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In math, you often use prefixes to write large and small numbers in a simpler way. For example, 2 million byte is much easier to write as 2 megabyte or 2 MB, where M means “mega” and mega =106=1000000.

Theory

Prefixes

giga G billion 109
mega M million 106
kilo k thousand 103
hecto h hundred 102
deka da ten 10
deci d one tenth 10−1
centi c one hundredth 10−2
milli m one thousandth 10−3
micro μ one millionth 10−6
nano n one billionth 10−9

Example 1

Uncle Sam bought 2.3 hectograms (hg) of candy when he was at the store. How many grams does that correspond to?

Hecto (h) means “hundred”. That means Uncle Sam bought

2.3hg=(2.3⋅100)g=230g

of candy.

Example 2

One stage of the cycling race Tour de France can be 192 kilometers (km) long. How many meters is that?

Kilo (k) means “1000”. Thus, the boys ride

192km=(192⋅1000)m=192000m.

The stage is 192000 meters.

Example 3

Albert Einstein was in the laboratory playing with a microscope. While playing, he saw an organism weighing 521 micrograms. How many grams is that?

Micro (μ) means millionth. Thus, the organism weighed

521μg=521⋅11000000g=0.000521g

521μg=521⋅11000000g=0.000521g

Note! You switch the prefix with the numeric value of the prefix.

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