Measurements and the Metric System
| Measurement | Unit | Abbreviation | Metric Equivalent | Approximate Standard Equivalent |
| Length | nanometer | nm | 1 nm = 10−9 m | |
| micrometer | µm | 1 µm = 10−6 m | ||
| millimeter | mm | 1 mm = 0.001 m | 1 mm = 0.039 inch | |
| centimeter | cm | 1 cm = 0.01 m | 1 cm = 0.394 inch | |
| meter | m | 1 m = 100 cm = 1000 mm | 1 m = 39.37 inches = 3.28 feet = 1.093 yards | |
| kilometer | km | 1 km = 1000 m | 1 km = 0.621 miles | |
| Mass | microgram | µg | 1 µg = 10−6g | |
| milligram | mg | 1 mg = 10−3 g | ||
| gram | g | 1 g = 1000 mg | 1 g = 0.035 ounce | |
| kilogram | kg | 1 kg = 1000 g | 1 kg = 2.205 pounds | |
| Volume | microliter | µl | 1 µl = 10−6l | |
| milliliter | ml | 1 ml = 10−3l | 1 ml = 0.034 fluid ounce | |
| liter | l | 1 l = 1000 ml | 1 l = 1.057 quarts | |
| kiloliter | kl | 1 kl = 1000 l | 1 kl = 264.172 gallons | |
| Area | square centimeter | cm2 | 1 cm2 = 100 mm2 | 1 cm2 = 0.155 square inch |
| square meter | m2 | 1 m2 = 10,000 cm2 | 1 m2 = 10.764 square feet = 1.196 square yards | |
| hectare | ha | 1 ha = 10,000 m2 | 1 ha = 2.471 acres | |
| Temperature | Celsius | °C | — | 1 °C = 5/9 × (°F − 32) |
CC LICENSED CONTENT, SHARED PREVIOUSLY
OpenStax, Concepts of Biology, Section C:Measurements and the Metric System
Provided by: Rice University
Access for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/concepts-biology
License: CC-BY 4.0
