Question

What is the value of 1m in \[\mu \](microns)?
\[\begin{align}
  & \text{A) 1}{{\text{0}}^{5}} \\
 & \text{B) 1}{{\text{0}}^{6}} \\
 & \text{C) 1}{{\text{0}}^{9}} \\
 & \text{D) 1}{{\text{0}}^{12}} \\
\end{align}\]

Answer 1

Hint: We need to understand the basic units of measurement and the relation between the different units used in measuring the same physical property and the use of each unit and how the units make the calculations easier and less complex.

Complete answer:
We know that meter is the standard unit for measuring length. Besides the meter scale, there are a large number of units in the standard system which is used to measure the lengths of different objects. We use different units for measuring the same physical quantity for different objects, this is to make the quantity comparable with the object’s size and to compare objects of similar nature.
We use kilometers to measure the distance between two places, whereas we use the units such as fermi, picometers, nanometers or Angstrom for measuring the objects which are smaller to atomic levels. There are intermediate units which we use in our daily life such as the centimeters, millimeters and micrometers.
We also need to know the relations between these units to compare how small an atom is as compared to the distance from your home to your school, which for sure is very large.
Given below are the basic units in standard terms used in measuring lengths relative to the meters.
\[\begin{align}
  & 1km=1000m \\
 & 1dm=10m \\
 & 1cm={{10}^{-2}}cm \\
 & 1mm={{10}^{-3}}m \\
 & 1\mu m={{10}^{-6}}m \\
 & 1nm={{10}^{-9}}m \\
 & 1\overset{\text{0}}{\mathop{\text{A}}}\,={{10}^{-10}}m \\
 & 1pm={{10}^{-12}}m \\
 & 1fm={{10}^{-15}}m \\
\end{align}\]
From this we understand the microns or the micrometers is related to meters as –
\[\begin{align}
  & 1\mu m={{10}^{-6}}m \\
 & \Rightarrow 1m={{10}^{6}}\mu m \\
\end{align}\]
The value of 1m in microns or micrometers is \[{{10}^{6}}\mu m\].

The correct answer is option B.

Note:
The smallest units of length are used in the nuclear levels of atoms. The fermi and picometers are among them. The distance in space is usually measured in light years which is defined as the distance travelled by light through vacuum in an year time.