International System of Units

The international system of units is widely accepted across the world, and the base units are meters, kilograms, and seconds. These units are absolute, and their value does not alter based on location.

Prefixes are used to define larger and smaller quantities. Milli, micro, and nano are used to denote smaller quantities, while kilo, mega, and giga are used to denote larger quantities.

However, among the base units, the kilogram is the only base unit defined with a prefix.

A few rules need to be followed while expressing units and prefixes. Firstly, dots are used to differentiate units in composite units.

Secondly, a prefix is avoided in the denominator and is only expressed in the numerator of the composite unit.

Thirdly, the exponential power on a unit with a prefix applies to the prefix and its unit, and finally, the result is represented using a single prefix.

Unlike the metric system, the SI does not use multiples of deca or centi.