STUDY GUIDE for students on Lecture 3: Units, Conversion of Units, Dimensions

Here is a comprehensive study guide, including key advice, to help you master the material
from the provided sources (Lecture 2 and part 1 of Chapter 2 of your textbook)

Study Guide: Units, Dimensions, and Data Analysis in Chemical Engineering

Introduction

This study guide is designed to help you prepare for your exam by summarising key
concepts from the provided video transcript and PDF lecture notes. The topics covered are
fundamental to chemical engineering calculations and problem-solving. A strong grasp of
these principles will be essential for your success.

I. Core Concepts: Units and Dimensions

1. What is a Quantity?

o A quantity is a property that can be measured.

o Measured quantities consist of a numerical value and a unit (e.g., 2 meters,

4.29 kilograms).

2. Dimensions vs. Units

o Dimension refers to the property itself (e.g., length, mass, time,

temperature, density).

o Unit is the specific measure in which a dimension is expressed (e.g., meter,

feet, seconds, kilograms).

o All physical quantities can be expressed in terms of four basic

dimensions: mass, length, time, and temperature. For example, velocity
has dimensions of length per time, and density has dimensions of mass per
unit length cubed.

3. Systems of Units

o Different systems define base units for mass, length, and time.

o SI (Système International d’Unités): The widely accepted system in

science/engineering.

 Base Units: Meter (m) for length, Kilogram (kg) for mass, Second (s)
for time, Kelvin (K) for temperature.
  Prefixes are used to indicate powers of ten (e.g., mega (M) for 10^6,
kilo (k) for 10^3, centi (c) for 10^-2, milli (m) for 10^-3, micro (µ) for
10^-6, nano (n) for 10^-9, pico (p) for 10^-12).

o CGS System: Similar to SI, but uses grams (g) for mass and centimeters
(cm) for length as base units.

o American Engineering System (AES): Uses foot (ft) for length, pound-mass
(lbm) for mass, and second (s) for time. A key challenge with AES is the
occurrence of conversion factors not based on multiples of 10.

o Base Units, Multiple Units, and Derived Units:

 Base Units: Fundamental units like meter, kilogram, second.

 Multiple Units: Multiples or fractions of base units (e.g., minutes,

hours, milliseconds).

 Derived Units: Obtained by multiplying or dividing base or multiple

units (e.g., cm², ft/min, kg·m/s²). Examples include area (m²), density
(kg/m³), volume (L, m³), force (Newton, Dyne), pressure (Pascal),
energy (Joule, Erg, gram-calorie), and power (watt).

II. Mastering Unit Conversions

1. The Importance of Conversion Factors

o Conversion factors are ratios that express the equivalence between two
units of the same dimension (e.g., 1 cm / 10 mm).

o They are crucial for converting a quantity expressed in one unit to its
equivalent in another unit.

o Always include units in your calculations to prevent errors like multiplying

instead of dividing.

o Avoid mixing units from different systems before performing

conversions.

2. Common Conversion Factors to Memorise/Understand

o Distance/Length:

 1 foot = 12 inches

 1 yard = 3 feet
  1 inch = 2.54 centimeters

 1 kilometer = 1000 meters

 1 meter = 100 centimeters

 1 mile = 1.609 kilometers

 1 mile = 5280 feet

o Mass/Weight:

 1 kilogram = 1000 grams

 1 kilogram ≈ 2.2 pounds (use 2.204 lbs for more precision)

 1 pound = 16 ounces

 1 ton = 2000 pounds

 1 metric ton = 1000 kilograms

 1 metric ton ≈ 2204 pounds

o Volume/Capacity:

 1 liter = 1000 milliliters

 1 milliliter = 1 cubic centimeter

 1 cubic meter = 1000 liters

 1 gallon = 3.785 liters

 1 gallon = 4 quarts

 1 quart = 2 pints

o Time:

 1 hour = 60 minutes

 1 minute = 60 seconds

 1 day = 24 hours

 1 year ≈ 365 days (or 365.25 days for more specific calculations,
accounting for leap years)

o Metric System Prefixes: Understand the multipliers for prefixes like kilo
(10^3), centi (10^-2), milli (10^-3), micro (10^-6), nano (10^-9), pico (10^-12).
  Rule for writing conversion factors for metric prefixes: Always put a
'1' next to the side with the prefix (e.g., 1 kilometer) and the multiplier
next to the base unit (e.g., 1 x 10^3 meters). For instance, 1 centigram
= 1 x 10^-2 grams.

