The metric system is incredibly efficient at allowing one to switch to human friendly units simply by using the appropriate prefix with a given unit. Learn as many as you can, but definitely learn the ones that say to know these for class.
| prefix name | symbol | multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| deci- | d | × 10-1 |
| centi- | c | × 10-2 |
| 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 |
| prefix name | symbol | multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| deka- | da | × 101 |
| hecto- | h | × 102 |
| kilo- | k | × 103 |
| mega- | M | × 106 |
| giga- | G | × 109 |
| tera- | T | × 1012 |
| peta- | P | × 1015 |
| exa- | E | × 1018 |
| zetta- | Z | × 1021 |
| yotta- | Y | × 1024 |
— from big to small —
| prefix name | symbol | multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| tera- | T | × 1012 |
| giga- | G | × 109 |
| mega- | M | × 106 |
| kilo- | k | × 103 |
| milli- | m | × 10-3 |
| centi- | c | × 10-2 |
| micro- | µ | × 10-6 |
| nano- | n | × 10-9 |
| pico- | p | × 10-12 |
Make sure you know these for your all your chemistry classes!