Appendix C: Units and Conversion Factors

Units of Length, Mass, Energy & Pressure

Table C.1 Units of Length
Unit Equivalent Units
meter (m) = 39.37 inches (in.)

= 1.094 yards (yd)
centimeter (cm) = 0.01 m (exact, definition)
millimeter (mm) = 0.001 m (exact, definition)
kilometer (km) = 1000 m (exact, definition)
angstrom (Å) = 10–8 cm (exact, definition)

= 10–10 m (exact, definition)
yard (yd) = 0.9144 m
inch (in.) = 2.54 cm (exact, definition)
mile (US) = 1.60934 km
Table C.2 Units of Volume
Unit Equivalent Units
liter (L) = 0.001 m3 (exact, definition)

= 1000 cm3 (exact, definition)

= 1.057 (US) quarts
milliliter (mL) = 0.001 L (exact, definition)

= 1 cm3 (exact, definition)
microliter (μL)(μL) = 10–6 L (exact, definition)

= 10–3 cm3 (exact, definition)
liquid quart (US) = 32 (US) liquid ounces (exact, definition)

= 0.25 (US) gallon (exact, definition)

= 0.9463 L
dry quart = 1.1012 L
cubic foot (US) = 28.316 L

 

Table C.3 Units of Mass
Unit Equivalent Units
gram (g) = 0.001 kg (exact, definition)
milligram (mg) = 0.001 g (exact, definition)
kilogram (kg) = 1000 g (exact, definition)

= 2.205 lb
ton (metric) =1000 kg (exact, definition)

= 2204.62 lb
ounce (oz) (avoirdupois) = 28.35 g
pound (lb) (avoirdupois) = 0.4535924 kg
ton (short) =2000 lb (exact, definition)

= 907.185 kg
ton (long) = 2240 lb (exact, definition)

= 1.016 metric ton
Table C.4 Units of Energy
Unit Equivalent Units
4.184 joule (J) = 1 thermochemical calorie (cal)
1 thermochemical calorie (cal) = 4.184 × 107  erg
erg = 10–7 J (exact, definition)
electron-volt (eV) = 1.60218 × 10−19 J = 23.061 kcal mol−1
liter∙atmosphere = 24.217 cal = 101.325 J (exact, definition)
nutritional calorie (Cal) = 1000 cal (exact, definition) = 4184 J
British thermal unit (BTU) = 1054.804 J[1]

 

Table C.5 Units of Pressure
Unit Equivalent Units
torr = 1 mm Hg (exact, definition)
pascal (Pa) = N m–2 (exact, definition)

= kg m–1 s–2 (exact, definition)
atmosphere (atm) = 760 mm Hg (exact, definition)

= 760 torr (exact, definition)

= 101,325 N m–2 (exact, definition)

= 101,325 Pa (exact, definition)
bar = 105 Pa (exact, definition)

= 105 kg m–1 s–2 (exact, definition)

Attribution & References

Except where otherwise noted, this page is adapted from “Appendix C: Units and Conversion Factors” In General Chemistry 1 & 2 by Rice University, a derivative of Chemistry (Open Stax) by Paul Flowers, Klaus Theopold, Richard Langley & William R. Robinson and is licensed under CC BY 4.0. ​Access for free at Chemistry (OpenStax)

  1. BTU is the amount of energy needed to heat one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. Therefore, the exact relationship of BTU to joules and other energy units depends on the temperature at which BTU is measured. 59 °F (15 °C) is the most widely used reference temperature for BTU definition in the United States. At this temperature, the conversion factor is the one provided in this table.

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