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1.2 Physical quantities and units  (Page 4/18)

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Metric prefixes for powers of 10 and their symbols
Prefix Symbol Value See [link] for a discussion of powers of 10. Example (some are approximate)
exa E 10 18 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{"18"} } } {} exameter Em 10 18  m size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{"18"} } " m"} {} distance light travels in a century
peta P 10 15 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{"15"} } } {} petasecond Ps 10 15  s size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{"15"} } " s"} {} 30 million years
tera T 10 12 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{"12"} } } {} terawatt TW 10 12  W size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{"12"} } `W} {} powerful laser output
giga G 10 9 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{9} } } {} gigahertz GHz 10 9  Hz size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{9} } `"Hz"} {} a microwave frequency
mega M 10 6 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{6} } } {} megacurie MCi 10 6  Ci size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{6} } `"Ci"} {} high radioactivity
kilo k 10 3 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{3} } } {} kilometer km 10 3  m size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{3} } " m"} {} about 6/10 mile
hecto h 10 2 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{2} } } {} hectoliter hL 10 2  L size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{2} } " L"} {} 26 gallons
deka da 10 1 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{1} } } {} dekagram dag 10 1  g size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{1} } `g} {} teaspoon of butter
— — 10 0 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{0} } } {} (=1)
deci d 10 − 1 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - 1} } } {} deciliter dL 10 − 1  L size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - 1} } `L} {} less than half a soda
centi c 10 − 2 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - 2} } } {} centimeter cm 10 − 2  m size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - 2} } `m} {} fingertip thickness
milli m 10 − 3 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - 3} } } {} millimeter mm 10 − 3  m size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - 3} } `m} {} flea at its shoulders
micro µ 10 − 6 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - 6} } } {} micrometer µm 10 − 6  m size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - 6} } `m} {} detail in microscope
nano n 10 − 9 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - 9} } } {} nanogram ng 10 − 9  g size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - 9} } `g} {} small speck of dust
pico p 10 − 12 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - "12"} } } {} picofarad pF 10 − 12  F size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - "12"} } F} {} small capacitor in radio
femto f 10 − 15 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - "15"} } } {} femtometer fm 10 − 15  m size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - "15"} } `m} {} size of a proton
atto a 10 − 18 size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - "18"} } } {} attosecond as 10 − 18  s size 12{"10" rSup { size 8{ - "18"} } `s} {} time light crosses an atom

Known ranges of length, mass, and time

The vastness of the universe and the breadth over which physics applies are illustrated by the wide range of examples of known lengths, masses, and times in [link] . Examination of this table will give you some feeling for the range of possible topics and numerical values. (See [link] and [link] .)

A magnified image of tiny phytoplankton swimming among the crystal of ice.[
Tiny phytoplankton swims among crystals of ice in the Antarctic Sea. They range from a few micrometers to as much as 2 millimeters in length. (credit: Prof. Gordon T. Taylor, Stony Brook University; NOAA Corps Collections)
A view of Abell Galaxy with some bright stars and some hot gases.
Galaxies collide 2.4 billion light years away from Earth. The tremendous range of observable phenomena in nature challenges the imagination. (credit: NASA/CXC/UVic./A. Mahdavi et al. Optical/lensing: CFHT/UVic./H. Hoekstra et al.)

Unit conversion and dimensional analysis

It is often necessary to convert from one type of unit to another. For example, if you are reading a European cookbook, some quantities may be expressed in units of liters and you need to convert them to cups. Or, perhaps you are reading walking directions from one location to another and you are interested in how many miles you will be walking. In this case, you will need to convert units of feet to miles.

Let us consider a simple example of how to convert units. Let us say that we want to convert 80 meters (m) to kilometers (km).

The first thing to do is to list the units that you have and the units that you want to convert to. In this case, we have units in meters and we want to convert to kilometers .

