Week 2

Metric Prefixes

Prefix Symbol Value Example Distance

(some are light
approximate travels in a
) century
Exa E 1018 exameter Em 1018m 30 million
years
Peta P 1015 petasecond Ps 1015s powerful
laser output
Tera T 1012 terawatt TW 1012W a
microwave
frequency
Giga G 109 gigahertz GHz 109Hz High
radioactivity
Mega M 106 megacurine MCi 106Ci About 6/10
mile
Kilo K 103 kilometer km 103m 26 gallons
Hector H 102 hectoliter hL 102L teaspoon of
butter
Deka Da 101 dekagram dag 101g
- - 100 (=1) less than
half a soda
Deci D 10-1 deciliter dL 10-1L fingertip
thickness
Centi C 10-2 centimeter cm 10-2m flea at its
shoulder
Milli M 10-3 millimeter mm 10-3m detail in
microscope
Micro 10-6 micrometer 10-6m small speck
of dust
Nano N 10-9 nanogram ng 10-9g small
capacitor in
radio
Pico P 10-12 picofarad pF 10-12F size of a
proton
Femto F 10-15 femtometer fm 10-15m time light
crosses an
atom
Atto A 10-18 attosecond as 10-18s

Table 3
Metric Prefixes for Powers of 10 and their Symbols
Unit Conversion and Dimensional Analysis

10-18 Present experimental 10-30 Mass of an electron 10-23 Time for light to cross
limit to smallest (9.11 x 10-31kg) a proton
observable detail
10-15 Diameter of a proton 10-27 Mass of a hydrogen 10-22 Mean life of an
atom extremely unstable
(1.67 x 10-27kg) nucleus
10-14 Diameter of a 10-15 Mass of bacterium 10-15 Time for one
uranium nucleus oscillation of visible
light
10-10 Diameter of a 10-5 Mass of mosquito 10-13 Time for one vibration
hydrogen atom of an atom in a solid
10-8 Thickness of 10-2 Mass of a 10-8 Time for one
membranes in cells of hummingbird oscillation of an FM
living organisms radio wave
10-6 Wavelength of visible 1 Mass of a liter of 10-3 Duration of a nerve
light water (about a quart) impulse
10-3 Size of a grain sand 102 Mass of a person 1 Time for one
heartbeat
1 Height of a 4-year-old 103 Mass of a car 105 One day (8.64 x 104
child s)
102 Length of a football 108 Mass of a large ship 107 One year (y) (3.16 x
field 107 s)
104 Greatest ocean depth 1012 Mass of a large 109 About half the life
iceberg expectancy of a
human
107 Diameter of the Earth 1015 Mass of the nucleus 1011 Recorded history
of a comet
1011 Distance from the 1023 Mass of the moon 1017 Age of the Earth
Earth to the Sun (7.35 x 1022kg)
1016 Distance traveled by 1025 Mass of the Earth 1018 Age of the universe
light in 1 year (a light (5.97 x 1024 kg)
year)
1021 Diameter of the Milky 1030 Mass of the Sun
Way galaxy (1.99 x 1030 kg)
1022 Distance from the 1042 Mass of the Milky
Earth to the nearest Way galaxy (current
large galaxy upper limit)
(Andromeda)
1026 Distance from the 1053 Mass of the known
Earth to the edges of universe (current
the known universe upper limit)
Atto Masses in kilometers 10-18 Times in seconds
(more precise values (more precise values
in parentheses) in parentheses)

Table 4

Approximate Value of Length, Mass, and Time Length in meters

For example, there are 12 inches = 1 foot, 100 centimeters = 1 meter, 60 seconds = 1 minute,
1000 meters = 1 kilometer, etc.

Example 1

Convert 80 meters (m) to kilometers (km).

Solution:

1 km
80 m x = 0.08 km
1000 m

Example 2

Suppose that you take a taxi for the 10 km ride from your school to your home in 20 minutes.
Calculate your average speed (a) in kilometers per hour (km/h); and (b) in meters per second
(m/s). (Note: Average speed is distance traveled divided by time of travel.)

Solution: (a)

distance
Average speed =
time

10 km
Average speed = = 0.500 km/min
20 min

km 60 min
Average speed = 0.500 x = 30 km/h
min 1h

Solution: (b)

km 1h 1000 m
Average speed = 30 x x
h 3600 s 1 km

Average speed = 8.33 m/s

0r: (b)

km 1000 m 1min
Average speed = 0.500 x x
min 1 km 60 s

Average speed = 8.33 m/s

Activity 2 ( Week 2 )

1. Suppose that you take a taxi for the 60 km ride from your school to your home in 130
minutes. Calculate your average speed (a) in kilometers per hour (km/h); and (b) in
meters per second (m/s). (Note: Average speed is distance traveled divided by time of
travel.)