Everything Science Grade 10

1.3 CHAPTER 1. SKILLS FOR SCIENCE

Prefix Symbol Exponent Prefix Symbol Exponent

yotta Y 1024 yocto y 10 −^24

zetta Z 1021 zepto z 10 −^21

exa E 1018 atto a 10 −^18

peta P 1015 femto f 10 −^15

tera T 1012 pico p 10 −^12

giga G 109 nano n 10 −^9

mega M 106 micro μ 10 −^6

kilo k 103 milli m 10 −^3

hecto h 102 centi c 10 −^2

deca da 101 deci d 10 −^1

Table 1.3: Unit Prefixes

Tip

There is no space and
no dot between the
prefix and the symbol
for the unit.

Here are some examples of the use of prefixes:

• 40 000m can be written as 40 km (kilometre)


• 0 , 001 g is the same as 1 × 10 −^3 g and can be written as 1 mg (milligram)


• 2 , 5 × 106 N can be written as 2 , 5 MN (meganewton)


• 250 000A can be written as 250 kA (kiloampere) or 0 , 250 MA (megaampere)


• 0 , 000000075 s can be written as 75 ns (nanoseconds)


• 3 × 10 −^7 mol can be rewritten as 0 , 3 × 10 −^6 mol, which is the same as 0 , 3 μmol
  (micromol)

Exercise 1 - 1

1. Carry out the following calculations:

a. 1 , 63 × 105 + 4, 32 × 106 − 8 , 53 × 105

b. 7 , 43 × 103 ÷ 6 , 54 × 107 × 3 , 33 × 105

c. 6 , 21434534 × 10 −^5 × 3 , 2555 × 10 −^3 + 6, 3 × 10 −^4

2. Write the following in scientific notation using Table 1.3 as a reference.

a. 0 , 511 MV

b. 10 cℓ

c. 0 , 5 μm

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