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Before looking into the different types of measurements in detail, it's essential to differentiate between the other unit systems used by people depending on where they're in the world.
The Metric system is the most common unit system, which is widely used in lots of countries around the world. Popular metric units include metres, kilograms, litres, and more.
The Imperial system, also known as British Imperial, is another unit system prevalent in the United Kingdom. Foot, gallon, and stone are all Imperial units.
Measurements most commonly use the International System of Units (SI) to compare with other objects. The system defines seven fundamental units - kilogram, metre, candela, second, ampere, kelvin, and mole.
Everyday use metric prefixes
Text | Symbol | Factor | Power |
exa | E | 1000000000000000000 | 1018 |
peta | P | 1000000000000000 | 1015 |
tera | T | 1000000000000 | 1012 |
giga | G | 1000000000 | 109 |
mega | M | 1000000 | 106 |
kilo | k | 1000 | 103 |
hecto | h | 100 | 102 |
deca | da | 10 | 101 |
(none) | (none) | 1 | 100 |
deci | d | 0.1 | 10-1 |
centi | c | 0.01 | 10-2 |
milli | m | 0.001 | 10-3 |
micro | μ | 0.000001 | 10-6 |
nano | n | 0.000000001 | 10-9 |
pico | p | 0.000000000001 | 10-12 |
femto | f | 0.000000000000001 | 10-15 |
atto | a | 0.000000000000000001 | 10-18 |
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