Which prefix denotes 10^-2?

• A. 10^-2
• B. 10^-6
• C. 10^3
• D. 10^-9

Answer: (A)

Metric prefixes attach to units to represent powers of ten. A prefix for 10^-2 is centi-, meaning one hundredth of a unit, as in a centimeter being one hundredth of a meter. The other prefixes in the list correspond to different powers: milli- is 10^-3, micro- is 10^-6, nano- is 10^-9, and kilo- is 10^3. So 10^-2 is centi-.