CMS Metric Documentation & Communication 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to NIST SP 811, how should a space be used when writing metric quantities?
- No space between number and unit symbol
- A space between the number and the unit symbol (Correct answer)
- A hyphen between number and unit symbol
- Parentheses around the unit symbol
Correct answer: A space between the number and the unit symbol
NIST SP 811 requires a space between the numerical value and the unit symbol (e.g., 5 kg, not 5kg).
Question 2: When writing metric unit symbols, they should be:
- Always capitalized
- Lowercase except those derived from proper names (Correct answer)
- Always lowercase
- Italicized
Correct answer: Lowercase except those derived from proper names
Metric unit symbols are lowercase unless derived from a proper name, such as Hz (hertz), N (newton), or Pa (pascal).
Question 3: Which is the correct way to express a range of measurements?
- 5 to 10 kg
- 5 kg to 10 kg
- 5-10 kg
- Both A and B are acceptable per NIST SP 811 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Both A and B are acceptable per NIST SP 811
NIST SP 811 accepts both '5 to 10 kg' and '5 kg to 10 kg' as correct, but discourages '5-10 kg' due to ambiguity.
Question 4: The correct symbol for 'micrometre' is:
- mm
- µm (Correct answer)
- um
- mcm
Correct answer: µm
The correct symbol is µm (micro = µ, metre = m), though 'um' is sometimes used in ASCII contexts.
Question 5: When expressing large numbers in metric documentation, the preferred separator is:
- Commas (e.g., 1,000,000)
- Periods (e.g., 1.000.000)
- Spaces (e.g., 1 000 000) (Correct answer)
- Underscores (e.g., 1_000_000)
Correct answer: Spaces (e.g., 1 000 000)
The SI recommends using thin spaces to separate groups of three digits instead of commas or periods, which have different meanings in different countries.
Question 6: Metric unit symbols should be pluralized by adding 's' when the value is greater than 1.
- True
- False — unit symbols are never pluralized (Correct answer)
- Only for base units
- Only in informal writing
Correct answer: False — unit symbols are never pluralized
SI unit symbols are never pluralized; '5 kg' is correct, never '5 kgs'.
CMS Metric Documentation & Communication 1
According to NIST SP 811, how should a space be used when writing metric quantities?