Metric Conversions — Prefixes & Examples

Within the metric system, unit conversions revolve around prefixes. Prefixes are added to the base units (liters, meters, grams, etc.) in order to change the value of the unit. The same prefixes are used whether you are measuring length, area, volume, or anything else. In order to convert between the modified units and the base units or between modified units, you only need to multiply or divide by powers of 10.

In the table above the commonly used metric prefixes can be found. In order to convert between kilometers and meters for example, you can use dimensional analysis and establish a proportion between the two units of measurement. The prefix kilo means 1000 or 10 cubed. Therefore there are 1000 meters in 1 kilometer.

The same concept applies to any of the other prefixes. The safest way to learn how to convert metric units is to memorize the prefixes and their associated values. Using dimensional analysis you can convert any unit between prefixes through powers of 10.

Converting to units of the imperial system of measurement, like feet or pounds, is more complex. Luckily, these units are only really used in the United States. Even there, the scientific community sticks to metric units when conducting research. An example of these different unit conversions is absolute zero, which is 0 Kelvin, -273 degrees Celsius, and -459 degrees Fahrenheit.

(Video) Metric Conversion Trick!! Part 1

by BrainSTEM

Have you ever had trouble going from one measurement to another? If so, check out this video by BrainSTEM to learn a cool trick for converting metric units easily.

You may be wondering why we even need to convert units? Well, as countless people use the scientific method to design experiments and answer scientific questions, metric is the most commonly used measuring system and is part of the SI base units. We often use metric units when doing quantitative analysis. But, oftentimes if we measure in one unit (like meters), it can be more useful to use a smaller unit (like centimeters), so we convert the two! For example, oftentimes smaller units (like millimeters) are known to be more accurate and precise than larger units when doing experiments. Accuracy and precision are very important in science because factors like temperature play an important role in reaction rates, system and surrounding transfers, and physical properties of gases.

However, keep in mind that not just length, area, and volume that are metric units. Density and temperature are also metric units, being used to measure mixtures such as colloids, solutions, and suspensions.

SI Unit Conversions