| Commonly Used Prefixes | ||
| Prefix | Symbol | Meaning |
| giga | G | 109 |
| mega | M | 106 |
| kilo | k | 103 |
| deci | d | 10-1 |
| centi | c | 10-2 |
| milli | m | 10-3 |
| micro | µ (Greek letter mu) | 10-6 |
| nano | n | 10-9 |
| pico | p | 10-12 |
| The Seven Fundamental Units of Measure (SI Units) | ||
| Physical Quantity | Name of Unit | Abbreviation |
| Mass | kilogram | kg |
| Length | meter | m |
| Temperature | Kelvin | K |
| Amount of substance | mole | mol |
| Time | second | s |
| Electric current | ampere | A |
| Luminous intensity | candela | cd |
| Some Derived Quantities | ||||
| Quantity | Definition | Unit | Abbreviation | Basic Units |
| Area | Length times length | -- | -- | m2 |
| Volume | Area times length | -- | -- | m3 |
| Density | Mass per unit volume | -- | -- | kg m-3 (kg/m3) |
| Speed | Distance per unit time | -- | -- | m s-1 (m/s) |
| Acceleration | Change in speed per unit time | -- | -- | m s-2 (m/s2) |
| Force | Mass times acceleration | Newton | N | kg m s-2 |
| Pressure | Force per unit area | Pascal | Pa | kg m-1 s-2 |
| Energy | Force times distance | Joule | J | kg m2 s-2 |