Metric System: Abbreviations
The metric system is a system of measurement used around the world. In the metric system, the meter (m) is a unit of length, the liter (l) is a unit of volume, and the gram (g) is a unit of mass.
To express magnitude, prefixes are added to these units of measurement. The most common prefixes are listed below:
- kilo- (k) means 1000
- hecto- (h) means 100
- deka- (da) means 10
- deci- (d) means 1/10 or 0.1
- centi- (c) means 1/100 or 0.01
- milli- (m) means 1/1000 or 0.001
A kilometer, then, is 1000 meters; a hectoliter is 100 liters; a milligram is 0.001 grams; and so on.