1-5 Measuring in Metric Units You’ll Learn: To use and convert metric units of measure.

Metric Units Type Unit Reference Example Length Millimeter (mm) Centimeter (cm) Meter (m) Kilometer (km) About the thickness of a dime About the width of your little finger About the distance from a doorknob to the floor About the length of 11 football fields Capacity Milliliter (mL) Liter (L) A small spoon holds about 5 mL A little more than 1 quart Mass Milligram (mg) Gram (g) Kilogram (kg) About the mass of a mosquito About the mass of a paper clip About the mass of a bunch of bananas

Metric Length Relationships Unit Kilo-meter Hecto-meter Deca-meter meter Deci-meter Centi-meter Milli-meter Symbol km hm dam m dm cm mm Value 1,000m 100m 10m 1m 0.1m 0.01m 0.001 m

Choosing a Reasonable Estimate When trying to measure using the metric system, it is important to estimate so that you can accurately choose a tool to measure. Choose a reasonable estimate: Height of a classroom 3 cm 3 m 3 km Mass of a bag of flour 2.3 mg 2.3 g 2.3 kg

Choose a reasonable estimate and explain your choice. Capacity/Volume of a soup bowl: 180 mL 180 L 180 kL Mass of a Butterfly: 500 mg 500 g 500 kg Height of an oak tree: 22 cm 22 m 22 km

Multiplying to Change Units You can change a measurement from one unit to another by finding the relationship between the two units and multiplying.

Metric Relationships Unit Kilo-meter Hecto-meter Deca-meter meter Deci-meter Centi-meter Milli-meter Symbol km hm dam m dm cm mm Value 1,000m 100m 10m 1m 0.1m 0.01m 0.001 m Unit Kilo-gram gram Milli-gram Symbol kg g mg Value 1,000g 1g 0.001 g Unit liter Milli-liter Symbol L mL Value 1L 0.001 L

Step 1 Decide if the conversion you are trying to do is going from a larger unit to a smaller unit or from a small unit to a larger unit. mL to L km to m cm to m

Step 2 Decide how many of the missing unit fits into the known unit. 245 mL = _____ L 1 mL = 0.001 L Hint: If you are going from big to small, your missing unit value should be a WHOLE number. If you are going from small to big, your missing unit value should be a DECIMAL. mL is smaller than L Small to Big  We use a decimal.

Step 3 Once you decide your relationship, multiply by the missing value. 245 x 0.001 = 0.245 L

Put it all together! Change 245 milliliters to liters. 245 mL = ____L 1 mL = 0.001 L 245 x 0.001 = 0.245 Check for Reasonableness: A milliliter is less than a liter. So, the number of liters should be less than the number of milliliters. 0.245 < 245, so the answer is reasonable.