9/10 Physics

Metric prefixes

What are metric prefixes?

• What are Metric Prefixes?

  • Metric prefixes are used to represent multiples or fractions of base units in the metric system.

  • Example: 1 kilometer = 1,000 meters.

• Importance: Metric prefixes simplify the expression of very large or very small numbers.

Commonly used metric prefixes

Large metric prefixes

• Kilo- (k): 10³ or 1,000 times the base unit.

  • Example: 1 kilogram (kg) = 1,000 grams (g)

• Mega- (M): 10⁶ or 1,000,000 times the base unit.

  • Example: 1 megahertz (MHz) = 1,000,000 hertz (Hz)

Small metric prefixes

• Milli- (m): 10⁻³ or 0.001 times the base unit.

  • Example: 1 milliliter (mL) = 0.001 liters (L)

• Micro- (μ): 10⁻⁶ or 0.000001 times the base unit.

  • Example: 1 microsecond (μs) = 0.000001 seconds (s)

A more complete list

• Steps to Convert Between Units:

  1. Identify the prefix and its corresponding power of ten.

  2. Move the decimal point based on the difference in powers of ten.

• Example:

  • Convert 5 kilometers (km) to meters (m).

  • 5 km=5×10³ meters=5000 meters

Multiple Choice

Convert 2500 millimeters (mm) to meters (m).

• 25 m

• 2.5 m

• .25 m

Multiple Choice

Convert 0.00045 megameters (Mm) to meters (m).

• 45 m

• 4.5 m

• 450 m

Multiple Choice

How many micrograms are in 0.005 grams?

• 5000 micrograms

• 5 micrograms

• 500 micrograms