High School

Which of the following is larger?

a) Kilo- or nano-

b) Milli- or micro-

c) Kilo- or mega-

d) Giga- or tera-

Answer :

Final answer:

The larger prefixes compared are kilo- versus nano-, milli- versus micro-, mega- versus kilo-, and tera- versus giga-; with kilo-, milli-, mega-, and tera- being the larger ones respectively.

Explanation:

When comparing units with different metric prefixes, it's essential to understand the magnitude that each prefix represents. Here are the comparisons:

  • Kilo- represents a thousand (10³), and nano- represents one-billionth (10⁻⁹). Clearly, kilo- is larger.
  • Milli- represents a thousandth (10⁻³), and micro- represents a millionth (10⁻⁶). Therefore, milli- is larger.
  • Kilo- again represents a thousand (10³), and mega- represents a million (10⁶). In this case, mega- is larger.
  • Giga- represents a billion (10⁹), and tera- represents a trillion (10¹²). Here, tera- is larger.

Thus, the final solution for which is larger:

  1. Kilo- is larger than nano-.
  2. Milli- is larger than micro-.
  3. Mega- is larger than kilo-.
  4. Tera- is larger than giga-.