SCALES OF MEASUREMENT

THE METRIC PREFIXES APPLIED TO THE METER, WITH EXAMPLES

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nameprefix10xexample France & U.S.rest of world
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1 yoctometer1 ym10-24 m -1 septillionth meter1 quadrillionth meter
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1 zeptometer1 zm10-21 m -1 sextillionth meter1 trilliardth meter
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1 attometer1 am10-18 m -1 quintillionth meter1 trillionth meter
10 attometers10 am10-17 m (smaller than anything known)
100 attometers100 am10-16 m Quark
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1 femtometer1 fm10-15 m Proton1 quadrillionth meter1 billiardth meter
10 femtometers10 fm10-14 m Carbon atom nucleus
100 femtometers100 fm10-13 m Space around nucleus
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1 picometer1 pm10-12 m Electron1 trillionth meter1 billionth meter
10 picometers10 pm10-11 m Innermost s electron orbital
100 picometers100 pm10-10 m Entire carbon atom
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1 nanometer1 nm10-9 m One nucleotide base1 billionth meter1 milliardth meter
10 nanometers10 nm10-8 m RNA strand
100 nanometers100 nm10-7 m Ultraviolet wavelength, Chromosome (small)
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1 micrometer (micron)1 um10-6 m Microwaves, Cell nucleus1 millionth meter1 millionth meter
10 micrometers10 um10-5 m Cell (biology), phonograph groove width
100 micrometer100 um10-4 m Cluster of cells
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1 millimeter1 mm10-3 m Average integrated circuit chip1 thousandth meter1 thousandth meter
1 centimeter1 cm10-2 m Fingernail, Dime1 hundredth meter1 hundredth meter
1 decimeter1 dm10-1 m Paperback novel, Maple leaf1 tenth meter1 tenth meter
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1 meter1 m100 m Couch cushion, TV set1 meter1 meter
1 dekameter1 Dm (or dkm)101 m Small house, Oak tree10 meters10 meters
1 hectometer1 Hm102 m Court house, Orchard100 meters100 meters
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1 kilometer1 Km103 m Grand Coulee Dam1 thousand meters1 thousand meters
1 myriameter 1 Mym = 10 Km104 m Tallahassee FL10 thousand meters10 thousand meters
100 kilometer100 Km105 m Great Salt Lake UT
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1 megameter1 Mm106 m The state of Florida1 million meters1 million meters
10 megameters10 Mm107 m Earth
100 megameters100 Mm108 m Satellite orbits (large)
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1 gigameter1 Gm109 m Orbit of the Moon1 billion meters1 milliard meters
10 gigameters10 Gm1010 m The Sun with corona, Neptune's moon orbits
100 gigameter100 Gm1011 m Orbit of Mercury
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1 terameter1 Tm1012 m Orbit of Ceres, Antares diameter1 trillion meters1 billion meters
10 terameters10 Tm1013 m Orbit of Neptune, Epsilon Aurigae diameter
100 terameters100 Tm1014 m Solar System and Oort cloud
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1 petameter1 Pm1015 m Sun's major gravity influence1 quadrillion meters1 billiard meters
10 petameters10 Pm1016 m Distance light travels in a year
100 petameters100 Pm1017 m Distance to Sirius
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1 exameter1 Em1018 m Distance to the Hyades cluster1 quintillion meters1 trillion meters
10 exameters10 Em1019 m Distance to the Orion Nebula (M42)
100 exameters100 Em1020 m The Sun's star cloud in the Orion Arm
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1 zettameter1 Zm1021 m The Orion spiral arm of the Milky Way1 sextillion meters1 trilliard meters
10 zettameters10 Zm1022 m The Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds
100 zettameters100 Zm1023 m Distance to Andromeda Galaxy
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1 yottameter1 Ym1024 m Distance to the Hydra cluster of galaxies1 septillion meters1 quadrillion meters
10 yottameters10 Ym1025 m Distance to quasars
100 yottameters100 Ym1026 m Distance of the farthest observed objects
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THE METRIC PREFIXES APPLIED TO THE GRAM, WITH EXAMPLES

