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Except for the early prefixes of kilo-, hecto-, and deca-, the symbols for the prefixes for multiples are uppercase letters, and those for the prefixes for submultiples are lowercase letters. [8] All of the metric prefix symbols are made from upper- and lower-case Latin letters except for the symbol for micro, which is uniquely a Greek letter ...
Kilo is a decimal unit prefix in the metric system denoting multiplication by one thousand (10 3). It is used in the International System of Units , where it has the symbol k , in lowercase . The prefix kilo is derived from the Greek word χίλιοι ( chilioi ), meaning "thousand".
A unit prefix is a specifier or mnemonic that is added to the beginning of a unit of measurement to indicate multiples or fractions of the units. Units of various sizes are commonly formed by the use of such prefixes. The prefixes of the metric system, such as kilo and milli, represent multiplication by positive or negative powers of ten.
Here the metric prefix 'kilo-' (symbol 'k') stands for a factor of 1000; thus, 1 km = 1000 m. The SI provides twenty-four metric prefixes that signify decimal powers ranging from 10 −30 to 10 30, the most recent being adopted in 2022.
The prefix kilo, for example, implies a factor of 1000 (10 3), and the prefix milli implies a factor of 1/1000 (10 −3). Thus, a kilometre is a thousand metres, and a milligram is one thousandth of a gram. These relations can be written symbolically as: [4]
Metric units are units based on the metre, gram or second and decimal (power of ten) multiples or sub-multiples of these. According to Schadow and McDonald, [ 1 ] metric units, in general, are those units "defined 'in the spirit' of the metric system, that emerged in late 18th century France and was rapidly adopted by scientists and engineers.
After 1792, the name of the original defined unit of mass, "gramme", which was too small to serve as a practical realisation for many purposes, was adopted, the new prefix "kilo" was added to it to form the name "kilogramme". Consequently, the kilogram is the only SI base unit that has an SI prefix as part of its unit name.
The kilogram (also spelled kilogramme [1]) is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), having the unit symbol kg. [1] The word "kilogram" is formed from the combination of the metric prefix kilo-(meaning one thousand) and gram; [2] it is colloquially shortened to "kilo" (plural "kilos").