Read · 1 min
The SI (International System) unit of mass is the kilogram (abbreviated kg). Other units for mass are the amu, pound (also a unit for force in some countries), and more.
Interactive · 1 question
The SI unit of mass is a kilogram (abr. kg). Like most metric units, kilograms can be broken up into smaller units. 1000 grams makes up 1 kilogram, and 1000 milligrams makes up one gram.
One liter of water, a small dog, and a laptop computer all weight around a kilogram.
A dollar bill weighs about a gram, as do two raisins.
A mosquito weighs about a milligram.
Approximately how much mass is in two raisins?
Read · 1 min
Before the metric system (now, referred to as SI system) was invented, the British systems of English units were used in the Commonwealth, as well as the States. Some of the scales of mass in the British imperial system (US Customary system) were: pounds, ounces, stones, tons etc.
However, the metric system was later invented and the idea of measuring mass with pounds and stones became obsolete. Some of the scales of mass in the metric system (now, SI) are grams, kilograms, milligrams etc. Having said this, the base unit of mass in the SI system is kilogram.