1. Metric System Part 1

2. The Metric System Is a system of measurement.
Is also known as the “S.I. System”.
(System International)

3. Metric System Quantity Unit Unit Symbol Distance meter m Mass gram g
Volume
liter L
Time
second s
Temperature
degrees celsius
o C

4. every student should know…
Prefixes
every student should know…
Example
Means..
Symbol
Prefix
milli- m
thousandth mL
centi- c
hundredth cg
kilo- k
thousand km

5. graduated cylinder or beaker
Tools of Measurement
Tool
Unit
(unit symbol)
Quantity
Distance
meter
(m)
meterstick or ruler
Mass
gram
(g)
balance
Volume
liter
(L)
graduated cylinder or beaker

6. WHY USE METRIC?

7. Benefits of the Metric System:
It uses the decimal system (10’s!)
It is an International Standard.
The units relate to each other.*
*(More on this later!)

8. kilo, centi, milli How do you do that?
Be able to give your answer using any of these prefixes!
For example:
A snowboard is
1.85 m or
185 cm
1850 mm
How do you do that?

9. Common Sense: Problem: How many centimeters is 1.5 meters?
There are many ways to solve this problem. One way is
Common Sense:
1. The Metric System prefixes work by multiples of 10.
So, the answer must be found by just moving the decimal point. Some possible answers are:
15cm, 150 cm, 1500 cm,
0.15 cm, cm
2. Which of these are reasonable answers?

10. Does the measurement make sense?
1cm = width of a fingernail
1 g = mass of a push pin
1 mL = ~20 drops of water

11. Practice Guessing: 1.5 m = 12 cm = 0.295 m = 0.8 m = 150 0.12 295 80

12. Metric System
Part 2

13. Metric System Quantity Unit Unit Symbol Distance meter m Mass gram g
Volume
liter L

14. kilo, centi, milli How do you do that?
Be able to give your answer using any of these prefixes!
For example:
A snowboard is
1.85 m or
185 cm
1850 mm
How do you do that?

15. Practice Guessing: 1.5 m = 12 cm = 0.295 m = 0.8 m = 150 0.12 295 80

16. just meter, liter, or gram
Metric Staircase.
centi
base
kilo
milli
k - kilo
Move up a step (left):
…decimal moves left
Move down a step (right):
…Decimal moves right
h - hecto
da - deca
base
(no prefix) -
just meter, liter, or gram
d - deci
c - centi
m - milli

17. Practice 1500 cm = 0.012 m = 29,500 cm = 0.08 km = 15 12 0.295 8000 m

18. Does the measurement make sense?
1cm = width of a fingernail
1 g = mass of a push pin
1 mL = ~20 drops of water

19. Metric System Quantity Unit Unit Symbol Distance meter m Mass gram g
Volume
liter L

20. Mass is a measure of the amount of a substance.
What is mass?
Mass is a measure of the amount of a substance.
Mass is not weight
Mass is not “how much space something takes up”; (that’s what volume is!)

21. Mass versus Weight Your mass is the same everywhere in the universe
Your weight is less on the moon than it is on earth, because weight depends on gravity. link

22. graduated cylinder or beaker
Tools of Measurement
Tool
Unit
(unit symbol)
Quantity
Distance
meter
(m)
meterstick or ruler
Mass
gram
(g)
balance
Volume
liter
(L)
graduated cylinder or beaker

23. Practice Prefixes, Methods of Metric Conversion
Prefixes are Universal
cg,cm,cL, etc.
Review Methods:
Common sense
Metric Staircase
Introduce Method:
Dimensional Analysis
Practice with balances
Practice with common sense conversion and then staircase conversion using grams and kilograms, etc.