Unit prefixes
By adding a decimal unit prefix after a unit, we change the magnitude (power of 10) of the unit/amount.
For example, 1 kilometre (km) is
| Prefix | Symbol | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| femto | f | |
| pico | p | |
| nano | n | |
| micro | µ | |
| milli | m | |
| centi | c | |
| deci | d | |
| kilo | k | |
| mega | M | |
| giga | G | |
| tera | T | |
| peta | P |
Example conversions
Example: Convert 5 kilometres to metres.
- 1 kilometre (km) =
10^3 metres (m) - Therefore, 5 km =
5 \times 10^3 m = 5000 m
Example: Convert 2500 milligrams to grams.
- 1 milligram (mg) =
10^{-3} grams (g) - Therefore, 2500 mg =
2500 \times 10^{-3} g =2.5 g
Example: Convert 3 megabytes to bytes.
- 1 megabyte (MB) =
10^{6} bytes (B) - Therefore, 3 MB =
3 \times 10^{6} B =3,000,000 B
Example: Convert 0.75 gigawatts to watts.
- 1 gigawatt (GW) =
10^{9} watts (W) - Therefore, 0.75 GW =
0.75 \times 10^{9} W =750,000,000 W
Example: Convert 120 centimeters to meters.
- 1 centimeter (cm) =
10^{-2} meters (m) - Therefore, 120 cm =
120 \times 10^{-2} m =1.2 m
Example: Convert 0.005 terabytes to megabytes.
- 1 terabyte (TB) =
10^{12} bytes (B) - 1 megabyte (MB) =
10^{6} bytes (B) - Therefore, 0.005 TB =
0.005 \times 10^{12} B =5 \times 10^{9} B =5000 MB
Example: Convert 732 femtometers to meters
- 1 femtometer (fm) =
10^{-15} meters (m) - Therefore, 732 fm =
732 \times 10^{-15} m =7.32 \times 10^{-13} m
flashcards
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is the purpose of adding a decimal prefix to a unit? | It changes the magnitude (power of 10) of the unit/amount. |
| What prefix and symbol represent a factor of | femto (f) |
| What prefix and symbol represent a factor of | nano (n) |
| What prefix and symbol represent a factor of | micro (µ) |
| What prefix and symbol represent a factor of | milli (m) |
| What prefix and symbol represent a factor of | centi (c) |
| What prefix and symbol represent a factor of | deci (d) |
| What prefix and symbol represent a factor of | kilo (k) |
| What prefix and symbol represent a factor of | mega (M) |
| What prefix and symbol represent a factor of | giga (G) |
| What prefix and symbol represent a factor of | tera (T) |
| What prefix and symbol represent a factor of | peta (P) |
| How do you convert 5 kilometres to metres? | |
| How do you convert 2500 milligrams to grams? | |
| How do you convert 3 megabytes to bytes? | |
| How do you convert 0.75 gigawatts to watts? | |
| How do you convert 120 centimeters to meters? | |
| How do you convert 0.005 terabytes to megabytes? | |
| How do you convert 732 femtometers to meters? |