
Common Units that Use Prefixes
- metre (length) (m)
- litre (volume) (L)
- gram (mass/weight) (g)
- joule (heat/energy) (J)
- coulomb (charge) (C)
- watt (power) (W)
- volt (electrical potential difference) (V)
- hertz (frequency) (Hz)
- newton (force) (N)
- pascal (pressure) (Pa)
Factor | Name | Symbol |
---|---|---|
10-3 | milli | m |
10-6 | micro | µ |
10-9 | nano | n |
10-12 | pico | p |
What are the 10 prefixes in chemistry?
Prefix Number; mono: 1: di: 2: bis: 2: tri: 3: tris: 3: tetra: 4: penta: 5: hexa: 6: hepta: 7: ...
How to convert units with prefixes?
Part 2 Part 2 of 2: Using Powers of Ten Download Article
- Learn the prefixes as powers of ten. Every SI prefix represents a different power of ten: 100, 1000, 0.001, and so on.
- Use scientific notation to convert to the base unit. Scientific notation makes it much easier to convert between units of very different size.
- Find the conversion to your final unit. ...
- Set up the conversion as a single expression. ...
What are the prefixes for numbers 1 10?
prefix: number indicated: mono-1: di-2: tri-3: tetra-4: penta-5: hexa-6: hepta-7: octa-8: ...
What are metric prefixes?
What do the metric prefixes mean? A metric prefix is a unit prefix that precedes a basic unit of measure to indicate a multiple or submultiple of the unit. The prefix kilo-, for example, may be added to gram to indicate multiplication by one thousand: one kilogram is equal to one thousand grams.

Why are prefixes used in physics?
Prefixes are useful for expressing units of physical quantities that are either very big or very small. If you write out such big or small numbers, it will be time consuming and prone to errors.
What are the 7 metric prefixes?
ShareIn the SI, designations of multiples and subdivision of any unit may be arrived at by combining with the name of the unit the prefixes deka, hecto, and kilo meaning, respectively, 10, 100, and 1000, and deci, centi, and milli, meaning, respectively, one-tenth, one-hundredth, and one-thousandth. ... Prefix Progress.More items...
What is the prefix for 10?
In the SI, designations of multiples and subdivision of any unit may be arrived at by combining with the name of the unit the prefixes deka, hecto, and kilo meaning, respectively, 10, 100, and 1000, and deci, centi, and milli, meaning, respectively, one-tenth, one-hundredth, and one-thousandth.
How many metric prefixes are there?
twenty prefixesThe BIPM specifies twenty prefixes for the International System of Units (SI).
Why do we use prefixes?
Prefixes are useful for expressing units of physical quantities that are either very big or very small. If you write out such big or small numbers, it will be time consuming and prone to errors.
When to use order of magnitude?
Order of magnitude is useful when you do “ back-of-the-envelope ” calculations. A back-of-the-envelope calculation is a rough calculation, typically jotted down on any available scrap of paper such as an envelope.
What is the SI unit in Table 5?
Table 5. SI prefixes. It is important to note that the kilogram is the only SI unit with a prefix as part of its name and symbol. Because multiple prefixes may not be used, in the case of the kilogram the prefix names of Table 5 are used with the unit name "gram" and the prefix symbols are used with the unit symbol "g.".
Is the kilogram a prefix?
It is important to note that the kilogram is the only SI unit with a prefix as part of its name and symbol. Because multiple prefixes may not be used, in the case of the kilogram the prefix names of Table 5 are used with the unit name "gram" and the prefix symbols are used with the unit symbol "g.". With this exception, any SI prefix may be used ...
What are the units used in physics?
The standard units we use in Physics and all over the world are the SI units, and these units are based on the metric system of units. We generally use these prefixes with units from the metric system and they are also called metric unit prefixes.
Is gg a SI unit?
But these prefixes are not only used with the SI units but can also be used with any other unit. Note that gram ( g g) is not the SI unit and we use these prefixes with gram not kilogram even if kilogram (it already has the prefix 'kilo') is the SI unit.