3. Dimensional Analysis (Unit Conversion Procedure)

o Step 1: Identify the given quantity and the desired unit.

o Step 2: Find appropriate conversion factors that bridge the given unit to the
desired unit. This might involve one or multiple steps.

o Step 3: Set up the calculation as a series of fractions (conversion factors).

 Start with the given quantity over 1.

 Arrange conversion factors so that unwanted units cancel out

diagonally (one in the numerator, one in the denominator).

o Step 4: Perform the arithmetic. Multiply numbers on the top (numerator)

and divide by numbers on the bottom (denominator).

o Step 5: Ensure the final answer has the correct units.

o Important Note for units raised to a power: If a unit is squared or cubed

(e.g., cm² to m²), the entire conversion factor must be raised to that same
power. For example, (1 m / 100 cm)² = 1 m² / 10000 cm².

III. Understanding Force and Weight

1. Newton's Second Law

o Force is proportional to the product of mass and acceleration (length/time²).

o F = ma.

2. Natural and Derived Force Units

o Natural force units: Directly from mass x acceleration (e.g., kg·m/s²,

g·cm/s², lbm·ft/s²).

o Derived force units: Defined to simplify calculations.

 Newton (N) in SI: 1 N = 1 kg·m/s².

 Dyne in CGS: 1 dyne = 1 g·cm/s².

  Pound-force (lbf) in American Engineering: 1 lbf = 32.174 lbm·ft/s²
(based on gravitational acceleration at sea level, 45° latitude).

3. Weight (W)

o Weight is the force exerted on an object by gravitational attraction.

o W = mg, where 'm' is mass and 'g' is gravitational acceleration.

o Gravitational acceleration (g):

 9.8066 m/s² (SI)

 980.66 cm/s² (CGS)

 32.174 ft/s² (American Engineering, at sea level and 45° latitude).

o While mass is a quantity of matter, weight is a force. They can be converted

from one to another using 'g'.

IV. Handling Numbers: Precision and Estimation

1. Scientific Notation

o A convenient way to represent very large or very small numbers, expressed as

a product of a number (usually between 1 and 10) and a power of 10.

o Example: 123,000,000 = 1.23 x 10^8; 0.000028 = 2.8 x 10^-5.

2. Significant Figures

o Significant figures indicate the precision with which a quantity is known.

o Rules for identifying significant figures:

 Count digits from the first non-zero digit on the left to:

 The last digit (zero or non-zero) on the right if there is a decimal

point (e.g., 2300.0 has 5 s.f.).

 The last non-zero digit of the number if there is no decimal

point (e.g., 2300 has 2 s.f.).

 Using scientific notation clearly shows significant figures (e.g., 2.3 x

10^3 has 2 s.f.; 2.300 x 10^3 has 4 s.f.).

o Precise quantities (pure integers, counted items) have an infinite number

of significant figures.
 3. Rules for Arithmetic Operations

o Multiplication and Division: The result should have the lowest number of
significant figures present in any of the numbers used in the calculation.

o Addition and Subtraction: The position of the last significant figure in the
sum or difference is determined by the leftmost position of the last
significant figure among the numbers being added or subtracted.

o Rounding Off: If the digit to be dropped is a '5', round the last digit of the
rounded-off number to be even (e.g., 1.35 rounds to 1.4; 1.25 rounds to 1.2).

o Important: Keep extra significant figures for intermediate calculations and

round off only the final result.

4. Validating Results

o Back-substitution: Substitute your solution back into the original equations

to ensure it works.

o Order-of-magnitude estimation: Make a quick, rough approximation of the

answer (using simple integers and powers of 10) to check if your exact
solution is in a reasonable range.

o Test of reasonableness: Ask if the solution makes sense in a real-world

context (e.g., is a pipe velocity faster than light? Is a reactor temperature
hotter than the sun?).

V. Checking Equations: Dimensional Homogeneity

1. Definition:

o Every valid equation must be dimensionally homogeneous. This means

all additive terms on both sides of the equation must have the same
dimensions.

o Example: In u = u₀ + at, all terms (u, u₀, at) must have dimensions of
length/time (m/s).

2. Applications of Dimensional Homogeneity:

o Validating Equations: An equation that is not dimensionally homogeneous

cannot be valid.

o Determining Units of Constants: If an equation is valid and dimensionally

homogeneous, you can deduce the units of any unknown constants within it.
 o Dimensionless Quantities: Exponents in transcendental functions (e.g.,
exp(X)) and arguments of transcendental functions (e.g., sin(X), log(X)) must
be dimensionless quantities.

