Transcript Metric System of Measurement

Converting Between Measurements
To convert from one unit of length to another, unit fractions may be used. A unit
fraction is a fraction that equals 1.
To convert 60 inches to feet, multiply by a unit fraction that relates feet to inches.
The unit fraction should be written so that the units we are converting to, feet, are in
the numerator and the original units, inches, are in the denominator.
Unit fraction
units converting to
60 in. 
6 0 in.
1

1 ft
1 2 in.

6 0  1 ft
1  12
original units

6 0 ft
12
 5 ft
Metric System of Measurement
The basic unit of length in the metric system is
the meter. A meter is slightly longer than a
yard. It is approximately 39.37 inches long.
Like the decimal system, the metric system
uses powers of ten to define units.
Metric System of Measurement
Metric System of Measurement
Prefix kilo Meaning
hecto deka 1000
100
deci centi
10
milli
1/10 1/100
1/1000
Metric Unit of Length
1 kilometer (km)  1000 meters (m)
1 hectometer (hm)  100 m
1 dekameter (dam)  10 m
1 meter (m)  1 m
1 decimeter (dm)  1/10 or 0.1 m
1 centimeter (cm)  1/100 or 0.01 m
1 millimeter (mm)  1/1000 or 0.001 m
Metric System of Measurement
The most commonly used measurements of
length in the metric system are the meter,
millimeter, centimeter, and kilometer.
Converting Between Measurements
As with the U.S. system of measurement, unit fractions
may be used to convert from one unit of length to
another. The major advantage of the metric system is
the ease of converting from one unit of length to
another. Since all units of length are powers of 10 of
the meter, converting from one unit of length to
another is as simple as moving the decimal point.
Converting Between Measurements
Listing units of length in order from largest to smallest
helps keep track of how many places to move the
decimal point when converting.
Start
km
hm
dam
m
dm
End
cm
mm
2 units to the right
Using the listing of units of length, convert 3.5 m to centimeters.
3.50 m
= 350. cm or 350 cm
2 places to the right
Mass – Metric System
The prefixes for units of mass in the metric system
are the same as for units of length.
Metric System of Measurement
Prefix kilo Meaning
hecto deka 1000
100
deci centi
10
milli
1/10 1/100
1/1000
Metric Unit of Length
1 kilogram (kg)  1000 grams (g)
1 hectogram (hg)  100 g
1 dekagram (dag)  10 g
1 gram (g)  1 g
1 decigram (dg)  1/10 or 0.1 g
1 centigram (cg)  1/100 or 0.01 g
1 milligram (mg)  1/1000 or 0.001 g
Mass – Metric System
The three most commonly used units of mass in the metric system are the milligram, the
gram, and the kilogram.
As with length, all units of mass are powers of 10 of the gram, so converting from one unit
of mass to another only involves moving the decimal point.
End
kg
hg
dag
g
dg
Start
cg
mg
2 units to the left
Using the listing of units of mass, convert 4.75 cg to grams.
04.75 cg
= 0.0475 g
2 places to the left
Examples
Use unit multipliers to convert the following:
① 58 meters to centimeters
② 1000 meters to kilometers
③ 48,000 milligrams to grams
④ 486 kilograms to grams
⑤ 538 centimeters to meters