Abbreviations

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The Metric System, Abbreviations, and Conversions for Common Units of Measure

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[ Table of Contents ]
| Rules for Use of Abbreviations | The Metric System |
| Length and Distance | Volume | Liquid Volumes | Mass | Area | Temperature | Pressure |
| Humidity | Concentration | Salinity | pH | Time |
This page presents the most common abbreviations you will use in general biology, especially those for units of measure.

General Rules for Abbreviating Units of Measure

Always abbreviate units when reporting numerical information.
Unless otherwise noted, singular and plural units are abbreviated the same.
Percent is not abbreviated, but is represented by the familiar
When do you abbreviate units vs. spelling out the unit(s) as word(s)? abbreviate units when you are reporting a numerical value:
"The maximum depth achieved by the ROV was 124 m approximately 2.3 km due south of Pt. Lobos."

spell out the unit as a word when using it in a non-numerical context, e.g.,
"All measurements were made in millimeters unless otherwise indicated."

When starting a sentence with a number and unit, both must be spelled out as words (this is something to avoid, if possible), e.g.,
"One thousand six hundred and eighty-seven kilograms of ground beef were randomly sampled and tested for E.coli contaminants between 21 August and 21 November, 1995."

The Metric
3,281
0.621
inches (in) inches feet (ft) inches feet yards (yd) feet miles (mi) English Equivalents
1 mi = 1,760 yd = 5,281 ft; 1 yd = 3 ft = 36 in English Unit multiplied by = Metric Unit inches (in) inches inches feet (ft) yards (yd) yards miles (mi) 25.4
2.54
0.254
30.48
91.44
0.9144
1.609 millimeters centimeters meters centimeters centimeters meters kilometers Top of Page

Units of Mass

Metric Equivalents
1 mt (metric ton) = 1000 kg = 2,205 lb
1 kg = 1000 g = 2.205 lb = 35.2802 oz
1 g = 1000 mg = 10^6 ng = 10^9 pg Metric Unit Multiplied by = English Unit gram (g) 0.035 ounces (oz) kilogram (kg) 2.2 pounds (lb) metric ton (mt) 1.102 ton (t) English Equivalents
1 ton = 2000 lb = 907.2 kg or 0.9072 mt
1 lb = 16 oz = 0.4536 kg = 453.6 g English Unit Multiplied by = Metric Unit ounce (oz) 28 grams (g) pound (lb) 0.4536 kilograms (kg) tons (t) 0.9072 metric tons (mt)
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Units of Volume

Metric Equivalents

1 cm^3 (or cc) = 1000 mm^3 = 0.061 in^3
1 m^3 = 10^6 cm^3 = 61,024 in^3 = 35.31 ft^3 = 1.308 yd^3 Metric Unit Multiplied by = English Unit cubic centimeters (cm^3) 0.061 cubic inches