Metrics
You can do this!
Units of the metric system
meter - length
gram - mass
liter - capacity
Metric Prefixes
kilo
hecto
deka
meter
deci
centi
milli
1,000
100
10
1
0.1
0.01
0.001
Do you see a pattern?
The order is very important.
How can we remember all of this?
Let’s learn a silly saying.
(I made it silly to help you remember it.)
This saying will help you
remember the order of
abbreviations in the metric
system.
Ready?
Kiss Hogs Down At Motel - Don’t Crush M&Ms
I told you it was silly!
This saying will help you
remember the order of
abbreviations in the metric
system.
Kiss Hogs Down At Motel - Don’t Crush M&Ms
km hm
dam
m
dm cm mm
Notice the first letter of the words
match the first letter of the metric
abbreviations.
Crus M&M
Kiss Hogs Down At Motel - Don’t h
s
km
hm
largest
dam
m
dm
cm
mm
smallest
Do you see how the silly
saying helps you remember
the order of the prefixes?
Kiss Hogs Down At Motel - Don’t Crush M&Ms
km hm dam m dm cm mm
kilo hecto deka meter deci centi milli
1,000 100
10 1
0.1 0.01 0.001
Let’s talk about meters now.
In the metric system, the meter is
the basic unit of length.
man = 1.5 meter
length of desk = 1 meter
Length of classroom = 8 meters
Name
kilometer
Abbreviation Approximate
Comparison
km
Length of 9 football
fields
meter
m
Half of the height of
a door
Width of a fist
decimeter
dm
centimeter
cm
Width of your
smallest finger
millimeter
mm
Thickness of a
dime
Write down the abbreviations in
order from greatest to least.
It is easy to do when you
remember the silly saying.
Kiss Hogs Down At Motel - Don’t Crush M&Ms
km hm
dam
m
dm cm mm
1 m = ___ mm
km hm dam
m
dm cm mm
Start at m (for meter). Millimeter is 3 places to
the right. So all we have to do is move the
decimal 3 places to the right.
1
1 0
0
0
I have moved the decimal 3 places to the right.
There are 3 empty spaces so I need to add 3
zeros.
1,000mm
1 m = ____
Moving the decimal 3 places to
the right is the same thing as
multiplying by 1000.
1 m = ___ km
km hm dam
m
dm cm mm
Start at m (for meter). Kilometer is 3 places to
the left. So all we have to do is move the
decimal 3 places to the left.
1
0
0
1
I have moved the decimal 3 places to the left.
There are 2 empty spaces so I need to add 2
zeros.
0.001km
1 m = ____
Moving the decimal 3 places to
the left is the same thing as
dividing by 1000.
Let’s do another problem.
15 hm = ___ cm
km hm dam
m
dm cm mm
Start at hm (for hectometer). Centimeter is 4
places to the right. So all we have to do is move
the decimal 4 places to the right.
1
1
5 0
0
0
0
I have moved the decimal 4 places to the right.
There are 4 empty spaces so I need to add 4
zeros.
15 hm =150,000
____ cm
Moving the decimal 4 places to the
right is the same thing as
multiplying by 10,000.
15 X 10,000= 150,000
The wonderful thing about the
metric system is that everything is
based on 10.
If you know how to convert length
in the metric system, then you also
know how to convert mass in the
metric system.
Let’s talk about grams now.
In the metric system, the basic unit for
measuring mass is the gram.
Pair of tennis shoes = 1 kilogram
paperclip = 1 gram
The same silly saying will
help with mass.
(Do you remember the silly saying?)
Kiss Hogs Down At Motel - Don’t Crush M&Ms
kmkg hm
hg dam
dag m
g
dg
dm cg
cm mg
mm
The m stands for meter. We will substitute a g
for gram to measure mass.
The order doesn’t change at all.
1 g = ___ mg
kg hg dag
g
dg cg mg
Start at g (for gram). Milligram is 3 places to the
right. So all we have to do is move the decimal
3 places to the right.
1
1 0
0
0
I have moved the decimal 3 places to the right.
There are 3 empty spaces so I need to add 3
zeros.
1,000mg
1 g = ____
Moving the decimal 3 places to
the right is the same thing as
multiplying by 1000.
If you know how to convert length
(meter) and mass (gram) in the
metric system, then you also know
how to convert capacity (Liter) in
the metric system.
Let’s talk about liters now.
In the metric system, the basic unit for
measuring capacity is the liter.
2 liter bottle of pop
1 liter bottle of water
The same silly saying will
help with capacity.
(Do you remember the silly saying?)
Kiss Hogs Down At Motel - Don’t Crush M&Ms
kmkLhm
hL dam
daL m
L
dL
dm cL
cmmL
mm
The m stands for meter. We will substitute a L
for liter to measure capacity.
The order doesn’t change at all.
3.6 kL = ___ mL
kL hL daL
L
dL cL mL
Start at kL (for kiloliter). Milliliter is 6 places to
the right. So all we have to do is move the
decimal 6 places to the right.
3.6
3. 6
0
0
0 0 0
I have moved the decimal 6 places to the right.
There are 5 empty spaces so I need to add 5
zeros.
3,600,00
0 mL
3.6 kL = ______
Moving the decimal 6 places to the
right is the same thing as
multiplying by 1,000,000.
3.6 X 1,000,000 = 3,600,000
In 12 kilograms there are exactly
how many hectograms?
120 hectograms
To convert 60 kilometers to
meters?
Multiply 60 by 1,000
A car traveled 300 kilometers.
What is the distance traveled in
meters?
300,000 meters
To convert 24 milliliters to liters,
the number of milliliters should be
divided by what number?
1,000
Metrics
You can do this!