Appendix: Units and Conversion Factors

Commonly used SI prefixes in chemistry

PrefixBase 10Decimal
NameSymbol  
yotta Y 1024 1000000000000000000000000
zetta Z 1021 1000000000000000000000
tera T 1012 1000000000000
giga G 109 1000000000
mega M 106 1000000
kilo k 103 1000
deca da 101 10
100 1
deci d 10−1 0.1
centi c 10−2 0.01
milli m 10−3 0.001
micro μ 10−6 0.000001
nano n 10−9 0.000000001
pico p 10−12 0.000000000001
femto f 10−15 0.000000000000001

Derived Units and Conversions

Unit Definition
1 mL $\equiv$ 1 cm3
electron-volt (eV) $\equiv$ 1.602 176 634 × 10−19 J
torr $\equiv$ 1 mm Hg
pascal (Pa) $\equiv$ N m–2
$\equiv$ kg m–1 s–2
atmosphere (atm) $\equiv$ 760 mm Hg
$\equiv$ 760 torr
$\equiv$ 101 325 N m–2
$\equiv$ 101 325 Pa
bar $\equiv$ 105 Pa
$\equiv$ 105 kg m–1 s–2
hertz (Hz) $\equiv$ s-1
newton (N) $\equiv$ $kg\cdot m\cdot s^2$
joule (J) $\equiv \quad \frac{kg\cdot m^2}{s^2}$
coulomb (C) $\equiv \quad A\cdot s$
volt (V) $\equiv \quad \frac{kg\cdot m^2}{s^3 \cdot A} \equiv \quad \frac{J}{C}$
volt (V) $\equiv \quad \frac{kg\cdot m^2}{s^3 \cdot A} \equiv \quad \frac{J}{C}$
Note: The symbol $\mathbf{\equiv}$ means “is defined as“. These definitions are exact (can be considered as infinite significant figures, where values are provided).