Examples of conversion of units for some parameters in chemistry
In chemistry, we come across many parameters like mass, volume, temperature, pressure, energy etc. All of them are expressed with their standard units. For example, mass is expressed in kilograms, volume in meter cube and so on, which are SI units. Along with SI units we can use metric units, which are milligrams for mass, milliliters for volume etc. So, in order to convert SI units to C.G.S. units or metric units we need a conversion factor. A conversion factor is a numerical factor, used to multiply or divide aquantity when converting from one system of units to another.
Let us now discuss the parameters, units and their conversion factors.
Powers of ten:
A scientific notation is needed while writing numbers of very large and very small sizes compactly. If the precision is not required this can be done by writing number and multiplied by a power of ten, sometimes written in the form a × 10b.
Consider the number one thousand. Its numeral is "1000". It can be written as 1 × 103. "Powers of 10" is a very useful way of writing down large or small numbers. Instead of having lots of zeros, you show how many powers of 10 you need to make that many zeros.