Metric prefixes are pretty easy to understand and very handy for
metric conversions. You don't have to know the nature of a unit to
convert,
for example, from
kilo-unit to
mega-unit. You either multiply or divide by a power of ten. All metric prefixes indicate powers of 10. The
most
commonly used prefixes
are highlighted
in bold in the table. Most people even in the countries where
metric system is only used, only know
the most commonly used metric prefixes like 'kilo' and 'milli'. The prefixes like 'zepto' or 'yotta' are very specific and used mostly in science.