Fizzics Fizzle: Beginner: Standard Units

Before we begin, we have to talk about standard units since they will be used in our discussions.

So you want to lose thirty grams? Just run thirty meters everyday in thirty seconds and in perhaps thirty days you will lose the thirty grams. You know exactly what I am talking about, even if it's not true, right? It would be different if I said you can lose thirty foolargs if you just run thirty mortags in a mere thirty tristargs! What's a foolarg, a mortag, and a tristarg!?

That is why we have standard units. Almost everyone understands what you mean if you say 1 meter or 1 gram. They actually have all of these measurements stored in a place called the Internation Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris, France. A kilogram is actually a cylinder of platinum-iridium (a type of metal alloy) and a second is defined in terms of the time it takes for a certain number of vibrations of light to be emitted from cesium-133, also certain type of metal (the number of vibrations is about 9.2 billion if you really want to know). The metal and the chemistry are used for EXACT values of a meter and a kilogram.

Now what are the standard units? Scientists like to speak the same language and they think everyone should use one system, the metric system (also called the SI system). Why the metric system? Because it is simple to understand and easy to make conversions. A kilometer is 1000 meters. A kilogram is 1000 grams. The "English System" is still used in the United States today, however it is too complicated for almost everyone's tastes. Do you even know how many feet are in a mile? 5280 feet are in a mile. Which is easier to remember? 1000 meters in a kilometer or 5280 feet in a mile? For a full list of SI units and conversion factors see Reference: SI Units and Conversion Factors.

Created by TQ Team 16600:

Clyde Law, Chetan Taralekar, Jim Wang

E-mail us!

Team Coaches:

Melanie Krieger, Chhaya Taralekar