ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING I (ENG131)

SECTION 1 QUANTITIES AND APPLICATIONS (A) Conversion of Units

SI SYSTEM OF UNITS
Length Mass Force Temperature Energy Time meter (m) kilogram (kg) Newton (N) Kelvin (K) Joule (J) second (s)

PREFIXES FOR USE WITH SI UNITS (> unit)

Prefix Yotta Zetta Exa Peta Tera Giga Mega kilo hecto deca UNIT Symbol Relationship to Primary Unit Y Z E P T G M k h da UNIT x 1024 or x 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 UNIT x 1021 or x 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 UNIT x 1018 or x 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 UNIT x 1015 or x 1 000 000 000 000 000 UNIT x 1012 or x 1 000 000 000 000 UNIT x 109 or x 1 000 000 000 UNIT x 106 or x 1 000 000 UNIT x 103 or x 1 000 UNIT x 102 or x 100 UNIT x 101 or x 10 UNIT x 100 or x 1

PREFIXES FOR USE WITH SI UNITS (< unit)

Prefix UNIT deci centi milli micro nano pico femto atto zepto yocto d c m n p f a z y Symbol Relationship to Primary Unit UNIT x 100 or x 1 UNIT x 10-1 or x 0.1 UNIT x 10-2 or x 0.01 UNIT x 10-3 or x 0.001 UNIT x 10-6 or x 0.000 001 UNIT x 10-9 or x 0.000 000 001 UNIT x 10-12 or x 0.000 000 000 001 UNIT x 10-15 or x 0.000 000 000 000 001 UNIT x 10-18 or x 0.000 000 000 000 000 001 UNIT x 10-21 or x 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 001 UNIT x 10-24 or x 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001

CONVERSION BETWEEN LEVELS OF POWERS OF 10

Often necessary to convert from one power of 10 to another for calculations or graphical plots You MUST know your prefixes to enable you to determine what multiplying factor required

CONVERSION BETWEEN LINEAR, SQUARE & CUBE

Many calculations require use of linear (m), square (m2) and cubic (m3) units Values often not expressed in these units, ie. conductor cross-sectional area (csa) expressed in mm2 and liquid/metal/gas volume expressed in cm3 or litre Values in formulas should be expressed as m, m2 or m3, therefore conversion required

CONVERSION BETWEEN LINEAR UNITS

Procedure for conversion of linear value from/to standard unit (using length as an example)
x10+12 x10+9 x10+6 x10+3 x10+2 x10+3 x10+6 x10+9 x10+12

pm
x10-12

nm
x10-9

m
x10-6

mm
x10-3

cm
x10-2

km
x10-3

Mm
x10-6

Gm
x10-9

Tm
x10-12

CONVERSION BETWEEN LINEAR UNITS

EXAMPLES
Convert 20 kHz to Megahertz 20 kHz = 20 x 103 Hz Conversion requires a multiplying factor 20 x 103 Hz = ____ x 106 Hz Power of 10 increased by 3, therefore multiplying factor decreased by moving decimal point 3 places to left, ie 020. = 0.02 Result is : 20 kHz = 0.02 MHz

CONVERSION BETWEEN LINEAR UNITS

EXAMPLE 1 Linear units:
Convert 1520 mm to m Multiply by 10-3 or move decimal point 3 places to the left 1520 mm = 1520 x 10-3 m or 1.52 m

CONVERSION BETWEEN SQUARED UNITS

Procedure for conversion of squared value from/to standard unit (using area as an example)
x10+24 x10+18 x10+12 x10+6 x10+4 x10+6 x10+12 x10+18 x10+24

pm2
x10-24

nm2
x10-18

m2
x10-12

mm2
x10-6

cm2
x10-4

m2

km2
x10-6

Mm2
x10-12

Gm2
x10-18

Tm2
x10-24

CONVERSION BETWEEN SQUARED UNITS

EXAMPLE 2 Square units
Convert 1.54 km2 to m2 Multiply by (103)2 or move decimal point 3x2 places to the right 1.54 km2 = 1.54 x 106 m2 or 1540000 m2

CONVERSION BETWEEN CUBIC UNITS

Procedure for conversion of cubic value from/to standard unit (using volume as an example)
x10+36 x10+27 x10+18 x10+9 x10+6 x10+9 x10+18 x10+27 x10+36

pm3
x10-36

nm3
x10-27

m3
x10-18

mm3
x10-9

cm3
x10-6

m3

km3
x10-9

Mm3
x10-18

Gm3
x10-27

Tm3
x10-36

CONVERSION BETWEEN CUBIC UNITS

EXAMPLE 3 Cubic units
Convert 6.4 cm3 to m3 Multiply by (10-2)3 or move decimal point 2x3 places to the left 6.4 cm3 = 6.4 x 10-6 m3 or 0.0000064 cm3