What is the relationship between millimeters and centimeters?

What is the relationship between millimeters and centimeters?

• A. 1 cm equals 100 mm
• B. 1 cm equals 0.01 mm
• C. 10 cm equals 1 mm
• D. 1 cm equals 10 mm

Answer: (D)

Understanding metric length units and how to convert between centimeters and millimeters. In the metric system, centi- means 10^-2 and milli- means 10^-3. A centimeter is one hundredth of a meter, and a millimeter is one thousandth of a meter. Since 0.01 m is ten times 0.001 m, there are ten millimeters in one centimeter. So the relation is 1 cm = 10 mm. To convert, multiply by 10 to go from centimeters to millimeters, or divide by 10 to go from millimeters to centimeters. For example, 3.4 cm = 34 mm, and 25 mm = 2.5 cm. The other statements mix up the factor of ten, either making millimeters outnumber centimeters by too large a factor or too small, which isn’t correct.

Understanding metric length units and how to convert between centimeters and millimeters. In the metric system, centi- means 10^-2 and milli- means 10^-3. A centimeter is one hundredth of a meter, and a millimeter is one thousandth of a meter. Since 0.01 m is ten times 0.001 m, there are ten millimeters in one centimeter. So the relation is 1 cm = 10 mm. To convert, multiply by 10 to go from centimeters to millimeters, or divide by 10 to go from millimeters to centimeters. For example, 3.4 cm = 34 mm, and 25 mm = 2.5 cm. The other statements mix up the factor of ten, either making millimeters outnumber centimeters by too large a factor or too small, which isn’t correct.