How many grams are in 74.0 mg?

1 Answer
Truong-Son N.
Aug 28, 2016

#"mg"# stands for milligram.

  • #"m"# is the prefix "milli", which means #10^(-3)#, a number less than #1#.
  • #"1 mg"# is therefore literally smaller than #"1 g"#.

So, there are #10^(-3)# #"g"# in #"1 mg"#, or #10^3# #"mg"# in #"1 g"#. This makes sense because you need more of something small to equal something larger.

Due to the equivalences given above, we can use one of them as a conversion factor.

#74.0 cancel("mg") xx "1 g"/(10^3 cancel("mg"))#

#= 74.0 cancel("mg") xx (10^(-3) "g")/(1 cancel("mg"))#

#=# #color(blue)("0.074 g")#

You don't have to do it both ways, but both are provided so you can choose.

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