Prefix Symbol Exponential Word Number (multiply by)
yocto y 10-24 septillionth 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001
zepto z 10-21 sextillionth 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 001
atto a 10-18 quintillionth 0.000 000 000 000 000 001
femto f 10-15 quadrillionth 0.000 000 000 000 001
pico- p 10-12 trillionth 0.000 000 000 001
nano- n 10-9 billionth 0.000 000 001
micro- μ 10-6 millionth 0.000 001
milli- m 10-3 thousandth 0.001
centi- c 10-2 hundredth 0.01
deci- d 10-1 tenth 0.1
0
deca- d 10 ten 10
hecto- h 102 hundred 100
kilo- k 103 thousand 1000
mega- M 106 million 1,000,000
giga- G 109 billion 1,000,000,000
tera- T 1012 trillion 1,000,000,000,000
peta- P 1015 quadrillion 1,000,000,000,000,000
exa- E 1018 quintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000
zetta Z 1021 sextillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
yotta Y 1024 septillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Some comparisons . . .
A meter is about the length of a person's arm.
A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. Think of it this way: There are as many nanometers in an inch as there are inches in 400 miles.
An ant's eye is about 50 micrometers.
The dime is about 1 millimeter thick. (A millimeter is one million times larger than a nanometer!)
A centimeter is about the width of a popsicle stick.
Mega comes from the Greek megasmeaning "great, large, or mighty."
Giga is from the Greek gigas meaning "giant."
Kilo comes from the Greek khilioimeaning 1,000.
The Earth has a mass of approximately 6000 Yottagrams!
The basic metric prefixes are: kilo (k), hecto (h), deca (da), unit (base unit), deci (d), centi (c), and milli (m). These prefixes represent powers of 10, with kilo representing 10^3, hecto representing 10^2, deca representing 10^1, and so on. They are used to indicate decimal multiples or fractions of the base unit.
In decreasing order:
x 1024 = Y = yotta-
x 1021 = Z = zetta-
x 1018 = E = exa-
x 1015 = P = peta-
x 1012 = T = tera-
x 109 = G = giga-
x 106 = M = mega-
x 103 = k = kilo
x 102 = h = hecto-
x 10 = da = deca-
x 1 = <none> = <none> - the unit itself
x 10-1 = d = deci-
x 10-2 = c = centi-
x 10-3 = m = milli-
x 10-6 = μ = micro-
x 10-9 = n = nano-
x 10-12 = p = pico-
x 10-15 = f = femto-
x 10-18 = a = atto-
x 10-21 = z = zepto-
x 10-24 = y = yocto-
There are twenty prefixes in the SI system, ten representing multiples and ten representing fractions of the base unit.
Using metres as an example.
kilo- 1 kilometre= 1 x 103 metres, 1 000 m.
mega= 1 Mm= 1 x 106m 1 000 000 m
giga- 1 Gm=1 x 109m, 1 000 000 000 m.
tera-, 1Tm= 1 x 1012m 1 000 000 000 000 m
peta- 1 Pm= 1 x 1015m, 1 000 000 000 000 000 m.
exa, 1 Em= 1 x 1018m, 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 m.
zetta- 1 Zm= 1 x 1021m, 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 m.
yotta- 1 Ym= 1 x 1024m, 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 m.
There are also deca and hecto fro tens and hundreds, but these a never used.
milli- 1 mm = 1 x 10-3m, 0.001 m
micro- 1μm= 1 x 10-6m, 0.000 001 m
nano- 1 nm= 1 x 10-9m, 0.000 000 001m
pico, 1 pm= 1 x 10-12m, 0.000 000 000 001 m
femto- 1 fm= 1 x 10-15m, 0.000 000 000 000 001 m
atto- 1 am = 1 x 10-18m, 0.000 000 000 000 000 001 m
zepto- 1 zm= 1 x 10-21m, 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 001 m
yocto- 1 ym= 1 x 10-24m, 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 m
There are also deci and centi for tenths and hundredths but these are rarely if ever used.
Prefixes for multiples are upper case symbols, except for kilo,k. Prefixes for fractions are lowercase symbols.
The largest metric prefixes are yotta- (Y) and zetta- (Z), representing 10^24 and 10^21, respectively. These prefixes are used to describe extremely large quantities, such as data storage capacities or distances in space.
The prefixes for deca indicate a factor of ten. For example, "deca-" represents 10, "hecto-" represents 100, and "kilo-" represents 1,000. These prefixes are commonly used in the metric system for units of measurement.
A helpful acronym to remember the prefixes in the metric system is "King Henry Died By Drinking Chocolate Milk," representing kilo, hecto, deca, base unit (gram, liter, meter), deci, centi, milli in increasing order of magnitude. This can assist in recalling the meaning and order of the prefixes.
The basic prefixes deci, centi and milli decrease by powers of ten and deca, hecto and kilo increase by powers of ten.
The metric prefix deci- represents a factor of 0.1, which means one-tenth or 1/10 of the base unit. It is often used in the metric system to denote a fraction of a unit.
The basic prefixes deci, centi and milli decrease by powers of ten and deca, hecto and kilo increase by powers of ten.
1000
The largest metric prefixes are yotta- (Y) and zetta- (Z), representing 10^24 and 10^21, respectively. These prefixes are used to describe extremely large quantities, such as data storage capacities or distances in space.
Newtons is the basic metric system unit for weight
The basic metric unit for weight is the newton.
In the metric systems, unlike other systems, there is only one unit for each measurement; e.g the only unit for length is the metre. For lengths much longer, or much shorter, we use prefixes to indicate the fraction or multiple of the metre.For short lengths the fractions are thousandths, millionths, billionths; for which the prefixes are milli-, micro-, and nano-.For longer lengths, the multiples are thousands, millions, and billions; for which the prefixes are kilo-, mega-, and giga-.The prefixes indicate the fraction,or the multiple of the base unit.
Every prefix in the metric system denotes a power of 10.
The basic metric unit of mass is the gram (g).
The basic metric unit of length is the meter (m).
The basic prefixes used in the metric system are kilo (k), hecto (h), deka (da), deci (d), centi (c), and milli (m). These prefixes represent powers of 10 relative to the base unit, with each prefix indicating a multiple or fraction of the base unit. For example, kilo means 1000 times the base unit, while milli means 1/1000 of the base unit.
The metric value of 1000g is precisely 1000g
Centum is a Latin word that means "hundred". In the metric system, centi- is a prefix that denotes a factor of one hundredth (1/100) of a base unit. For example, centimeter is one hundredth of a meter.