Why does kilogram have a prefix

Likewise, what is the full form of Kilo? Likewise, is kilo short for kilogram? Kilo is a prefix meaning and is part of official SI nomenclature. Kilo is sometimes used by itself to mean kilograms , but if you do this and other people don't know what you' Kilogram is the primary unit of mass in the SI system. A kilo is a metric unit of weight. One kilogram is a thousand grams, and is equal to 2.

Kilo is a decimal unit prefix in the metric system denoting multiplication by one thousand 10 3. It is used in the International System of Units, where it has the symbol k, in lower case. What is Kilo used for? Kilo is a decimal unit prefix in the metric system denoting multiplication by one thousand What is a kilo euro? The abbreviation "kilo" all alone in English always refers to the weight measure.

In the mechanical units cm, g, s 'CGS' were adopted as the coherent system of units for science. Unfortunately, the abvolt, abohm, were inconveniently small. Their magnitude was convenient, but they were not coherent with CGS. In , Giorgi pointed out that the practical units are coherent with m, kg, s. Because of this, the scientific community adopted the SI system in , with the kilogram as base unit.

In summary: the kilogram became the base unit because it is coherent with the joule, which is derived from the practical units volt and ampere. There are various systems of units that fall within the family colloquially referred to as the metric system. The SI formerly known by the more descriptive term mks is based on the meter, kilogram, and second. The cgs system is based on the centimeter, gram, and second. As far as I know, nobody actually uses an mgs meter-gram-second system, although it would be logical to use a system with no prefixes.

Whether to use mks or cgs is an arbitrary convention, and it depends on the field you're in. Astronomers and particle physicists often use cgs.

Engineers tend to use mks. The cgs units for force and energy are inconveniently small for many mechanical applications. Mks and cgs are also associated with different electrical units. This causes equations such as Maxwell's equations to have different forms in the two systems. WP has the gory details. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top.

Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Why does the metric system use "kilogram" as a base SI unit? Ask Question. Asked 8 years, 6 months ago.

Active 2 years, 5 months ago. Viewed 27k times. Improve this question. Prefix Progress. Since the Metric System was first developed there have been four 4 key prefix updates. This chronological summary highlights the interesting history of SI prefixes. SI prefixes for submultiples smaller quantities or sub units are formatted with all lowercase symbols while prefixes for multiples larger quantities or whole units use uppercase symbols with the exception of three: kilo k , hecto h and deka da.

Historical Exception. For historical reasons, the name "kilogram" for the SI base unit of mass contains the name "kilo," the SI prefix for 10 3. Thus, because compound prefixes are unacceptable, symbols for decimal multiples and submultiples of the unit of mass are formed by attaching SI prefix symbols to g gram.

The names of such multiples and submultiples are formed by attaching SI prefix names to the name "gram. For example, the prefix deka is used American English spelling but not deca British English.