A microgram (mcg) is a metric unit of mass equal to one-millionth of a gram. It’s one of the smallest standard units of mass, commonly used in medical, nutritional, and scientific settings where extremely small quantities matter.
The term comes from the Greek word mikros meaning “small” and “gram,” the base metric unit for mass. Its official SI symbol is µg. However, in medical practice especially in the U.S. mcg is used to prevent confusion with mg (milligram), which is 1,000 times larger.
How Is Microgram Used?
A kilogram, abbreviated as kg, is the standard unit of mass in the metric system used in nearly every country in the world. Whether you're weighing yourself at the gym, buying fruits at the grocery store, or measuring ingredients in a recipe, chances are you're using kilograms, especially if you're outside the U.S.
The term "kilogram" comes from French, combining kilo (meaning "a thousand") with gram. One kilogram equals 1,000 grams. Originally, the kilogram was defined by a physical object a platinum-iridium cylinder stored in France. But since 2019, scientists now define it using fundamental constants of nature like the Planck constant, making it far more precise and stable for scientific use.
How the Kilogram Is Used:The kilogram is part of everyday life in countries using the metric system:
1 µg = 0 kg
Let’s say you want to convert 1,000,000,000 µg to kg.
Using the formula:
1,000,000,000 × 0 = 1 kg
So, 1,000,000,000 µg is approximately 1 kg.
| Microgram (µg) | Kilogram (kg) |
|---|---|
| 1 µg | 0 kg |
| 2 µg | 0 kg |
| 3 µg | 0 kg |
| 4 µg | 0 kg |
| 5 µg | 0 kg |
| 6 µg | 0 kg |
| 7 µg | 0 kg |
| 8 µg | 0 kg |
| 9 µg | 0 kg |
| 10 µg | 0 kg |
| 11 µg | 0 kg |
| 12 µg | 0 kg |
| 13 µg | 0 kg |
| 14 µg | 0 kg |
| 15 µg | 0 kg |