Prefixes [ENDORSED]

[Sam Smoot 2L]

Do we need to memorize prefixes for the quizzes or will they be provided?

[Rachel Formaker 1E]

As far as I know, the common prefixes need to be memorized.
The ones we went over in lecture are

giga: 10⁹
mega: 10⁶
kilo: 10³
deci: 10^-1
centi: 10^-2
milli: 10^-3
micro: 10^-6
nano: 10^-9
pico: 10^-12

[Jessica Benitez 1K]

The symbols for each of the prefixes we went over in class are:

G (giga)
M (mega)
k (kilo)
d (deci)
c (centi)
m (milli)
µ (micro)
n (nano)
p (pico)

[Evelyn L 1H]

Also if you keep your answers in meters it's ok. However you should know the prefixes so you can convert values given in the problem to meters.

[Dayanara Ruiz]

As long as you know the most used forms, mili, kilo, nano, you should be fine. But memorizing the lists above are super helpful too.

[Nathan Tu 2C]

Memorizing the prefixes is helpful, but not necessary. Most answers are fine in SI units. However, knowing the prefixes will help you check your answer. For example, for wavelength, you would expect to have your length to be in nanometers.

[Scott Chin_1E]

I know for a fact that we will have to know the conversions between micro (10^-6 m), nano (10^-9 m), and picometers (10^-12 m) because of their relation to wavelength. First it is important to realize that the conversions for these three measurements decrease by 1000 (10^-3) beginning with 10^-6. A mnemonic device that I use to help me memorize the order that the measurements go in (because i often confuse nano and micro) is that the measurements' names occur in alphabetical order, M, N, and P. If you can relate the first letters of each measurement to the order of the alphabet, it should make it easier to memorize the order of the measurements as well as their conversions.