Answer these questions about the English system: Why metrics? Answer these questions about the English system: How many fluid ounces are there in one gallon? How many cups are in a quart? How many inches are in a mile? How many teaspoons are there in one tablespoon?

Metric System Base 10 easy to use Prefixes and base units are all you need to know

The Prefixes Kilo (k) 1000 x the base Hecto (h) 100 x the base Deca (da) 10 x the base No prefix = just the base! Deci (d) 0.1 x the base 1/10 Centi (c) 0.01 x base 1/100 Milli (m) 0.001 x the base 1/1000 You MUST know these!

The Base units Distance = meter (m) Volume = liter (L) Mass (weight) = gram (g) Temperature = Kelvin (K) but we use oC There are other but for this class these will work

How to make sense of the metric system The first letter is the prefix The second letter is the base unit If there is only one letter you are in your base unit.

km Prefix (k) Base unit (m) m tells us we are measuring distance “meters” K means Kilo “1000” km means 1000 meters 5km can be read 5 “thousand” “meters”                                     (k)             (m)

You already use a base 10 system every day… (Americans just don’t use the prefixes right) Would you rather have 25 dollars or 25 centidollars? Would you rather have a kilodollar or a dollar?

How many jumps does it take? Ladder Method KILO (k) 1000 HECTO (h) 100 DEKA (da) 10 DECI (d) 0.1 CENTI (c) 0.01 MILLI (m) 0.001 Meters Liters Grams How do you use the “ladder” method? 4 km = _________ m Starting Point Ending Point 1st – Determine your starting point. 2nd – Count the “jumps” to your ending point. 3rd – Move the decimal the same number of jumps in the same direction. How many jumps does it take? 4. __. __. __. = 4000 m 1 2 3

Examples Convert the following: 2.0 m to cm 15 cm to m 1.5 km to m 4500 m to km

2.0 m to cm (move two places right) 15 cm to m (move two places left) 1.5 km to m (move three places right) 1500m 4500 m to km (move three places left) 4.5km