Question

One thousand microns is equal to

• A. \(10^{-3}\ \text{m}\)
• B. \(10^{-9}\ \text{m}\)
• C. \(10^{-6}\ \text{m}\)
• D. \(10^{-12}\ \text{m}\)

Hint:

Convert using 1 micron = 10 to the power -6 m, then multiply by 1000.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Start from the basic conversion fact and build the answer with simple powers of ten.

1. By definition, \(1\ \mu m = 10^{-6}\ m\).
2. We need 1000 microns, so write 1000 as a power of ten: \(1000 = 10^{3}\).
3. Multiply the two: \(10^{3} \times 10^{-6}\ m\).
4. When multiplying powers of the same base, add the exponents: \(3 + (-6) = -3\).
5. This gives \(10^{-3}\ m\).

So 1000 microns work out to \(10^{-3}\) m, which everyone also knows as 1 millimetre, matching option A. The other options correspond to different unit prefixes such as nanometre for \(10^{-9}\) m and picometre for \(10^{-12}\) m, and a single micron alone for \(10^{-6}\) m, none of which match 1000 microns.