Prefixes of the Metric System

Explanation

Kings Hate Dragons Because Dragons Can't Make Money gives you K-H-D-B-D-C-M-M, standing for Kilo, Hecto, Deca, Base, Deci, Centi, Milli, Micro. In a mnemonic device like this one, the first letter of each word in the phrase stands for the first letter of what you're actually trying to remember - that's what the highlighted letters above show. This memory sentence covers the Metric prefixes, or the decimal ladder, and base unit.

VARIATIONS

• Kids Hate Doing Math During Cloudy Mondays

• Kids Have Dropped Over Dead Converting Metrics

• Kill Him Dead Or Don't Call Me

• King Hector Died Mysteriously Drink Chocolate Milk

• Great Mighty King Henry Died By Drinking Chunky Milk

  • Giga, Mega, Kilo, Hecto, Deca, Base, Deci, Centi, Milli

• King Henry Died Bloated Drinking Chocolate Milk

• King Henry Doesn’t March Down Chocolate Mountains

• Good Models Know How Dunkin Donuts Can Make U Not Petit

  • Giga, Mega, Kilo, Hecto, Deca, Deci, Centi, Milli, Micro (symbol looks like a "U"), Nano, Pico

• Kittens Hate Dogs But Do Chase Mice

  • Kilo, Hecto, Deca, Base, Deci, Centi, Milli

• The Great Medieval Killer Hates Dragons, Dragons Cry More Musically, Now Peep.

• The Great Mighty King Henry Died By Drinking Chunky Milk, Nes Pa?

  • Terra, Giga, Mega, Kilo, Hecto, Deca, Deci, Centi, Milli, Micro (symbol looks like a "U"), Nano, Pico

• The Great Mighty King Henry Died Monday Drinking Chocolate Milk Under Neath Pier

• Yawning Zebras Expect Promptness Towards Great Magnanimous Kings; Determined Centaurs Make Messes, Nicely Pushing Feminism At Zebras' Yearnings.

  • for most of the prefixes from 10^24 to 10^-24: Yotta, Zetta, Exa, Peta, Tera, Giga, Mega, Kilo, Deci, Centi, Milli, Micro, Nano, Pico, Femto, Atto, Zepto, Yocto. Hecto and Deca are skipped here on purpose - they're rarely used outside a few special cases.

• Every Physics Teacher Gives Me Killer Headaches Doing Dumb Crazy Math Mostly Not Pleasant For Anyone

  • for the prefixes from Exa down to Atto: Exa, Peta, Tera, Giga, Mega, Kilo, Hecto, Deca, Deci, Centi, Milli, Micro, Nano, Pico, Femto, Atto.

This is another way to learn the metric system from milli to mega (as opposed to kilo down to milli);

• Millipedes and Centipedes ate Daisies on U'r Deck, so Hector Killed Many.
  • Millipedes (milli); Centipedes (Centi); Daisies (Deci); U'r (Unit); Deck (Deca); Hector (Hecto); Killed (Kilo); Many (Mega).

Information from Wikipedia's article on the metric prefix: a metric prefix, or SI prefix, is a unit prefix that precedes a basic unit of measure, to indicate a decadic multiple or fraction of the unit. Each prefix has a unique symbol that is prepended to the unit symbol. The prefix kilo-, for example, may be added to gram to indicate multiplication by one thousand; one kilogram is equal to one thousand grams. The prefix centi-, likewise, may be added to metre to indicate division by one hundred; one centimetre is equal to one hundredth of a metre.

• Weight: measured in grams. 1kg is one kilogram = 1000 grams, approximately 2.2 lb.
• Length/distance: measured in meters. 1km is one kilometer = 1000 meters, approximately 1093 yd.
• Volume: measured in liters. 1l is one liter = 1000 milliliters, approximately 2.1134 US pt lqd.