1*cm = 1xx10^-2*m
Thus 120*cm=120xx1xx10^-2*m = 1.20*m.
"Centi", "micro", "milli", and "kilo" are simply commonly used mulitpliers to save on the number of 0000"'s" we have to write.
"Micro " (mu) means xx10^-6.
"Milli (m)" means xx10^-3.
"Kilo (k)" means xx10^3.
"Mega (m)" means xx10^6.
"Deci" means xx10^-1.