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unit (1): One item. A single unit is a single whole item of the
smallest piece
of that which is being discussed. For example, one dozen eggs consists of twelve eggs; if you
are discussing several eggs, then one egg is the unit of the quantity under consideration.
It is also possible to consider a stack of cartons of eggs; in this case, one dozen eggs
would be the convenient unit since there are a dozen eggs in each carton --- individual eggs are
not consisdered, but individual dozens of eggs are considered.
unit (2): The size of the smallest piece. This is occaisionally
confused with the dimension of a variable.
If one is discussing a distance or a length,
then the measurement can be taken in any of several units, but there is a specific
dimension. Feet, yards, miles, meters, and kilometers are all examples of different sized
units which measure the dimension of length. Gallons and liters are units which measure the
dimension of volume (length cubed). (See also dimension)