How To Convert Between Measurements

• What are the different units of length mentioned?

  Nanometers, micrometers, millimeters, meters, kilometers
• Why do we use different units of length?

  Each unit is 1,000 times bigger or smaller
• How do you convert 6 mm to meters?

  Divide 6 by 1,000 to get 0.006 m
• What is the relationship between 6 mm and 0.006 m?

  They represent the same value in different units
• How do you convert 6 mm to kilometers?

  Divide 0.006 by 1,000 to get 0.006 km
• How do you convert 6 mm to micrometers?

  Multiply 6 by 1,000 to get 6,000 micrometers
• How do you convert 6 mm to nanometers?

  Multiply 6,000 by 1,000 to get 6 million nanometers
• How do you convert units that aren't next to each other on the scale?

  Convert in steps through adjacent units
• How do you convert 340 nanometers to millimeters?

  Divide by 1,000 twice to get 0.0034 mm
• What is the size range of atoms?

  0.1 to 0.5 nanometers across
• How big are medium-sized molecules like glucose?

  About 1 nanometer across
• What is the approximate size of viruses?

  About 100 nanometers across
• How big are small cells like bacteria?

  About 1 micrometer across
• What is the size range of most animal and plant cells?

  10 to 100 micrometers
• How wide is human hair?

  About 100 micrometers wide
• What is the smallest size visible to the naked eye?

  About 100 micrometers
• How far can a light microscope see?

  Down to 500 nanometers
• What is the resolution of an electron microscope?

  Down to about 0.1 nanometers
• What is the relationship between centimeters and millimeters?

  1 cm equals 10 mm
• How do you convert centimeters to meters?

  Divide by 100
• How do you convert 30 cm to nanometers?

  Multiply by 10, then by 1,000 twice
• What is the process for converting units of length?

  • Identify the units involved
  • For larger units: divide by 1,000 for each step up
  • For smaller units: multiply by 1,000 for each step down
  • For non-adjacent units: convert through adjacent units
• What is 30 cm in nanometers?

  300 million nanometers or $3 \times 10^8$ nanometers
• What are the sizes of common objects in relation to nanometers and micrometers?

  • Atoms: 0.1 to 0.5 nm
  • Glucose: ~1 nm
  • Viruses: ~100 nm
  • Bacteria: ~1 µm
  • Animal/Plant cells: 10 to 100 µm
  • Human hair: ~100 µm
• What are the key conversions between centimeters, millimeters, and meters?

  • 1 cm = 10 mm
  • 100 cm = 1 m
  • To convert cm to m: divide by 100
  • To convert cm to mm: multiply by 10