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Metric is based on all units and subunits being multiples of 10. For instance:

1 km = 1,000 m = 100,000 cm = 1,000,000 mm = 1,000,000,000 nm and so on

these same numbers can be expressed in base 10 as follows:

1 km = 103 m = 105 cm = 106 mm = 109 nm where the power varies directly with the units being expressed. For instance, how many km is the Olympic 1500 m? 1.5 km

To solve we convert 1500 m to a base 10 expression of 1.5 x 103 m = 1.5 km

by contrast you cannot easily do the same for the 1 mile run (1600 m) because

1 mile = 5280 feet = 63360 inches which requires knowing the various conversion factors such as 12 inches per foot

other examples include volume

1 L = 103 mL (try to do this easily in gallons and ounces)

and mass 1 metric tonne = 103 kg = 106 g = 109 ug (where u is the Greek symbol mu)

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16y ago

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