In chemical analysis, very small masses are measured. The following units are commonly used:
- Milligram (mg): 1 mg = 1 × 10−3 g
- Microgram (µg): 1 µg = 1 × 10−6 g
- Nanogram (ng): 1 ng = 1 × 10−9 g
Übersichtstabelle
| Unit | Abbreviation | Scientific notation | Conversion to g |
| Milligramm | mg | 1 × 10−3 g | 0.001 g |
| Mikrogramm | µg | 1 × 10−6 g | 0.000'001 g |
| Nanogramm | ng | 1 × 10−9 g | 0.000'000'001 g |
Illustrative examples
To better understand the scale, the following comparisons may be helpful:
- Milligram (mg): One milligram is approximately 1/50 of a drop of water . A single drop of water weighs approximately 50 mg.
- Microgram (µg): A microgram is equal to 1/1,000 of a milligram. You can imagine it as a fraction of a tiny speck of dust or the mass of a small bacterial cell, which is typically in the range of a few micrograms.
- Nanogram (ng): A nanogram is 1/1,000,000 of a milligram or 1/1,000 of a microgram. This corresponds to the mass of a few molecules or tiny particles and is extremely small.
For example, a value of 5 µg/L corresponds to:
- 5 µg/L = 5 × 10 −6 g/L
These units and their scientific notation are essential for precisely quantifying very small amounts of substances, as is often the case in environmental analysis and drinking water testing. In chemistry, the mole is also used depending on the situation (usually when specifying concentrations) .
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