Metric Conversion Factors

Capacity

Unit

Abbreviation

Number
of
liters

Approximate
U.S.
equivalent

 

Cubic Liquid Dry
kiloliter kl 1,000 1.31 cu yd    
hectoliter hl 100 3.53 cu ft    
dekaliter dal 10 0.35 cu ft 2.64 gal  
liter l 1 61.02 cu in 1.057 qts 0.908 qt
deciliter dl 0.10 6.1 cu in 0.21 pt 0.18 pt
centiliter cl 0.01 0.6 cu in 0.338 fl oz  
millileter ml 0.001 0.06 cu in 0.27 fl dram
0.0338 fl oz 		 

Mass & Weight

Unit

Abbreviation

Number
of
grams

Approximate
U.S.
equivalent

metric ton mt (t) 1,000,000 1.1 tons
quintal q 100,000 220.46 lb
kilogram kg 1,000 2.2046 lb
hectogram hg 100 3.527 oz
dekagram dag 10 0.353 oz
gram g (gm) 1 0.035 oz
decigram dg 0.10 1.543 grain
centigram cg 0.01 0.152 grain
milligram mg 0.001 0.015 grain

Length

Unit

Abbreviation

Number
of
meters

Approximate
U.S.
equivalent

myriameter mym 10,000 6.2 miles
kilometer km 1,000 0.62 miles
hectometer hm 100 109.36 yards
dekameter dam 10 32.81 feet
meter m 1 39.37 inches
decimeter dm 0.1 3.94 inches
centimeter cm 0.01 0.39 inches
millimeter mm 0.001 0.04 inches

Area

Unit

Abbreviation

Number
of
square meters

Approximate
U.S.
equivalent

sq kilometer sq km 1,000,000 0.3861 sq mile
hectare ha 10,000 2.47 acres
are a 100 119.60 sq yards
centare ca 1 10.76 sq feet
sq centimeter sq cm 0.0001 0.155 sq inches

Volume

Unit

Abbreviation

Number
cubic
meters

Approximate
U.S.
equivalent

dekastere das 10 13.10 cubic yards
stere s 1 1.31 cubic yards
decistere ds 0.10 3.53 cubic yards
cubic centimeter cu cm
cc 		0.000001 0.061 cubic inches

Prefixes

exa 1018
peta 1015
tera 1012
giga 109
mega 106
kilo 103
hecto 102
deca 101
deci 10-1
centi 10-2
milli 10-3
micro 10-6
nano 10-9
pico 10-12
femto 10-15
atto 10-18

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