Next, we need to determine a conversion factor    relating meters to kilometers. A conversion factor is a ratio expressing how many of one unit are equal to another unit. For example, there are 12 inches in 1 foot, 100 centimeters in 1 meter, 60 seconds in 1 minute, and so on. In this case, we know that there are 1,000 meters in 1 kilometer.

Now we can set up our unit conversion. We will write the units that we have and then multiply them by the conversion factor so that the units cancel out, as shown:

80 m × 1 km 1000 m = 0 .080 km. size 12{"80"" m" times { {"1 km"} over {"1000 m"} } =0 "." "080"`"km"} {}

Note that the unwanted m unit cancels, leaving only the desired km unit. You can use this method to convert between any types of unit.

Questions & Answers

how does Neisseria cause meningitis
Nyibol Reply
what is microbiologist
Muhammad Reply
what is errata
Muhammad
is the branch of biology that deals with the study of microorganisms.
Ntefuni Reply
What is microbiology
Mercy Reply
studies of microbes
Louisiaste
when we takee the specimen which lumbar,spin,
Ziyad Reply
How bacteria create energy to survive?
Muhamad Reply
Bacteria doesn't produce energy they are dependent upon their substrate in case of lack of nutrients they are able to make spores which helps them to sustain in harsh environments
_Adnan
But not all bacteria make spores, l mean Eukaryotic cells have Mitochondria which acts as powerhouse for them, since bacteria don't have it, what is the substitution for it?
Muhamad
they make spores
Louisiaste
what is sporadic nd endemic, epidemic
Aminu Reply
the significance of food webs for disease transmission
Abreham
food webs brings about an infection as an individual depends on number of diseased foods or carriers dully.
Mark
explain assimilatory nitrate reduction
Esinniobiwa Reply
Assimilatory nitrate reduction is a process that occurs in some microorganisms, such as bacteria and archaea, in which nitrate (NO3-) is reduced to nitrite (NO2-), and then further reduced to ammonia (NH3).
Elkana
This process is called assimilatory nitrate reduction because the nitrogen that is produced is incorporated in the cells of microorganisms where it can be used in the synthesis of amino acids and other nitrogen products
Elkana
Examples of thermophilic organisms
Shu Reply
Give Examples of thermophilic organisms
Shu
advantages of normal Flora to the host
Micheal Reply
Prevent foreign microbes to the host
Abubakar
they provide healthier benefits to their hosts
ayesha
They are friends to host only when Host immune system is strong and become enemies when the host immune system is weakened . very bad relationship!
Mark
what is cell
faisal Reply
cell is the smallest unit of life
Fauziya
cell is the smallest unit of life
Akanni
ok
Innocent
cell is the structural and functional unit of life
Hasan
is the fundamental units of Life
Musa
what are emergency diseases
Micheal Reply
There are nothing like emergency disease but there are some common medical emergency which can occur simultaneously like Bleeding,heart attack,Breathing difficulties,severe pain heart stock.Hope you will get my point .Have a nice day ❣️
_Adnan
define infection ,prevention and control
Innocent
I think infection prevention and control is the avoidance of all things we do that gives out break of infections and promotion of health practices that promote life
Lubega
Heyy Lubega hussein where are u from?
_Adnan
en français
Adama
which site have a normal flora
ESTHER Reply
Many sites of the body have it Skin Nasal cavity Oral cavity Gastro intestinal tract
Safaa
skin
Asiina
skin,Oral,Nasal,GIt
Sadik
How can Commensal can Bacteria change into pathogen?
Sadik
How can Commensal Bacteria change into pathogen?
Sadik
all
Tesfaye
by fussion
Asiina
what are the advantages of normal Flora to the host
Micheal
what are the ways of control and prevention of nosocomial infection in the hospital
Micheal
what is inflammation
Shelly Reply
part of a tissue or an organ being wounded or bruised.
Wilfred
what term is used to name and classify microorganisms?
Micheal Reply
Binomial nomenclature
adeolu
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Source:  OpenStax, College physics for ap® courses. OpenStax CNX. Nov 04, 2016 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11844/1.14
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