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nameprefix10xexample France & U.S.rest of world
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.001 yoctogram.001 yg10-27 g Electron1 octillionth gram1 quadrilliardth gram
.01 yoctograms.01 yg10-26 g (no known item)
.1 yoctograms.1 yg10-25 g Muon, pion
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1 yoctogram1 yg10-24 g Hydrogen atom, proton, neutron1 septillionth gram1 quadrillionth gram
10 yoctograms10 yg10-23 g Lithium atom
100 yoctograms100 yg10-22 g Acetic acid molecule
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1 zeptogram1 zg10-21 g One DNA base pair1 sextillionth gram1 trilliardth gram
10 zeptograms10 zg10-20 g Buckminsterfullerene molecule C60
100 zeptograms100 zg10-19 g Hemoglobin
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1 attogram1 ag10-18 g Small virus1 quintillionth gram1 trillionth gram
10 attograms10 ag10-17 g Polyethylene molecule
100 attograms100 ag10-16 g Ribosome
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1 femtogram1 fg10-15 g Large virus1 quadrillionth gram1 billiardth gram
10 femtograms10 fg10-14 g Chromosome (small)
100 femtograms100 fg10-13 g Small cell nucleus
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1 picogram1 pg10-12 g Bacterium1 trillionth gram1 billionth gram
10 picograms10 pg10-11 g DNA in human cell (total)
100 picograms100 pg10-10 g Human red blood cell
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1 nanogram1 ng10-9 g Average human cell1 billionth gram1 milliardth gram
10 nanograms10 ng10-8 g Fine dust mote
100 nanograms100 ng10-7 g Small grain of sand
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1 microgram (micron)1 ug10-6 g Human egg cell1 millionth gram1 millionth gram
10 micrograms10 ug10-5 g Minimum DNA evidence for ID
100 microgram100 ug10-4 g Phono stylus diamond
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1 milligram1 mg10-3 g Fruit fly1 thousandth gram1 thousandth gram
1 centigram1 cg10-2 g Housefly1 hundredth gram1 hundredth gram
1 decigram1 dg10-1 g Half carat diamond, honeybee1 tenth gram1 tenth gram
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1 gram1 g100 g Paper clip1 gram1 gram
1 dekagram1 Dg (or dkg)101 g Pencil10 grams10 grams
1 hectogram1 Hg102 g DVD in its case100 grams100 grams
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1 kilogram1 Kg103 g Pair of shoes1 thousand grams1 thousand grams
1 myriagram 1 Myg = 10 Kg104 g Home computer, shot put10 thousand grams10 thousand grams
100 kilogram100 Kg105 g Adult human
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1 megagram1 Mg106 g Small car1 million grams1 million grams
10 megagrams10 Mg107 g School bus
100 megagrams100 Mg108 g House
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1 gigagram1 Gg109 g Space shuttle ready to launch1 billion grams1 milliard grams
10 gigagrams10 Gg1010 g Leaning Tower of Pisa, Eiffel Tower
100 gigagram100 Gg1011 g Empire State Building
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1 teragram1 Tg1012 g Golden Gate Bridge1 trillion grams1 billion grams
10 teragrams10 Tg1013 g Hoover Dam
100 teragrams100 Tg1014 g Apophis (asteroid)
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1 petagram1 Pg1015 g Geographos (asteroid)1 quadrillion grams1 billiard grams
10 petagrams10 Pg1016 g Halley's Comet
100 petagrams100 Pg1017 g Comet Tempel
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1 exagram1 Eg1018 g Deimos (Mars moon)1 quintillion grams1 trillion grams
10 exagrams10 Eg1019 g Phobos (Mars moon)
100 exagrams100 Eg1020 g Eros (Asteroid), Pandora (Saturn moon)
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1 zettagram1 Zg1021 g Amalthea (Jupiter moon)1 sextillion grams1 trilliard grams
10 zettagrams10 Zg1022 g Phoebe (Saturn moon)
100 zettagrams100 Zg1023 g Enceladus (Saturn moon)
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1 yottagram1 Yg1024 g Dione (Saturn moon)1 septillion grams1 quadrillion grams
10 yottagrams10 Yg1025 g Moon (Earth moon), Pluto (dwarf planet)
100 yottagrams100 Yg1026 g Mercury (planet), Ganymede (Jupiter moon)
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1000 yottagrams1000 Yg1027 g Mars (planet)1 octillion grams1 quadrilliard grams
10000 yottagrams10000 Yg1028 g Earth (planet)
100000 yottagrams100000 Yg1029 g Neptune (planet)
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The Metric System

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