Measurements

How to write about distance, speed, area, volume, weight, temperature, and measurements used in computing.

Use the standard units of measurement that are appropriate for the subject matter.

In most cases, use numerals for measurements.

Distance

You can use miles or metres to express a distance.

Miles

Write the word ‘miles’. Do not abbreviate.

Use fractions to express parts of a mile and write them out in words, not numerals.

Write:

The field trip involves a hike of 25 miles.

North Berwick is four and a half miles away.

Do not write:

North Berwick is 4 ½ miles away.

Metres

Write the word ‘metres’.

Use decimals to express parts of a metre and write them out in numerals, not words.

Write:

The crater is 14 metres below ground level.

The telescope will have a primary mirror of 8.4 metres in diameter.

Kilometres

If you need to use kilometres, write the word ‘kilometres’.

Use decimals to express part of a kilometre and write them out in numerals, not words.

Use ‘km’ as an abbreviation only where necessary, for example in a table.

Write:

Students raised money for charity by completing a walk of 25 kilometres.

The facility can recreate subsurface conditions to a depth of 12.5 kilometres.

Speed

Write units of speed in words.

Write:

The researchers measured a wind speed of 65 miles per hour.

Do not write:

The researchers measured a wind speed of 65 mph.

Area and volume

Write units of area and volume in words.

Write:

The site covers an area of 5 square kilometres.

Rullion Green Wood is a 30-hectare site.

The facility uses 2.4 million litres of water to simulate real ocean environments.

Weight

Use metric units such as kilograms and tonnes.

Example

The project has kept 15,000 kilograms of disposable gloves out of landfill.

Temperature

Use ‘degrees Celsius’ and express temperatures in numerals.

Use ‘C’ as an abbreviation where necessary. Do not include a degree symbol (°).

Examples

Average warming fell below 2 degrees Celsius this century.

45C

Computing

Express file sizes as KB (kilobytes), MB (megabytes) and GB (gigabytes).

Example

This service comes with an initial data limit of 20GB.

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