Download Metric System Cheat Sheet and more Cheat Sheet Science education in PDF only on Docsity! Metric System Cheat Sheet Metric System Prefixes Prefix Symbol Numerically Verbally mega- M 1,000,000 million kilo- k 1,000 thousand hecto- h 100 hundred deka- D 10 ten deci- d 0.1 tenth centi- c 0.01 hundredth milli- m 0.001 thousandth micro- µ 0.000001 millionth You can combine the prefixes from the table on the left above with the basic units in the table on the right above to create any unit and its abbreviation in the metric system. Example: The prefix kilo means 1000, so 1 kilogram= 1000 grams. To abbreviate it, combine the symbols for kilo (k) and gram (g). kilogram= kg Example: The prefix milli means 0.001, so 1 milliliter= 0.001 liters. To abbreviate it, combine the symbols for milli (m) and liter (L) milliliter= mL Example: The prefix centi means 0.01, so 1 centimeter= 0.01 meters To abbreviate it, combine the symbols for centi (c) and meter (m) centimeter= cm Converting Units The staircase above can be used to easily convert between units on the periodic table. To convert from one unit to another, count how many “steps” on the staircase it takes to reach the unit you want to convert to. That is how many places you will move the decimal point. Example: To convert from hectometers to decimeters, you count 3 steps to the right. So, you move the decimal 3 places to the right, as seen below. 56 hectometers (hm) = 56,000 decimeters (dm) Standard Metric Units Measurement Name of Unit Abbreviation Length Meter m Mass Gram g Temperature Kelvin/Celsius K/˚C Time Second s Volume (liquid) Liter L Volume (solid) Cubic Meter m3