To change from one unit to another in the metric system, multiply or divide by multiples of

For this case what you should know is that in the metric system, one unit is related by the other, by factors that are multiples of 10.

For example, we will express all the following units in meters.

We have then:

1 Kilometer = 10^3 meters

1 hectometer = 10^2 meters

1 decameter = 10 meters

1 meter = 1 meter

1 decimeter = 10^-1 meters

1 centimeter = 10^-2 meters

1 millimeter = 10^-3 meters

We observe that all the factors are mutiplos of 10 in the metric system.

To change from one unit to another in the metric system, multiply or divide by multiples of 10.