1. METRIC SYSTEM
Whittaker

2. Metric System
The metric system is based on a base unit that corresponds to a certain kind of measurement
Length = meter
Volume = liter
Mass = gram
Prefixes plus the base units make up the metric system
Example:
Centi + meter = Centimeter
Kilo + liter = Kiloliter

3. Prefixes: (all are lower case letters)
kilo = k = 1,000 x base unit
hecto = h = 100 x base unit
deka = da = 10 x base unit
deci = d = .1 x base unit
centi = c = .01 x base unit
milli = m = .001 x base unit

4. 1000 meters = 1 kilo
100 meters = 1 hecto
10 meters = 1 deca

5. King Henry Doesn’t Understand Doing Conversions of Metric!
Kilo-
      Hecta-    
            Deka-
                  Unit:  Liter, Gram, Meter
                        Deci-
                              Centi-
                                    Milli-
Or king henry died unexpectedly drinking chocolate milk…

6. Metric System These prefixes are based on powers of 10
Each prefix / every “step” is either
10 times larger OR 10 times smaller
For example
Centimeters are 10 times larger than millimeters
(1 centimeter = 10 millimeters)

7. Metric System
If you move to the left in the diagram, move the decimal to the left
If you move to the right in the diagram, move the decimal to the right
kilo
hecto
deca
meter
liter
gram
deci
centi
milli

8. Metric System
An easy way to convert units from one to the other is by moving the decimal in the direction of the “steps”
EX: Converting 8 Meters to _____ Centimeters
Step 1 – Write 8.0
Step 2 – Move the decimal to the right ____ spots
Step 3 – Final answer is ______ Centimeters 2
800
kilo
hecto
deca
meter
liter
gram
deci
centi
milli

9. hectometers = ______ kilometers
Metric System
Now let’s try our previous example from meters to kilometers:
16093 meters = _______decameters = ______
hectometers = ______ kilometers
So for every “step” from the base unit to kilo, we moved the decimal 1 place to the left (the same direction as in the diagram below)
1609.3
160.93
16.093
kilo
hecto
deca
meter
liter
gram
deci
centi
milli

10. kilo
hecto
deca
meter
liter
gram
deci
centi
milli