A place value chart representing six place values. The chart starts at the ones place value on the right side, and ends at the hundred thousands place value on the left side. When you multiply the ones place by ten, you move one place value left to the tens place. When you multiply the tens place by ten, you move one place value left to the hundreds place. When you multiply the hundreds place by ten, you move one place value left to the thousands place. When you multiply the thousands place by ten, you move one place value left to the ten thousands place. When you multiply the ten thousands place by ten, you move one place value left to the hundred thousands place. The ones, tens, and hundreds places are the first grouping of three place values to the left of a decimal point. The thousands, ten thousands, and hundred thousands places are the second grouping of three place values to the left of a decimal point.

Seven steps representing the base-ten relationships between metric units. The steps start in the top-left corner and end in the bottom-right corner. The centre step represents the ones place and is labelled “unit.” For example: one metre, one gram, or one litre. To convert a measurement up to the next largest metric unit, we divide by ten. The first step up and to the left of the ones place represents the tens place and is labelled “deca,” a prefix that means ten. One unit equals zero-point-one deca-units. The next step up and to the left represents the hundreds place and is labelled “hecto,” a prefix that means one hundred. One unit equals zero-point-zero-one hecto-units. The next step up and to the left represents the thousands place and is labelled “kilo,” a prefix that means one thousand. One unit equals zero-point-zero-zero-one kilo-units. To convert a measurement down to the next smallest metric unit, we multiply by ten. The first step down and to the right of the ones place represents the one tenths place and is labelled “deci,” a prefix that means one tenth or zero-point-one. One unit equals ten deci-units. The next step down and to the right represents the one hundredths place and is labelled “centi,” a prefix that means one hundredth or zero-point-zero-one. One unit equals one hundred centi-units. The next step down and to the right represents the one thousandth place and is labelled “milli,” a prefix that means one thousandth or zero-point-zero-zero-one. One unit equals one thousand milli-units.

Ten to the power of two (or ten squared) is an exponential expression representing the number ten being multiplied by itself two times. The number ten is called the base and the number two is called the exponent, while the entire expression is called the power.

A number line representing very large metric units. The number line includes the metric prefixes and the approximate size of different objects.

On the Very Large Metric Units number line, the mark on the right represents the base unit and is labelled “metre.” One metre is equal to ${10}^0$ metres. The metric measurements and object size get larger as you move left from the base unit. The first mark to the left of the base unit is labelled “kilo.” One kilometre is equal to ${10}^3$ metres. The second mark to the left of the base unit is labelled “mega.” One megametre is equal to ${10}^6$ metres. The third mark to the left of the base unit is labelled “giga.” One gigametre is equal to ${10}^9$ metres. The fourth mark to the left of the base unit is labelled “tera.” One terametre is equal to ${10}^{12}$ metres. The fifth mark to the left of the base unit is labelled “peta.” One petametre is equal to ${10}^{15}$ metres. The sixth mark to the left of the base unit is labelled “exa.” One exametre is equal to ${10}^{18}$ metres. The seventh mark to the left of the base unit is labelled “zetta.” One zettametre is equal to ${10}^{21}$ metres. The eighth mark to the left of the base unit is labelled “yotta.” One yottametre is equal to ${10}^{24}$ metres. The ninth mark to the left of the base unit is labelled ${10}^{27}$.

The Very Large Metric Units number line lists the approximate size of the following objects. The size of the observable universe is approximately ${10}^{26}$ metres. The size of the Milky Way galaxy is approximately ${10}^{21}$ metres. The size of one parsec is approximately ${10}^{17}$ metres. The size of one lightyear is approximately ${10}^{16}$ metres. The distance from the Earth to the Sun is approximately ${10}^{11}$ metres. The size of the Sun is approximately ${10}^9$ metres. The size of the Earth is approximately ${10}^7$ metres. The size of a city is approximately ${10}^4$ metres. The size of a mountain is approximately ${10}^3$ metres. The size of a house is approximately ${10}^1$ metres. The size of a person is approximately ${10}^0$ metres.

