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Measurements & numbers

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Measurements

Numbers

Currency

Measurements

Abbreviations for units of measurement and their relevant style:


Abbreviation Unit of measurement Style Guide
b bit 5 b
B byte 87 B
C Celsius, Centrigrade 16 C
Cc or cm³ cubic centimetre (cm³ is standard)  5 cm³
cm centimetre 10 cm
GB gigabyte  10 GB
g gram  5 g
ha  hectare  2.5 ha
K Kelvin
KB kilobyte  259 KB
kg kilogram 9 kg
kl  kilolitre  15 kl
km kilometre  226 km
kWh kilowatt-hour  9kWh
L litre 2 L
m metre 8 m
MB megabyte  7 MB
Mcg or µg microgram, (µg is standard)
mg milligram  89 mg
ml  millilitre  56 ml
mm millimetre  42 mm
s second 45 s
t tonne 10 t
v volt 240 v
w watt 60 w
kW kilowatt 240 kW

 

For oven temperatures and weather, use 20C or spell out the word ‘degrees’ but do not use the little round degree symbol.

Numbers

Less than 10 and at the beginning of a sentence, use words: one, three, five, seven, nine. From 10 upwards, use numerals unless the number is the first word in a sentence, e.g.: Eleven men walked down the road.

Exceptions, such as semester 1 and World War II, are as shown in Dates, events and periods

Percentages are typically expressed as:

  • 3%
  • 9%
  • 98%.

If spelt in full, percentages are expressed as 'per cent', not 'percent', e.g. 3 per cent.

Where large numbers are shown in tables, use a typed space to separate millions and thousands:

  • 122 456
  • 23 500
  • 3 450
  • 6 300 000.

Elsewhere, use commas:

  • 3,000 years
  • 22,000 years
  • $5,000
  • $36,000
  • $2,500,000.

In narrative it is often more elegant to express millions or thousands in words, e.g. 'a $2.4 million budget'

Also refer to Phone numbers.

Currency

  • A$100 (use only where there could be confusion)
  • NZ$5000
  • US$6000.