An Essay

SI Units

The Importance of

Using SI Units

Daksheena Jeyasingam

Tingkatan I Biru

Importance of Using SI Units

Quantities form the basis for science and engineering and for everyday use in our lives. Unless quantities are expressed in numbers and units, they do not mean anything. Therefore, quantities are defined only when they are expressed in numbers and units.

Every field of science involves taking measurements, understanding them, and communicating them to others. In other words, we all have to speak the same basic language. Whether one is a chemist, a physicist, a biologist, an engineer, or even a medical doctor, one needs a consistent way of communicating size, mass, shape, temperature, time, amount, energy, power, and speed.

Missing units and improper use of units are serious omissions and errors.

The international system of units (Systeme International d'Units) was adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measure in 1960, and the SI units are widely used today. All SI units are based on these basic units.

Seven Basic Quantities and Units

Quantity | Unit | Symbol |

Length | Meter | m |

Mass | Kilogram | kg |

Time | Second | s |

Electric current | Ampere | A |

Temperature | Kelvin | K |

Luminous intensity | Candela | cd |

Amount of substance | Mole | mol |

In essence, the International System of units is very important because it helps the whole world understand the measurements in only one set of units, which, has the same value anywhere in the world.

Advantages of Using SI Units

The advantage of using SI units include the following :

1. An internationally accepted standard; it stands for system international. There are only three countries in the world that do not officially use this system, i.e. Liberia, Myanmar and the United States.

2. It is a precise form of measurement.

3. The SI units give an international platform for discussion about any physical quantity, as these units are...