Lesson 7: Basic Units

In this lesson we will discuss the seven basic units of the metric system. These units can be combined with each other to define any quantity mankind knows of so far so as velocity which is meters per second or force which is kilogram meters per second squared. These units are used in almost every field such as chemistry, engineering, physics, and mathematics.

1. The first and most obvious basic unit is length. In the metric system, this unit is the meter.
2. Next is mass. This expresses the amount of acceleration an object acquires when subjected to a given force. The standard unit for this quantity is the kilogram. This is equal to 1000 grams.
3. Temperature expresses how hot or cold something is. In the metric system, the Kelvin is used. These units are equal to the Celius scale minus 273.15 degrees. This is due to the fact that the Kelvin scale is absolute, which means that 0 Kelvin is absolute zero and the object is as cold as it can possibly get which means it has absolutely no thermodynamic energy.
4. Electrical current in the metric system is expressed in amps. These units are typically seen on electrical devices along with a given voltage (which is a compound unit and will be covered later).
5. Luminous intensity is expressed by the candela. These units describe how bright a light source is such as a flashlight or spotlight.
6. The amount of matter in an object is expressed by the mol. This quantity is frequently used in chemistry.
7. Last but not least is time, which is expressed in seconds. I won't go into detail here because everyone has had experience with this unit.

With these units, any quantity imaginable can be described. They are extremely necessary in any field of work. So, think of a few objects and think of what units you would need to describe its parameters with.

For further information check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_units