Metric Prefixes
1018 exa E
1013 peta P
1012 tera T
109 giga G
106 mega M
103 kilo k
102 hecto h
10 deka da
10-1 deci d
10-2 centi c
10-3 milli m
10-6 micro μ
10-9 nano n
10-12 pico p
10-15 femto f
10-18 atto a

II) A handy conversion table for the scale size is given below.

(T) x x (G) x x (M) x x (k) (h) (da) B (d) (c) (m) x x (μ) x x (n) x x (p) x x (f)
 t       g       m       k   h   d   A  d   c   m       m       n       p       f
 e       i       e       i   e   e   S  e   e   i       i       a       i       e
 r       g       g       l   c   c   I  c   n   l       c       n       c       m
 a       a       a       o   t   a   C  i   t   i       r       o       o       t
                             o              i           o                       o

How to use this chart.

1) Count the number of spaces from the original unit to the desired unit.
2) Multiply by the power of the unit.
3) Move the decimal place in the same direction as you counted.

Examples

Convert cm to m

  1. start at c and move to the left 2 places
  2. multiply by 1
  3. move the decimal to the left 2 places; 1 cm = 0.01 cm

Convert km2 to m2

  1. start at the k and move to the right 3 places
  2. multiply by 2
  3. move the decimal to the right 6 places; 1 km2 = 1000000 m2