Metric System

The metric system of measurement is the one most often used by scientists all over the world. The student of chemistry must be knowledgeable about this system. The basic units of the metric system are as follows:

Prefix Multiples Abbreviation

mega- 1,000,000 M

kilo- 1,000 k

Hecto- 100 h

deka- 10 da

deci- .1 d

centi- .01 c

milli- .001 m

nano- .000,000,001 n

The above prefixes can be combined to many metric roots to express a distance, mass, or volume. For example:

Length

10 millimeters = 1 centimeter (cm)

100 cm = 1 meter (m)

1000 m = 1 kilometer (km)

Volume

1000 milliliters (ml) = 1 liter (l)

1000 cubic centimeters = 1 liter

1 ml = 1 cm³

^Mass

^{1000 milligrams (mg) = 1 gram (g)}

^{1000 g = 1 kilogram (kg)}

^{Some equivalents to the English System:}

^{2.54 cm = 1 inch}

^{1 meter = 39.37 inches}

^{1 ounce = 28.35 grams}

^{1 pound = 454 grams}

^{2.2 ponds = 1 kilogram}

^{1 quart = .946 liter}

^{1.06 quarts = 1 liter}

The metric standards were chosen as natural standards. The meter was first described as the distance marked off on a platinum-iridium bar, but now can be reproduced as 1,650,763.73 times the wavelength of an isotope of krypton when it is excited to give off an orange-red spectra line.