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However, the names of all SI mass units are based on gram, rather than on kilogram; thus 10 3 kg is a megagram (10 6 g), not a *kilokilogram. The tonne (t) is an SI-compatible unit of mass equal to a megagram (Mg), or 10 3 kg. The unit is in common use for masses above about 10 3 kg and is often used with SI prefixes.
Butter may be measured by either weight (1 ⁄ 4 lb) or volume (3 tbsp) or a combination of weight and volume (1 ⁄ 4 lb plus 3 tbsp); it is sold by weight but in packages marked to facilitate common divisions by eye. (As a sub-packaged unit, a stick of butter, at 1 ⁄ 4 lb [113 g], is a de facto measure in the US.)
A number of different units (some only of historical interest) are shown and expressed in terms of the corresponding SI unit. Conversions between units in the metric system are defined by their prefixes (for example, 1 kilogram = 1000 grams, 1 milligram = 0.001 grams) and are thus not listed in this article.
For any given quantity whose unit has a name and symbol, an extended set of smaller and larger units is defined that are related by factors of powers of ten. The unit of time should be the second ; the unit of length should be either the metre or a decimal multiple of it; and the unit of mass should be the gram or a decimal multiple of it.
The first group of metric units are those that are at present defined as units within the International System of Units (SI). In its most restrictive interpretation, this is what may be meant when the term metric unit is used. The unit one (1) is the unit of a quantity of dimension one. It is the neutral element of any system of units. [2]
The prefix symbols are always prepended to the symbol for the unit without any intervening space or punctuation. [9] This distinguishes a prefixed unit symbol from the product of unit symbols, for which a space or mid-height dot as separator is required. So, for instance, while 'ms' means millisecond, 'm s' or 'm·s' means metre-second.
A grain is a unit of measurement of mass, and in the troy weight, avoirdupois, and apothecaries' systems, equal to exactly 64.798 91 milligrams.It is nominally based upon the mass of a single ideal seed of a cereal.
The kilogram is the only coherent SI unit whose name and symbol include a prefix. For historical reasons, the names and symbols for multiples and sub-multiples of the unit of mass are formed as if the gram were the base unit. Prefix names and symbols are attached to the unit name gram and the unit symbol g