Revised: 2021-08-10
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Exercise 2.2a(H)
Metric Conversions & Chemistry Math I - Answers
Chemistry H
Directions: Convert the following:
1. 12.3 mL to 0.0123 L
2. 1.45 kg to 1450 g
3. 0.0023 kg to 2300 mg
4. 4.09 km to 4090 m
5. 5.0128 m to 501.28 cm
6. 0.34856 m to 348.56 mm
7. 1.562 mg to 0.000001562 kg
8. 0.00001 m to 0.001 cm
9. 2.8978 m to 2897.8 mm
10. 12.5 cm to 0.125 m
11. 153.2 m to 0.1532 km
12. 0.001 m to 0.1 cm
13. 56.78 L to 0.05678 kL
14. 78.3 kg to 78300 g
15. 123 cm to 1.23 m
16. 4.31 dL to 0.000431 kL
17. 100 cm to 1 m
18. 17.8 mg to 1.78 cg
19. 100 ms to 0.1 s
20. 1.25 cm to 0.0125 m
21. 1.52 m to 0.00152 km
22. 1.46 mL to 0.00146 L
23. 1.54 km to 15400 dm
24. 0.01 m to 1 cm
25. 6.82 kg to 6820 g
26. 122.91 cm to 1.2291 m
27. 245 cm to 2450 mm
28. 1500 mg to 0.0015 kg
29. 3.45 kg to 3450 g
30. 8.99 J to 8990 mJ
31. 9.33 ms to 0.00933 s
32. 45.900 kA to 45900 A
33. 39.77 cN to 0.3977 N
34. 32.67 cJ to 0.3267 J
35. 45.34 daL to 453.4 L
36. 9.01 mL to 0.00000901 kL
37. 0.11 L to 110 mL
38. 1000 mg to 1 g
39. 23.01 kJ to 2301000 cJ
40. 45 000 cm to 450 m
There are only a small number of metric units used to measure everything. The powerful part of the SI system is that these
units may be made larger or smaller by simply using a prefix in front of the unit name. These prefixes change the
magnitude of the unit by multiplying by a power of ten. To convert between measurements of a unit that have different
prefixes, it only requires that the decimal be moved.
The most common prefixes used in chemistry are kilo- (1000), deci- (1/10), centi- (1/100) and milli- (1/1000). There are
prefixes for 10 (deka-) and 100 (hecto-), but we usually don’t use them. The simplest way to convert between prefixes is to
use a number line system that shows how the decimal place moves as the prefix is changed. A mnemonic (memory device)
for the prefixes is:
“king hector d(a)oesn’t [usually] drink chocolate milk”
The first letter(s) represents the prefix. The [using] represents the unit without a prefix applied. Placed on a number line,
the prefixes look like this.
To use the line, simply start at the spot on the line that represents the prefix of the measure you want to convert and count
over to the prefix you want to convert to. Move the decimal place of your measurement that many places in that direction.
0.001
kilo-
k-
0.1
deka-
da-
0.01
hecto-
h-
1.0
unit
10
deci-
d-
100
centi-
c-
1000
milli-
m-
