One centigram of a substance is equal to how many grams?

Question

One centigram of a substance is equal to how many grams??  
A. 0.0001  
B. 0.01  
C. 10  
D. 1000

Accepted Answer

Correct Answer: (B)0.01. 
Rationale: One centigram is equal to 0.01 grams.Metric conversions are based on a decimal system where prefixes indicate powers of ten. The prefix "centi-" denotes a factor of one hundredth (1/100 or 10⁻²).A) 0.0001 This is equal to one ten-thousandth (10⁻⁴) of a gram. This value corresponds to the conversion for centimeters to meters (1 cm = 0.01 m = 0.00001 km? Wait, careful: 1 cm = 0.01 m, which is 10⁻²). For mass, 0.0001 g would be 0.1 milligram (since 1 mg = 0.001 g). It is off by a factor of 10 from the correct centi- conversion.B) 0.01 The prefix "centi-" means 1/100. Therefore, 1 centigram = 1/100 of a gram = 0.01 grams. This is the direct and accurate conversion. There are 100 centigrams in one gram.C) 10 This would mean 1 centigram equals 10 grams, which is incorrect. This reverses the relationship, suggesting a centigram is a larger unit than a gram. In fact, the centigram is a smaller unit; it takes 100 of them to make a single gram.D) 1000 This is the conversion factor between grams and kilograms (1 kg = 1000 g) or between milligrams and grams (1 g = 1000 mg). It is off by a factor of 100,000 from the correct centigram-to-gram relationship (1 cg = 0.01 g, so 1 g = 100 cg).Conclusion: Understanding metric prefixes is essential. "Centi-" always represents a factor of 10⁻². Applying this to the unit of mass, gram, means moving the decimal two places to the left to convert centigrams to grams: 1 cg = 0.01 g.

One centigram of a substance is equal to how many grams?

A
0.0001

B
0.01

C
10

D
1000

One centigram is equal to 0.01 grams.

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One centigram of a substance is equal to how many grams?

A 0.0001 B 0.01 C 10 D 1000

One centigram is equal to 0.01 grams.

Topic Flashcards

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Related Questions

A
0.0001

B
0.01

C
10

D
1000