Dimensions, Units, Conversion Factors, and Significant Digits

There are three primary unit systems in use today:

the International System of Units (SI units, from Le Systeme International
dUnites, more commonly simply called metric units)
the English Engineering System of Units (commonly called English units)
the British Gravitational System of Units (BG)

Primary dimensions and units

o In total, there are seven primary dimensions. Primary (sometimes called basic)
dimensions are defined as independent or fundamental dimensions, from which other
dimensions can be obtained.
o In order to assign numbers to these primary dimensions, primary units must be
assigned. These are listed in the table below for the three unit systems:
Primary Dimension Symbol
mass
m (sometimes M)

SI unit
BG unit
kg (kilogram) slug

English unit
lbm (pound-mass)

length

L (sometimes l)

m (meter)

ft (foot)

ft (foot)

time

t (sometimes T)

s (second)

s (second)

s (second)

temperature

T (sometimes )

K (Kelvin)

oR (degree Rankine)

R (Rankine)

electric current

I (sometimes i)

A (ampere)

A (ampere)

A (ampere)

c (candela)

c (candela)

c (candela)

n or N (sometimes ) mol (mole)

mol (mole)

mol (mole)

amount of light
C (sometimes I)
(luminous intensity)
amount of matter
o

All other dimensions can be derived as combinations of these seven primary

dimensions. These are called secondary dimensions, with their
corresponding secondary units. A few examples are given in the table below:
Secondary
Dimension

Symbol

SI unit

BG unit

English unit

force

F (sometimes N (Newton =
f)
kg m/s2)

lbf (poundforce)

lbf (pound-force)

acceleration

m/s2

ft/s2

ft/s2

pressure

p or P

N/m2, i.e. Pa
(Pascal)

lbf/ft2 (psf)

lbf/in2 (psi) (note: 1 ft =

12 in)

energy

E (sometimes J (Joule = N m)
e)

ft lbf (foot
pound)

ft lbf (foot pound)

power

ft lbf/s

ft lbf/s

W (watt = J/s)

Note that there are many other units, both metric and English, in use today. For
example, power is often expressed in units of Btu/hr, Btu/s, cal/s, ergs/s, or
horsepower, in addition to the standard units of watt and ft lbf/s.