Expert: Sherman D. - 9/12/2004

Question
Just with a conversion table, that says centi- is equal to 10^-2, how do you know that 100cm=1 meter? 10^-2 =.01, but how do I know a hundred of them equals a meter? Also, how do I figure out things like a pico(10^-12), that I have never heard of, that is just on my conversion table and I'll probably have to use in the future. How do I figure out just from a quick glace at the conversion chart, which just says 10^whatever power, how many of something equals something else?
Thanks again for your time and generosity. It is well-appreciated.

Answer
10^-2 = 1/(10^2) = 1/100 or .01

If you were to look at a meter stick you will see that there are 100 centimeters in 1 meter.

1 centimeter = .39 inches and there are 39 inches in a meter.

Also the prefix centi- means 100th.

pico = 10^-12 = 1/(10^12) = .000000000001

Going from Smaller to Larger use (10^x)/(10^y) whereas "x" is the smaller and "y" is the larger.
Going from Larger to Smaller use (10^x) * (10^y) whereas "x" in this case is the larger and "y" is the smaller. then multiply by the value you can make out.

For other names, go to http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/58394.html