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Chemistry 2e · Front matter

Units and Conversion Factors

CC BY 4.0 · OpenStax · approximately 2 min read

Learning objectives

Units of Length
meter (m)= 39.37 inches (in.)
= 1.094 yards (yd)
centimeter (cm)= 0.01 m (exact, definition)
millimeter (mm)= 0.001 m (exact, definition)
kilometer (km)= 1000 m (exact, definition)
angstrom (Å)= 10–8 cm (exact, definition)
= 10–10 m (exact, definition)
yard (yd)= 0.9144 m
inch (in.)= 2.54 cm (exact, definition)
mile (US)= 1.60934 km
Units of Volume
liter (L)= 0.001 m3 (exact, definition)
= 1000 cm3 (exact, definition)
= 1.057 (US) quarts
milliliter (mL)= 0.001 L (exact, definition)
= 1 cm3 (exact, definition)
microliter (μL)= 10–6 L (exact, definition)
= 10–3 cm3 (exact, definition)
liquid quart (US)= 32 (US) liquid ounces (exact, definition)
= 0.25 (US) gallon (exact, definition)
= 0.9463 L
dry quart= 1.1012 L
cubic foot (US)= 28.316 L
Units of Mass
gram (g) = 0.001 kg (exact, definition)
milligram (mg) = 0.001 g (exact, definition)
kilogram (kg) = 1000 g (exact, definition)
= 2.205 lbStrictly speaking, the ounce and pound are units of weight, W (a force equal to the product of mass and gravitational acceleration, W = mg). The conversion relations in this table are commonly used to equate masses and weight assuming a nominal value for g at the surface of the earth.
ton (metric) =1000 kg (exact, definition)
= 2204.62 lb
ounce (oz) = 28.35 g
pound (lb) = 0.4535924 kg
ton (short) =2000 lb (exact, definition)
= 907.185 kg
ton (long) = 2240 lb (exact, definition)
= 1.016 metric ton
Units of Energy
4.184 joule (J) = 1 thermochemical calorie (cal)
1 thermochemical calorie (cal) = 4.184 × 107  erg
erg = 10–7 J (exact, definition)
electron-volt (eV) = 1.60218 × 10−19 J = 23.061 kcal mol−1
liter∙atmosphere = 24.217 cal = 101.325 J (exact, definition)
nutritional calorie (Cal) = 1000 cal (exact, definition) = 4184 J
British thermal unit (BTU) = 1054.804 JBTU is the amount of energy needed to heat one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. Therefore, the exact relationship of BTU to joules and other energy units depends on the temperature at which BTU is measured. 59 °F (15 °C) is the most widely used reference temperature for BTU definition in the United States. At this temperature, the conversion factor is the one provided in this table.
Units of Pressure
torr = 1 mm Hg (exact, definition)
pascal (Pa) = N m–2 (exact, definition)
= kg m–1 s–2 (exact, definition)
atmosphere (atm) = 760 mm Hg (exact, definition)
= 760 torr (exact, definition)
= 101,325 N m–2 (exact, definition)
= 101,325 Pa (exact, definition)
bar = 105 Pa (exact, definition)
= 105 kg m–1 s–2 (exact, definition)
← Essential MathematicsFundamental Physical Constants →

Attribution. Chemistry 2e, OpenStax, Rice University, and the contributing authors credited in the book. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. Source revision 32c719622f of openstax/osbooks-chemistry-bundle (2026-02-04). CC BY 4.0. Original source ↗. Text edition of a pinned CC BY 4.0 source revision of the OpenStax book, converted from CNXML by the EvidenceHelix importer. Original prose, learning objectives, tables, exercises, glossary and captions are preserved; images are not copied (figures link to the original source and keep their credits). No new content was added. Later revisions of this book can carry different licence terms and are not used.

In this chapter Contents

  • Preface
  • The Periodic Table
  • Essential Mathematics
  • Units and Conversion Factors
  • Fundamental Physical Constants
  • Water Properties
  • Composition of Commercial Acids and Bases
  • Standard Thermodynamic Properties for Selected Substances
  • Ionization Constants of Weak Acids
  • Ionization Constants of Weak Bases
  • Solubility Products
  • Formation Constants for Complex Ions
  • Standard Electrode (Half-Cell) Potentials
  • Half-Lives for Several Radioactive Isotopes

Source

OpenStax source file ↗

Illustrated original ↗

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