# Difference between revisions of "Size measures for items related to cells"

This page lists order of magnitude estimates for the sizes of various microscopic items that are related to cells. The goal is to give a rough sense of what individual sizes mean, since these are too small for us to compare with our day-to-day intuitions.

## Units for length

### Units

Unit for length (full word) Unit for length (shorthand) In terms of meters (m) What's it used to measure?
femtometer fm ${\displaystyle 10^{-15}}$ nucleus of an atom (not nucleus of a cell). Rarely used in biology
picometer pm ${\displaystyle 10^{-12}}$ radius and diameter of an atom or size of a molecule. Used in biology when talking about biological membranes and passage of ions through membranes
angstrom A ${\displaystyle 10^{-10}}$ sizes of molecules, wavelengths of light
nanometer nm ${\displaystyle 10^{-9}}$ sizes of very large molecules, substructures and organelles of cells, wavelengths of light
micron or micrometer ${\displaystyle \mu }$m ${\displaystyle 10^{-6}}$ sizes of cells and cellular organelles
millimeter mm ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}}$ Rarely used in cell biology. May be used for tissues and cell clusters

### Conversion between units

Unit for length (full word) Unit for length (shorthand) Number of fm Number of pm Number of angstroms Number of nm Number of ${\displaystyle \mu }$m Number of mm
femtometer fm 1 ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-5}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-6}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-9}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-12}}$
picometer pm ${\displaystyle 10^{3}}$ 1 ${\displaystyle 10^{-2}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-6}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-9}}$
angstrom A ${\displaystyle 10^{5}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{2}}$ 1 ${\displaystyle 10^{-1}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-4}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-7}}$
nanometer nm ${\displaystyle 10^{6}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{3}}$ 10 1 ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-6}}$
micron or micrometer ${\displaystyle \mu }$m ${\displaystyle 10^{9}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{6}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{4}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{3}}$ 1 ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}}$
millimeter mm ${\displaystyle 10^{12}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{9}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{7}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{6}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{3}}$ 1

## Lengths of items related to cell size

Item Number of meters Number of fm Number of pm Number of angstroms Number of nm Number of ${\displaystyle \mu }$m Number of mm
diameter of atomic nucleus (varies with element) = twice the nuclear radius ${\displaystyle 1.5*10^{-15}-1.5*10^{-14}}$ 1.5-15 ${\displaystyle 1.5*10^{-3}-1.5*10^{-2}}$ ${\displaystyle 1.5*10^{-5}-1.5*10^{-4}}$ ${\displaystyle 1.5*10^{-6}-1.5*10^{-5}}$ ${\displaystyle 1.5*10^{-9}-1.5*10^{-8}}$ ${\displaystyle 1.5*10^{-12}-1.5*10^{-11}}$
diameter of atom (varies with element) = twice the atomic radius ${\displaystyle 5*10^{-11}-6*10^{-10}}$ 5000-60000 50-600 0.5-6 0.05-0.6 ${\displaystyle 5*10^{-5}-6*10^{-4}}$ ${\displaystyle 5*10^{-8}-6*10^{-7}}$
thickness of lipid bilayer ${\displaystyle 10^{-9}-10^{-8}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{6}-10^{7}}$ 1000-10000 10-100 1-10 ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}-10^{-2}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-6}}$-${\displaystyle 10^{-5}}$
diameter of prokaryotic cell (varies based on organism) ${\displaystyle 10^{-6}-10^{-5}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{9}-10^{10}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{6}-10^{7}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{4}-10^{5}}$ 1000-10000 1-10 ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}-10^{-2}}$
diameter of eukaryotic cell (varies based on organism and cell type) ${\displaystyle 10^{-5}-10^{-4}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{10}-10^{11}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{7}-10^{8}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{5}-10^{6}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{4}-10^{5}}$ 10-100 0.01-0.1
The text passage provides a detailed table of units for measuring length, their conversion factors, and the sizes of various microscopic items related to cells. It does not contain any explicit mathematical questions or answers.
no_question
Given a text passage, determine:
    1. If it contains a mathematical question (including word problems or calculations)
    2. If an answer to that mathematical question is provided in the text

First, describe the content structure you found in 1-2 sentences.

