Time, dates, and units of measurement are calculated or displayed differently depending on geographical location. This article aims to help shed light on some of these differences should any tests require an understanding of this knowledge.
Formatting Dates
There are a few different ways the shorthand for dates can be written depending on where the writer (i.e. the customer and/or their target audience or users) is located geographically.
Unites States
In the United States, shorthand for the date is written in the order of month first, day of the month second, and year third. While it will follow that order, formatting may vary slightly depending on writer preference. For example, here a few of the ways the shorthand for August 2, 2018 can be written if the author is located within the United States:
- 08/02/2018
- 8/2/2018
- 8/2/18
- 08-02-2018
- 8-2-2018
- 8-2-18
- 08.02.2018
- 8.2.2018
- 8.2.18
Please keep in mind that most of our clients are U.S. based. If you are asked to select a week day or business day that means Monday - Friday. Weekends in the U.S. are Saturday and Sunday.
Non-U.S. Countries
In most non-U.S. countries, shorthand for the date is written in the order of day of the month first, month second, and year third. While it will follow that order, formatting may vary slightly depending on writer preference. For example, here a few ways the shorthand for August 2, 2018 can be written if the author is located outside of the United States:
- 02/08/2018
- 2/8/2018
- 2/8/18
- 02-08-2018
- 2-8-2018
- 2-8-18
- 02.08.2018
- 2.8.2018
- 2.8.18
Important Note
As per the “Minor Exceptions” section of Rule 2, do not report jobs when automatic formatting takes place. There are automatic formatting practices often applied in online applications when entering data such as security numbers, dates, telephone numbers, credit card details, etc (e.g. you enter “123456789” and the number formats to “123-456-789”). Some Customers may not take this into account when using quotes in their instructions. If everything is working properly, answer Yes and move on with the test, even if quotes were used.
Systems of Time
There are two main systems for telling time: the 12-hour clock and the 24-hour clock. Different customers may use different systems in their applications or when writing their test instructions depending on their geographical location.
The 12-hour clock divides the day into two sections: the 12 hours from midnight to noon (ante meridiem — a.m.), and the 12 hours from noon to midnight (post meridiem — p.m.). The highest number representing the hour is 12 (i.e. 12:00am for midnight and 12:00pm for noon).
The 24-hour clock is the convention of time keeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours, indicated by the hours passed since midnight, from 0 to 23*. This system is the most commonly used time notation in the world today. In the United States, the 24h clock is referred to as “military time” since civilians use the 12h clock, but military personnel use the 24h clock.
Here are a few examples of how you could see times written out depending on the system being used by the author (e.g. customer). We’ve provided the 12h clock examples first since it’s the format used by most of our customers:
- Midnight: 12:00am → 00:00
- 12:15am → 00:15
- 2:00am → 02:00
- 8:00am → 08:00
- 11:05am → 11:05
- Noon: 12:00pm → 12:00
- 12:15pm → 12:15
- 2:00pm → 14:00
- 8:00pm → 20:00
- 11:15pm → 23:15
*Note: Sometimes you may see 00:00 written as 24:00. Both are acceptable. For a more thorough explanation of the 12h clock compared to the 24h clock (aka military time), check out the chart provided here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24-hour_clock
Systems of Measurement
There are two systems of measurement used depending on geographical location - the metric system and the imperial system.
Most countries use the metric system, which uses units of measure such as meters and grams and adds prefixes like kilo, milli and centi to count orders of magnitude.
The imperial system is mainly used in the United States and United Kingdom, and uses units of measure such as feet, inches, and pounds.
Most tests won’t require you to have knowledge of units of measure, and they definitely should not require you to do any sort of calculation involving units of measure. However, here are a couple charts of full spellings of common units of measure + their abbreviations should customer instructions require knowledge of any common terms or their abbreviations.
Common Metric Units + Abbreviations
Common Imperial Units + Abbreviations
Metric Abbreviations
|
Abbreviation
|
Unit of Measurement
|
|
b
|
bit
|
|
B
|
byte
|
|
C
|
Celsius, Centigrade
|
|
cc or cm³
|
cubic centimeter (cm³ is standard)
|
|
cm
|
centimeter
|
|
G,GB
|
gigabyte (GB is standard)
|
|
g, gr
|
gram (g is standard)
|
|
ha
|
hectare
|
|
K
|
Kelvin
|
|
K, KB
|
kilobyte (KB is standard)
|
|
kg
|
kilogram
|
|
kl
|
kiloliter
|
|
km
|
kilometer
|
|
l
|
liter
|
|
m
|
meter
|
|
M, MB
|
megabyte (MB is standard)
|
|
mcg or µg
|
microgram ( µg is standard)
|
|
mg
|
milligram
|
|
ml
|
milliliter
|
|
mm
|
millimeter
|
|
MT
|
metric ton
|
|
t, T
|
metric ton
|
|
w, W
|
watt (W is standard)
|
|
kw, kW
|
kilowatt (kW is standard)
|
|
kwh, kWh
|
kilowatt-hour (kWh is standard)
|
English Unit Abbreviations
|
Abbreviation
|
Unit of Measurement
|
|
bbl.
|
barrel
|
|
cu.
|
cubic
|
|
doz.
|
dozen
|
|
F., F
|
Fahrenheit
|
|
fl. oz.
|
fluid ounce
|
|
ft.
|
foot
|
|
gal.
|
gallon
|
|
gr.
|
grain
|
|
gr., gro.
|
gross
|
|
in.
|
inch
|
|
k., kt.
|
karat
|
|
k., kt.
|
knot
|
|
lb.
|
pound
|
|
LT, L.T.
|
long ton
|
|
mi.
|
mile
|
|
mph
|
miles per hour
|
|
n.m.
|
nautical miles
|
|
oz.
|
ounce
|
|
pt.
|
pint
|
|
qt.
|
quart
|
|
sq.
|
square
|
|
rpm
|
revolutions per minute
|
|
T., T
|
ton
|
|
T.
|
tablespoon in some cookbooks
|
|
t.
|
teaspoon in some cookbooks
|
|
tbsp.
|
tablespoon
|
|
tsp.
|
teaspoon
|
|
yd.
|
yard
|
Other resources