Page 11 - Operator Math 201

Compound Units

Often in water and wastewater treatment, you will encounter compound units, which are units that

incorporate more than one quantity or unit of measure.

Examples of common compound units include:

Density: a measure of the mass of an object per unit volume occupied by that same object.

Alternatively, this can be described as a measure of compactness.

Concentration: a measure of mass per unit of volume of water/solvent.

Velocity: a measure of distance traveled per unit of time.

Flow Rate: a measure of volume passing/collected per unit of time.

Compound units such as these are often obtained by measuring two separate quantities and dividing

one measurement by the other. For example, flow rate is a measure of volume as well as a measure of

time, followed by the division of the volume result by the time result.