Measurement in Science:
What is the metric measurement system?
The metric system is a standardized
measurement system agreed upon by
the international science community.
Why is it used in science?
·Facilitates communications among
scientists.
·Mathematics based on multiples of 10
easier.
·Prefixes used are the same regardless of
base
What are base units?
Base units are the name of the unit used
for certain types of measurements:
mass/weight length/distance
grams
pounds, ounces, tons
volume
meters
inches, feet, miles
time
liters
cup, pint
second
second
What are prefixes?
Prefixes make a unit larger or smaller than
the base unit by some multiple of 10. The
most commonly used prefixes are:
kilo-
centi-
milli-
means 1000
times bigger
means 100
times smaller
means 1000
times smaller
Common items can help visiualize how big or
small a metric unit is:
Length or distance: Base Unit: METER
·A yard stick is a little shorter than 1 meter.
·A 12 inch ruler is about 30 centimeter.
·A dime is a little bit more than 1 millimeter thick.
1
·Rubber Avenue is about 2 /2 kilometer long.
Abbreviations:
meter = m
centimeter = cm
millimeter = mm
kilometer = km
Common items can help visiualize how big or
small a metric unit is:
Mass or weight: Base Unit: GRAM
1
·A nickel weighs 5.0 grams. A penny weighs 2 /2g.
1
·A five pound bag of flour is about 2 /4 kilograms.
·A baby aspirin is about 50 milligrams.
Abbreviations:
gram = g
centigram = cg
milligram = mg
kilogram = kg
Common items can help visiualize how big or
small a metric unit is:
Volume: Base Unit: LITER
·A large bottle of soda pop is 2 liters.
·A teaspoon is 5 milliliters.
Hospitals,
pharmacies and medicines sometimes use
3
cc or cm which is equal to 1 milliliter.
Abbreviations:
liter = L
centiliter = cL
milliliter = mL
kiloliter = kL
Converting Metric Measurements
Windows(R) operating system and Mac OS X
operating system software
Submitted by Candace Beaton
Converting centimetres to millimetres
The sunflower's height is measured in
centimetres (cm).
How tall is the sunflower in cm?
To convert a measurement from cm to millimetres
(mm), you must multiply by 10. When you multiply by
10, you move the decimal point one place to the right.
cm x 10 =
height of sunflower
What is the height of the sunflower in
millimetres?
mm
Converting centimetres to millimetres
The relationship between cm and mm is:
1 cm = 10 mm
Can you convert the following cm to mm?
3 cm = ______mm
100 cm = ______mm
4 cm = ______mm
5.3 cm = ______mm
23 cm = ______mm
43.7 cm = ______mm
56 cm = ______mm
0.09 cm = ______mm
Converting millimetres to centimetres
The pencil's height is measured in
millimetres (mm).
How tall is the pencil in mm?
To convert a measurement from mm to centimetres
(cm), you must divide by 10. When you divide by 10,
you move the decimal point one place to the left.
mm
_.. 10 =
height of pencil
What is the height of the sunflower in
centimetres?
cm
Converting millimetres to centimetres
The relationship between mm and cm is
10 mm = 1 cm
Can you convert the following mm to cm?
14 mm = _____cm
0.20 mm = ______cm
2 mm = ______cm
0.5 mm = ______cm
34.5 mm = ______cm
200 mm = ______cm
87.42 mm = ______cm
6789 mm = ______cm
Converting centimetres to metres
The average height of an 12-year-old boy is 147 cm.
We can express this measurement in metres by using
the following relationship:
100 cm = 1 m
To convert a measurement from cm to metres (m),
you must divide by 100. When you divide by 100,
you move the decimal point two places to the left.
cm
height of average boy
_.. 100 =
m
What is the height of an average 12-year-old
boy in metres?
Converting centimetres to metres
Can you convert the following cm to m?
150 cm = ______m
54.3 cm = ______m
92.5 cm = ______m
1000 cm = ______m
1453 cm = ______m
0.30 cm = ______m
2,589 cm = ______m
Converting metres to centimetres
The average height of race horse is 1.6 m. We can
express this measurement in centimetres by using
the following relationship:
1 m = 100 cm
To convert a measurement from m to centimetres (cm), you
must multiply by 100. When you multiply by 100, you move
the decimal point two places to the right.
m
height of average
race horse
x 100 =
cm
What is the height of an race horse in centimetres?
Converting metres to centimetres
Can you convert the following m to cm?
2 m = ______cm
34 m = ______cm
0.8 m = ______cm
0.764 m = ______cm
124.3 m = ______cm
65.2 m = ______cm
230 m = ______cm
Practice your skills
Arrange the lengths in each set from smallest to
greatest.
Set 1
0.4 cm
0.4 mm
2.1 cm
1.2 mm
Set 2
156 cm
1.5 m
2m
723 cm
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