Units of Measurement Used in Chemistry

Concept sheet | Chemistry

Quantities and their Symbols

The International System of Units (SI) is an internationally recognized system. It groups together the most commonly used units of measurement to facilitate exchanges in the scientific, technological and educational fields. The table below shows the most commonly used units of measurement in chemistry. Some of the basic units of the international system are shown in blue.

Name of measured quantity Name of unit of measurement Symbol for unit of measurement
Area (A)
Square centimetre
Square metre
Hectare
|cm^2|
|m^2|
|ha|
Specific Heat Capacity (c)
Joule per gram degree Celsius
Kilojoule per kilogram degree Celsius
|J/g \cdot ^\circ C|
|kJ/kg \cdot ^\circ C|
Heat (Q) Joule |J|
Concentration (C)
Gram per litre
Mole per litre
|g/L|
|mol/L|
Distance (d)
Millimetre
Centimetre
Decimetre
Metre
Kilometre
|mm|
|cm|
|dm|
|\color{blue}{m}|
|km|
Energy (E)
Joule
Kilojoule
|J|
|kJ|
Enthalpy (H) Joule |J|
Mass (m)
Milligram
Gram
Kilogram
Ton
|mg|
|g|
|\color{blue}{kg}|
|t|
Molar mass (M) Grams per mole |g/mol|
Density (|\large{\rho}|) Gram per millilitre |g/mL|
Number of moles (n) Mole |\color{blue}{mol}|
Pressure (P)
Pascal
Kilopascal
Atmosphere
Millimetre of mercury
|Pa|
|kPa|
|atm|
|mm\ Hg|
Solubility
Grams per litre
Gram per 100 millilitres
|g/L|
|g/100mL|
Temperature (T)
Degree Celsius
Degree Fahrenheit
Kelvin
|^\circ C|
|^\circ F|
|\color{blue}{K}|
Time (t)
Second
Minute
Hour
|\color{blue}{s}|
|min|
|h|
Speed (v)
Metre per second
Mole per litre second
|m/s|
|mol/L\cdot s|
Volume (V)
Cubic centimetre
Cubic metre
Millilitre
Litre
|cm^3|
|m^3|
|mL|
|L|

 

Find out more!

For other units of measurement, please consult the following page:

The Main Prefixes

The International System of Units (SI) includes certain prefixes for multiples and submultiples of units of measurement. The symbol of the new unit of measurement formed is then made up of two symbols: that of the multiple and that of the unit of measurement.

Prefix Base 10 Symbol
Pico 10-12 = 0.000 000 000 001 p
Nano 10-9 = 0.000 000 001 n
Micro 10-6 = 0.000 001 μ
Milli 10-3 = 0.001 m
Centi 10-2 = 0.01 c
Deci 10-1 = 0.1 d
Unit 100 = 1 _
Deca 101 = 10 da
Hecto 102 = 100 h
Kilo 103 = 1000 k
Mega 106 = 1 000 000 M
Giga 109 = 1 000 000 000 G
Example
  • One kilometre (km) corresponds to 1 000 metres (m). 

  • One centilitre (cL) corresponds to 0.01 litre (L).

  • One metre per second (m/s) is equivalent to 3.6 kilometre per hour (km/h).