

1,000,000,000,000,000

1015

tera

1,000,000,000,000

1012

giga

1,000,000,000

109

mega

1,000,000

106

kilo

1,000

103

hecto

100

102

deca

da

10

101

100

no prefix means:

PREFIXES
Prefix Symbol

Numerical Multiplier

Exponential
Multiplier

100

0.1

101

centi

0.01

102

milli

0.001

103

micro

0.000001

106

nano

0.000000001

109

pico

0.000000000001

1012

femto

0.000000000000001

1015

atto

0.000000000000000001

1018

zepto

0.000000000000000000001

1021

yocto

0.000000000000000000000001

1024

no prefix means:
deci

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BASIC TYPES OF MEASUREMENT

Length: measures distance between objects

Volume:
Mass:

measures the amount of space

something takes up
measures the amount of matter
in an object

Other Types of measurement include:

time
temperature
density
PH

EXAMPLE- 1
convert

6.5 kilometers to meters

Start out on the kilo step.

To get to the meter (basic unit) step, we
need to move three steps to the right.
Move the decimal in 6.5 three steps to
the right
Answer: 6500 m

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EXAMPLE-2
Convert

114.55 cm to km

Start out on the centi step

To get to the kilo step, move five steps to the
left
Move the decimal in 114.55 five steps the left
Answer: 0.0011455 km

BASIC TYPES OF MEASUREMENT

Length: measures distance between objects

Volume: measures the amount of space

something takes up
Mass: measures the amount of matter
in an object
In SI the basic units are:

Length is the meter

Mass is the gram
Volume is the liter (liquid)
Temperature is Celsius

Measurement Types: Length

Length is the distance between two points.
Does not matter if it is width, height, depth, etc.

All are length measurements.

The basic unit of length in the SI System is the

meter.
The meter is about the length of the English yard

(3 feet).
Area is a variation of a length measurement.

Area is length x width.

Expressed in units2 (m2, cm2, mm2 etc.)

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Measurement Type: Mass

Mass is a measurement of the amount of matter in
an object.
Basic unit of mass is the gram. There are

454 grams in one pound.

Weight and mass are related, but NOT the

same.

Weight is the pull of gravity on an object

The greater the mass, the larger the pull of

gravity.

Measurement Type: Volume

Volume is a measurement of the amount of space
something takes up.
The basic unit used for volume is the liter. This

unit is used for the volumes of liquids.

Volumes of solids are figured using this formula:

(L)ength x (W)idth x (H)eight

cm x cm x cm = cm 3
Objects without a definite length, width or

height (a rock for example), can use water

displacement to determine volume.

NOTE: 1 ml = 1 cm3

Measurement Type: Temperature

Temperature is a measure of the kinetic
energy of the atoms in an object.
Temperature is measured with a thermometer

and measured in Celsius or Kelvin.

Celsius ranges from 0 (freezing) to 100 (boiling).
The Kelvin scale begins at absolute zero, or 0 K.

At 0 Kelvin no more heat can be removed from

an object.
To convert to Kelvin you add 273 degrees to

the Celsius reading.

Freezing in Kelvin is 273 K, boiling is 373 K.

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COMMON

CONVERSION FACTORS

1 gallon = 4 quarts
1 mile = 5280 feet
1 ton
= 2000 pounds

1 liter
= 1.057 quarts
1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds

1 meter

= 1.094 yards

1 inch

= 2.54 cm

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