Dictionary · Standards & Units
Kind of quantity
The aspect common to mutually comparable quantities — length, mass, and energy are kinds; diameter and wavelength are both quantities of the kind length.
Related terms
More from Standards & Units
System of units
A set of base and derived units, with their multiples and submultiples, defined under given rules for a given system of quantities.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.13
Quantity value
A number together with a reference (such as a measurement unit) expressing the magnitude of a quantity — 5.34 m, 0.152 kg, or a value on an agreed scale.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.19
Submultiple of a unit
A unit obtained by dividing a given unit by an integer greater than one — the millimetre from the metre.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.18
Reference measurement standard
A standard designated for the calibration of other standards for quantities of a given kind in an organization or at a location — a laboratory's best standard.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 5.6
System of quantities
A set of quantities together with the non-contradictory equations relating them — the framework a system of units is built on.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.3
Conventional reference scale
A quantity-value scale defined by formal agreement — pH and the practical temperature scales are canonical examples.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 1.29