What is 1 kilometer in meters?

What is 1 kilometer in meters?

• A. 100
• B. 10
• C. 1,000
• D. 10,000

Answer: (C)

Metric prefixes show powers of ten. The prefix kilo- means multiply by 1000, and the base unit here is the metre. So one kilometre is 1000 metres. That’s why the correct value is 1000. The other numbers come from common misplacements of the decimal or from changing units by smaller factors: 100 would be the number of metres in 0.1 kilometre, 10 would be metres in 0.01 kilometre, and 10,000 would be metres in 10 kilometres. Remember the rule: convert kilometres to metres by moving the decimal point three places to the right.

Metric prefixes show powers of ten. The prefix kilo- means multiply by 1000, and the base unit here is the metre. So one kilometre is 1000 metres. That’s why the correct value is 1000. The other numbers come from common misplacements of the decimal or from changing units by smaller factors: 100 would be the number of metres in 0.1 kilometre, 10 would be metres in 0.01 kilometre, and 10,000 would be metres in 10 kilometres. Remember the rule: convert kilometres to metres by moving the decimal point three places to the right.