centum - hundred
centimeter
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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.
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.
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.
The basic prefixes used in the metric system are kilo (k), hecto (h), deca (da), deci (d), centi (c), and milli (m). These prefixes represent powers of 10 that either increase or decrease the size of the base unit (meter, gram, liter, etc.) by factors of 10, such as kilo being 1000 times larger and milli being 1000 times smaller than the base unit.
The basic metric unit of mass is the gram (g).
The basic metric unit of length is the meter (m).