The metric system of measurement is a very organized system which is based on multiples of ten. For cooking, the three basic metric units are the liter, gram, and meter. All other units are derived from these by adding a prefix to the basic unit.
| PREFIX | VALUE |
| kilo | 1000 |
| hecto | 100 |
| deca | 10 |
| deci | 1/10 |
| centi | 1/100 |
| milli | 1/1000 |
To find the value of the unit, just multiply the value of the prefix by the base unit.
1 kilogram = kilo x 1 gram = 1000 grams
1 centimeter = centi x 1 meter = 1/100th of a meter or 0.01 meters
3 milliliters = milli x 3 liters = 1/1000 x 3 liters = 3/1000 liters or 0.003 liters
Volume Measurements
| milliliter | centiliter | deciliter | liter | decaliter | hectoliter | |
| 1 milliliter = | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.001 | 0.0001 | 0.00001 |
| 1 centiliter = | 10 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.001 | 0.0001 |
| 1 deciliter = | 100 | 10 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.001 |
| 1 liter = | 1000 | 100 | 10 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 |
| 1 decaliter = | 10000 | 1000 | 100 | 10 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1 hectoliter = | 100000 | 10000 | 1000 | 100 | 10 | 1 |
Weight
| milligram | centigram | decigram | gram | decagram | hectogram | kilogram | |
| 1 milligram = | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.001 | 0.0001 | 0.00001 | 0.000001 |
| 1 centigram = | 10 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.001 | 0.0001 | 0.00001 |
| 1 decigram = | 100 | 10 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.001 | 0.0001 |
| 1 gram = | 1000 | 100 | 10 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.001 |
| 1 decagram = | 10000 | 1000 | 100 | 10 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 |
| 1 hectogram = | 100000 | 10000 | 1000 | 100 | 10 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1 kilogram = | 1000000 | 100000 | 10000 | 1000 | 100 | 10 | 1 |
Length
| millimeter | centimeter | decimeter | meter | decameter | hectometer | kilometer | |
| 1 millimeter = | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.001 | 0.0001 | 0.00001 | 0.000001 |
| 1 centimeter = | 10 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.001 | 0.0001 | 0.00001 |
| 1 decimeter = | 100 | 10 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.001 | 0.0001 |
| 1 meter = | 1000 | 100 | 10 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.001 |
| 1 decameter = | 10000 | 1000 | 100 | 10 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.01 |
| 1 hectometer = | 100000 | 10000 | 1000 | 100 | 10 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1 kilometer = | 1000000 | 100000 | 10000 | 1000 | 100 | 10 | 1 |
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