For practice converting between metric unit prefixes, check out the one step and two step metric prefix conversion problem sets. Click the 'Set/Reset' button to begin or watch the demonstration video below. The following illustration explores the relationship between metric prefixes by showing values expressed in different formats and demonstrating the calculations involved in converting numbers from one prefix to the other. The sound of an explosion will be heard 1 km away 2.9 seconds after it happens.

Now that the distance is in the same units as speed, we can use the fact that time = distance ÷ speed to calculate the answer: Conversions between metric system units are straightforward because the system is based on powers of ten. In the speed of sound question, the 1 km needs to be multiplied by 1000 to convert it to meters (m): Metric prefix or also referred to as SI prefix. The 10 3 next to the kilo prefix means that a number with the kilo prefix is 1000 times greater than the same number in the base unit. The following table shows the relationship between the prefixes. For example, if we know that sound travels in air at a speed of 346 m/s, can we figure out how long it will take the sound of an explosion to be heard 1 km away? We can, but to do so, we need to convert between meters and kilometers. To perform the procedure, a technician needs to know the concentration ** of the stock solution in μg/l.Ĭonverting between metric prefixes is also necessary when the information available to solve a problem is not in the units needed for the answer. The SI was developed in 1960 from the metre-kilogram-second (mks) system, rather than the. The older metric system included several groupings of units. It is the worlds most widely used system of units, both in everyday commerce and in science. For example, a lab may stock a 10 gram per liter (g/l) solution of glucose, while a particular procedure may require a 100 μg/l of glucose solution. The International System of Units (abbreviated SI) is the modern form of the metric system.

Like scientific notation, unit prefixes make very large and very small numbers easier to manipulate and understand.Ĭonverting numbers from one metric prefix to another is a common task in many areas of science.

Si units and prefixes calculator