Metric fact sheet
Metric units
Meter is the unit for linear measurement.
- One meter is a little longer than one yard.
- One millimeter = .001 meter or one thousandth meter (diameter of a paper clip)
- One centimenter = .01 meter or one hundredth meter (width of a paper clip or little finger)
- One kilometer = 1000 meters (a bit more than half a mile)
- 1000 mm = 1 m
- 100 cm = 1 m
- 1000 m = 1 km
Liter is the unit for volume. One liter is a little more than a quart.
- milliliter is .001 liters or one thoundth liter: Five ml is about a teaspoon.
Gram is the unit for mass. One gram is about the weight of a paper clip.
- kilogram is 1000 grams. One kilogram is about the same as a can of peaches about 2.2 pounds.
Most used prefixes for metric units:
- milli = one thousandth (.001)(10 -3)
- centi = one hundredth (.01) (10-2)
- kilo = one thousand times (1000)(103)
- More metric prefixes
Some prefixes on a number line:
Metric prefixes
| Prefix | Symbol | Power |
|---|---|---|
| Quecca | Q | 1030 |
| Ronna | R | 1027 |
| Yotta | Y | 1024 |
| Zetta | Z | 1021 |
| Exa | E | 1018 |
| Peta | P | 1015 |
| Tera | T | 1012 |
| Giga | G | 109 |
| Mega | M | 106 |
| kilo | k | 103 |
| milli | m | 10-3 |
| micro | μ | 10-6 |
| nano | n | 10-9 |
| pico | p | 10-12 |
| femto | f | 10-15 |
| atto | a | 10-18 |
| zepto | z | 10-21 |
| yocto | y | 10-24 |
| ronto | r | 10-27 |
| quecto | q | 10-30 |
See also: History of measurement