powers of ten (idea)

The following are the prefixes associated with, and the abbreviations for the different powers of ten.

Multiple      Prefix       Abbreviation
1018          exa           E
1015          peta          P
1012          tera          T
109           giga          G
106           mega          M
103           kilo          k
102           hecto         h
101           deka          da
10-1          deci          d
10-2          centi         c
10-3          milli         m
10-6          micro         μ
10-9          nano          n
10-12         pico          p
10-15         femto         f
10-18         atto          a

So, something that is 1/100th of a meter is called a centimeter, and abreviated cm. Nifty, huh?