Meters, Grams and Liters The Metric System Meters, Grams and Liters

The Metric System The metric system is a measurement system based on our decimal (base 10) number system. Other countries and all scientists and engineers use the metric system for measurement.

Metric Prefixes Prefix Symbol Factor Number Factor Word Kilo- k 1000 Metric Units The metric system has prefix modifiers that are multiples of 10. Prefix Symbol Factor Number Factor Word Kilo- k 1000 Thousand Hecto- h 100 Hundred Deca- da or dk 10 Ten Unit m, l, or g 1 One Deci- d .1 Tenth Centi- c .01 Hundredth Milli- m .001 thousandth

Meters Meters measure length or distance One millimeter is about the thickness of a dime.

Meters One centimeter is about the width of a large paper clip or your fingernail.

Meters A meter is about the width of a doorway

Meters A kilometer is about six city blocks or 10 football fields. 1.6 kilometers is about 1 mile

Gram Grams are used to measure mass or the weight of an object.

Grams A milligram weighs about as much as a grain of salt.

Grams 1 gram weighs about as much as a small paper clip. 1 kilogram weighs about as much as 6 apples or 2 pounds.

Liters Liters measure liquids or capacity. 2 Liter Soda

Liter 1 milliliter is about the amount of one drop

Liter 1 liter is half of a 2 liter bottle of Coke or other soda

What unit would you use to measure each of the following items?

Which unit would you use to measure the length of this bicycle? km m cm mm

Which unit would you use to measure the mass of a penny? km g cL mg

Which unit would you use to measure the water in an aquarium? L m cL mg

Which unit would you use to measure the mass of a feather? L m cL mg

Which unit would you use to measure the mass of a student desk? kg g cL mg

Which unit would you use to measure the mass of a whole watermelon? kg g cL mg

Which unit would you use to measure the mass of an egg? kg g mm mg

Which unit would you use to measure a can of soup? kL L mm mL

Which unit would you use to measure this glass of milk? kL L cL mL

Which unit would you use to measure the distance across Kansas? km m cm mL

Which unit would you use to measure the height of a tree? km m cm mm

Which unit would you use to measure the length of a bracelet? km m cm mm

Changing Metric Units To change from one unit to another in the metric system you simply multiply or divide by a power of 10.

Place Values of Metric Prefixes Move the decimal point to the right to multiply. Move the decimal point to the left to divide.

Commonly used Metric Units of Length, Mass and Volume Length mm cm  m  km (small) (big) Mass Mg  g  kg (small) (Big) Volume mL  L (small) (Big)

To change from a larger unit to a smaller unit, you need to multiply. km  m (x 1000) 1000 m = 1 km m cm (x 100) 100 cm = 1 m cm mm (x 10) 10 mm = 1 cm Length Example- 15 km = ____m 15 x 1000 = 15,000 m

Mass g  mg (x 1000) 1,000 mg = 1kg kg  g (x 1000) 1,000 g = 1kg Example- 9 g = ____ mg 9 x 1000 = 9,000 mg

Volume L  mL (x 1000) 1,000 mL = 1 L Example- 60 L = ___ mL 60 x 1000 = 60,000 mL

To change from smaller units to larger units you divide by a power of ten. Length Example- 50 cm = ____ m 50 ÷ 100 = .5 m 75 mm = ___ cm 75 ÷ 10 = 7.5 cm mm  cm (÷ 10) 10 mm = 1 cm cm  m (÷ 100) 100 cm = 1m m  km (÷ 1000) 1,000 m = 1km

Mass mg  g (÷ 1000) 1,000 mg = 1kg g  kg (÷ 1000) 1,000 g = 1kg Example- 600 mg = ____ g 600 ÷ 1000 = .6 g

Volume mL  L (÷ 1000) 1,000 mL = 1 L Example- 500 mL = ____ L 500 ÷ 1000 = .5 L

Setting up a Proportion or Conversion Ratio 60 cm = ____ m -Write your conversion factor 100 cm = 1 m -Set up your proportion/conversion ratio 60 cm X -Cross multiply and solve for X 100 X = 60 100 cm = 1 m 100 100 60 cm X X = .6 m