VI. Analysing Data: From Raw Numbers to Insights

1. Process Data Representation

o Calibration: The process of determining the relationship between a readily

measured quantity (e.g., voltage from a sensor) and the desired process
variable (e.g., concentration).

2. Two-Point Linear Interpolation

o Used to estimate a value for a variable (Y) for a given value of another
variable (X) that falls between two tabulated data points (X₁, Y₁) and (X₂, Y₂).

o Equation: Y - Y₁ / X - X₁ = Y₂ - Y₁ / X₂ - X₁.

o Can also be used for extrapolation (estimating outside the data range), but
with a much greater risk of inaccuracy.

o Most accurate when data points are close together or the relationship is truly
linear.

3. Fitting Straight Lines to Data

o Linear Relationship (y = ax + b): If a plot of Y versus X on rectangular

coordinates appears as a straight line, this equation can represent the
relationship.

 Slope (a): (Y₂ - Y₁) / (X₂ - X₁).

 Intercept (b): Y₁ - aX₁.

o Linearising Nonlinear Data: Many nonlinear equations can be transformed

into a linear form by plotting functions of the variables (e.g., plot Y vs. X², ln(Y)
vs. X, or ln(Y) vs. ln(X)).

 Exponential Function (Y = ae^(bX)): Plot ln(Y) versus X on

rectangular coordinates (or Y vs X on semilog paper). Slope = b,
intercept = ln(a).

 Power Law Function (Y = aX^b): Plot ln(Y) versus ln(X) on

rectangular coordinates (or Y vs X on log paper). Slope = b, intercept =
ln(a).
 o Logarithmic Coordinates:

 Semilog Plot: One axis is logarithmic, the other is rectangular (linear).

Useful for exponential relationships.

 Log Plot: Both axes are logarithmic. Useful for power law
relationships.

 Important: Plotting values on a logarithmic scale effectively plots the

logarithm of the value on a rectangular scale.

4. Statistical Analysis of Data

o ̄ ): The average of a set of measured values. It is the most

Sample Mean (X
common estimate of the true value of a random variable.

 ̄
Calculated as the sum of all values divided by the number of values: X
= (ΣXj) / N.

o Range (R): The difference between the highest (Xmax) and lowest (Xmin)
values in a data set. It is the crudest measure of scatter. R = Xmax - Xmin.

o Sample Variance (s²x): A better measure of scatter, calculated from the sum
of the squared deviations of each measured value from the sample mean. s²x
̄ )²] / (N-1).
= [Σ(Xj - X

o Sample Standard Deviation (sx): The square root of the sample variance. It
provides a measure of how much data points typically deviate from the
mean. sx = √(s²x).

 For typical random variables, roughly two-thirds of all measured

values fall within one standard deviation of the mean; about 95% fall
within two standard deviations; and about 99% fall within three
standard deviations.

o Statistical Quality Control: Using standard deviations to set control limits

(e.g., rejecting batches that fall more than two or three standard deviations
away from the mean).
Key Advice for Success in Your Exam

1. Master Unit Conversions: This is perhaps the most fundamental skill. Practice,
practice, practice using the dimensional analysis method. Never skip units in your
calculations; they are your best friend for catching errors.

2. Understand, Don't Just Memorise: While some conversion factors and formulas
need to be known, focus on understanding why these methods work. For instance,
grasp the concept of dimensional homogeneity rather than just the rule.

3. Pay Attention to Precision: Be mindful of significant figures throughout your

calculations and especially in your final answers. Incorrect precision can lead to
incorrect results.

4. Validate Your Answers: Always take a moment to check your work using back-
substitution, order-of-magnitude estimation, and the test of reasonableness.
This habit will save you from major errors.

5. Be Systematic: Follow structured approaches for unit conversions, equation

solving, and data analysis. A clear, step-by-step method helps prevent mistakes and
makes your work easier to follow.

6. Familiarise Yourself with Data Plotting: Understand when to use rectangular,

semilog, or log plots to linearise data. Know how to extract slopes and intercepts to
determine equation parameters.

7. Know Your Definitions: Clearly understand terms like dimension, unit, quantity,
mass, weight, mean, standard deviation. These are the building blocks of the
subject.

8. Review Examples: Work through the example problems provided in the sources for
each section. This will solidify your understanding of how to apply the concepts.

Good luck with your exam!