A number line representing very small metric units. The number line includes the metric prefixes and the approximate size of different objects.

On the Very Small Metric Units number line, the mark on the left represents the base unit and is labelled “metre.” One metre is equal to ${10}^0$ metres. The metric measurements and object size get smaller as you move right from the base unit. The first mark to the right of the base unit is labelled “milli.” One millimetre is equal to ${10}^{-3}$ metres. The second mark to the right of the base unit is labelled “micro.” One micrometre is equal to ${10}^{-6}$ metres. The third mark to the right of the base unit is labelled “nano.” One nanometre is equal to ${10}^{-9}$ metres. The fourth mark to the right of the base unit is labelled “pico.” One picometre is equal to ${10}^{-12}$ metres. The fifth mark to the right of the base unit is labelled “femto.” One femtometre is equal to ${10}^{-15}$ metres. The sixth mark to the right of the base unit is labelled “atto.” One attometre is equal to ${10}^{-18}$ metres. The seventh mark to the right of the base unit is labelled “zepto.” One zeptometre is equal to ${10}^{-21}$ metres. The eighth mark to the left of the base unit is labelled “yotto.” One yottometre is equal to ${10}^{-24}$ metres.

The Very Small Metric Units number line lists the approximate size of the following objects. The size of a finger is approximately ${10}^{-1}$ metres. The size of a hair Is approximately ${10}^{-4}$ metres. The size of a microbe is approximately ${10}^{-5}$ metres. The size of a cell is approximately ${10}^{-6}$ metres. The size of DNA is approximately ${10}^{-8}$ metres. The size of a molecule is approximately ${10}^{-9}$ metres. The size of an atom is approximately ${10}^{-10}$ metres. The size of a nucleus is approximately ${10}^{-13}$ metres. The size of a proton is approximately ${10}^{-14}$ metres. The size of a quark is approximately ${10}^{-19}$ metres.

A number line representing metric prefixes and their symbols. The centre mark represents is labelled "unit," for example: one metre, one gram, or one litre. One unit is equal to ${10}^0$. The metric measurements get larger as you move left from the centre (or unit). The first mark to the left of the unit is labelled "deca." One deca-unit is equal to ${10}^1$, and its symbol is the lower-case letters "da." The second mark to the left of the unit is labelled "hecto." One hecto-unit is equal to ${10}^2$, and its symbol is the lower-case letter "h." The third mark to the left of the unit is labelled "kilo." One kilo-unit is equal to ${10}^3$, and its symbol is the lower-case letter "k." The fourth mark to the left of the unit is labelled "mega." One mega-unit is equal to ${10}^6$, and its symbol is the upper-case letter "M." The fifth mark to the left of the unit is labelled "giga." One giga-unit is equal to ${10}^9$, and its symbol is the upper-case letter "G." The sixth mark to the left of the unit is labelled "tera." One tera-unit is equal to ${10}^{12}$, and its symbol is the upper-case letter "T." The metric measurements get smaller as you move right from the centre (or unit). The first mark to the right of the unit is labelled "deci." One deci-unit is equal to ${10}^{-1}$, and its symbol is the lower-case letter "d." The second mark to the right of the unit is labelled "centi." One centi-unit is equal to ${10}^{-2}$, and its symbol is the lower-case letter "c." The third mark to the right of the unit is labelled "milli." One milli-unit is equal to ${10}^{-3}$, and its symbol is the lower-case letter "m." The fourth mark to the right of the unit is labelled "micro." One micro-unit is equal to ${10}^{-6}$, and its symbol is the Greek letter "mu." The fifth mark to the right of the unit is labelled "nano." One nano-unit is equal to ${10}^{-9}$, and its symbol is the lower-case letter "n." The sixth mark to the right of the unit is labelled "pico." One pico-unit is equal to ${10}^{-12}$, and its symbol is the lower-case letter "p."