Then provide your analysis in the following format:
TYPE: <one of the following values>
- NO_QUESTION
- SINGLE_QUESTION
- SINGLE_QUESTION_WITH_ANSWER
- MULTIPLE_QUESTIONS
- MULTIPLE_QUESTIONS_WITH_ANSWERS
system
# Difference between revisions of "Size measures for items related to cells"

This page lists order of magnitude estimates for the sizes of various microscopic items that are related to cells. The goal is to give a rough sense of what individual sizes mean, since these are too small for us to compare with our day-to-day intuitions.

## Units for length

### Units

Unit for length (full word) Unit for length (shorthand) In terms of meters (m) What's it used to measure?
femtometer fm ${\displaystyle 10^{-15}}$ nucleus of an atom (not nucleus of a cell). Rarely used in biology
picometer pm ${\displaystyle 10^{-12}}$ radius and diameter of an atom or size of a molecule. Used in biology when talking about biological membranes and passage of ions through membranes
angstrom A ${\displaystyle 10^{-10}}$ sizes of molecules, wavelengths of light
nanometer nm ${\displaystyle 10^{-9}}$ sizes of very large molecules, substructures and organelles of cells, wavelengths of light
micron or micrometer ${\displaystyle \mu }$m ${\displaystyle 10^{-6}}$ sizes of cells and cellular organelles
millimeter mm ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}}$ Rarely used in cell biology. May be used for tissues and cell clusters

### Conversion between units

Unit for length (full word) Unit for length (shorthand) Number of fm Number of pm Number of angstroms Number of nm Number of ${\displaystyle \mu }$m Number of mm
femtometer fm 1 ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-5}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-6}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-9}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-12}}$
picometer pm ${\displaystyle 10^{3}}$ 1 ${\displaystyle 10^{-2}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-6}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-9}}$
angstrom A ${\displaystyle 10^{5}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{2}}$ 1 ${\displaystyle 10^{-1}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-4}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-7}}$
nanometer nm ${\displaystyle 10^{6}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{3}}$ 10 1 ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-6}}$
micron or micrometer ${\displaystyle \mu }$m ${\displaystyle 10^{9}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{6}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{4}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{3}}$ 1 ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}}$
millimeter mm ${\displaystyle 10^{12}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{9}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{7}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{6}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{3}}$ 1

## Lengths of items related to cell size

Item Number of meters Number of fm Number of pm Number of angstroms Number of nm Number of ${\displaystyle \mu }$m Number of mm
diameter of atomic nucleus (varies with element) = twice the nuclear radius ${\displaystyle 1.5*10^{-15}-1.5*10^{-14}}$ 1.5-15 ${\displaystyle 1.5*10^{-3}-1.5*10^{-2}}$ ${\displaystyle 1.5*10^{-5}-1.5*10^{-4}}$ ${\displaystyle 1.5*10^{-6}-1.5*10^{-5}}$ ${\displaystyle 1.5*10^{-9}-1.5*10^{-8}}$ ${\displaystyle 1.5*10^{-12}-1.5*10^{-11}}$
diameter of atom (varies with element) = twice the atomic radius ${\displaystyle 5*10^{-11}-6*10^{-10}}$ 5000-60000 50-600 0.5-6 0.05-0.6 ${\displaystyle 5*10^{-5}-6*10^{-4}}$ ${\displaystyle 5*10^{-8}-6*10^{-7}}$
thickness of lipid bilayer ${\displaystyle 10^{-9}-10^{-8}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{6}-10^{7}}$ 1000-10000 10-100 1-10 ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}-10^{-2}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{-6}}$-${\displaystyle 10^{-5}}$
diameter of prokaryotic cell (varies based on organism) ${\displaystyle 10^{-6}-10^{-5}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{9}-10^{10}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{6}-10^{7}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{4}-10^{5}}$ 1000-10000 1-10 ${\displaystyle 10^{-3}-10^{-2}}$
diameter of eukaryotic cell (varies based on organism and cell type) ${\displaystyle 10^{-5}-10^{-4}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{10}-10^{11}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{7}-10^{8}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{5}-10^{6}}$ ${\displaystyle 10^{4}-10^{5}}$ 10-100 0.01-0.1
user
The text passage provides a detailed table of units for measuring length, their conversion factors, and the sizes of various microscopic items related to cells. It does not contain any explicit mathematical questions or answers.

TYPE: NO_QUESTION