The document discusses metric prefixes that are used to modify units of measurement and make large or small quantities more manageable. It explains that prefixes like kilo (k), centi (c), and milli (m) multiply the base unit by factors of 1000, 100, and 1000 respectively. For example, 1 centimeter (cm) is equal to 0.01 meters, 1 millimeter (mm) is equal to 0.001 meters, and 1 kilometer (km) is equal to 1000 meters. The document provides a table of common metric prefixes and their scientific notation abbreviations to help memorize the system and properly apply prefixes when modifying units of measurement.