Metric Units and Converting
Metric Units
• Length
– Meters (m)
• Mass
– Grams (g)
• Volume
– Liters (L)
– Cubic Meters (m3)
Kilo –
1,000
Metric Unit Prefixes
Hecto –
100
Deka –
10
Base –
1
deci –
0.1 or
1/10
centi –
0.01 or
1/100 milli –
1,000 or
1/1000
Metric Unit Converting
• To convert a larger unit (kilo) to a smaller unit
(m) you can:
– move your decimal to the right.
– Mulitiply by the amount off (working with units of 10)
• To convert a smaller unit (m) to a larger unit
(kilo) you can:
– move your decimal to the left.
– Divide by the amount off (working with units of 10)
Kilo –
1,000
Metric Unit Converting
Hecto –
100
Deka –
10
Example converting
to a smaller unit:
4,000 m
4 kilo = ________
Base –
1
deci –
0.1 or
1/10
•Move decimal to the right 3 spots
since we are 3 tiers off (number gets bigger)
•Multiply by 1,000 since we are 1,000
off (4x1,000 = 4,000)
centi –
0.01 or
1/100 milli –
1,000 or
1/1000
Kilo –
1,000
Metric Unit Converting
Hecto –
100
Deka –
10
Example converting
to a smaller unit:
40
4 Deka = ________
m
Base –
1
deci –
0.1 or
1/10
•Move decimal to the right 1 spots
since we are 1 tiers off (number gets bigger)
•Multiply by 10 since we are 10 off
(4x10 = 40)
centi –
0.01 or
1/100 milli –
1,000 or
1/1000
Kilo –
1,000
Metric Unit Converting
Hecto –
100
Deka –
10
Example converting
to a smaller unit:
400 cm
4 m = ________
Base –
1
deci –
0.1 or
1/10
•Move decimal to the right 2 spots
since we are 2 tiers off (number gets bigger)
•Multiply by 100 since we are 100 off
(4x100 = 400)
centi –
0.01 or
1/100 milli –
1,000 or
1/1000
Kilo –
1,000
Metric Unit Converting
Hecto –
100
Deka –
10
Example converting
to a larger unit:
.020 km
20 m = ________
Base –
1
deci –
0.1 or
1/10
•Move decimal to the left 3 spots since
we are 3 tiers off (number gets smaller)
•Divide by 1,000 since we are 1,000 off
(20/1,000 = .02)
centi –
0.01 or
1/100 milli –
1,000 or
1/1000
Kilo –
1,000
Metric Unit Converting
Hecto –
100
Deka –
10
Example converting
to a larger unit:
.002 m
2 mm = ________
Base –
1
deci –
0.1 or
1/10
•Move decimal to the left 3 spots since
we are 3 tiers off (number gets smaller)
•Divide by 1,000 since we are 1,000 off
(2/1,000 = .002)
centi –
0.01 or
1/100 milli –
1,000 or
1/1000
Kilo –
1,000
Metric Unit Converting
Hecto –
100
Deka –
10
Example converting
to a larger unit:
Base –
1
.2 Dekameters
200 cm = ____
deci –
0.1 or
1/10
•Move decimal to the left 3 spots since
we are 3 tiers off (number gets smaller)
•Divide by 1,000 since we are 1,000 off
(200/1,000 = .2)
centi –
0.01 or
1/100 milli –
1,000 or
1/1000
Now Let’s Practice
• 100 mg = ________g
• 1 L = ___________mL
• 160 cm = ________mm
• 14 km = _________m
• 109 g = __________kg
• 250 m = _________km
• 56 cm
6m
• 7g
698 mg
Now Let’s Practice - ANSWERS
1
• 100 mg = ________g
1000
• 1 L = ___________mL
1600
• 160 cm = ________mm
14,000
• 14 km = _________m
.109
• 109 g = __________kg
.25
• 250 m = _________km
• 56 cm
6m
2 spots to right
6x10
(6m = 600cm)
• 7g
698 mg
3 spots to left
698/1000
(698mg = .698g)
How to Find Density???
Need to know Mass and Volume First
Volume - The amount of space a
material takes up.
Can be measured 2 ways:
• For regular-shaped objects
Use length x width x height (L x W X H)
Units will be cm3
• For irregular-shaped objects
Use water displacement
The units will be ml.
Volume Practice
• Volume of a Regular Shaped Object
(LxWxH)
– Find the volume of a cube with a side that measures 2.5
cm. (2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5) = 15.63 cm3
– Find the volume of a rectangle with measurements 1cm,
3cm, 4cm. (1 x 3 x 4) =
3
12 cm
• Volume of an Irregular Shaped Object
(need water displacement)
– Find the volume of this pebble.
(Read how much the water has been
displaced once the pebble was
dropped into the graduated cylinder.
Had 23 ml to start, then had 30 ml
with pebble.) So 30-23= 7 mL
30 mL
23 mL
Mass
• Mass - The amount of matter in an object.
This is measured using a triple beam balance
and the units are grams (g) or kilograms (kg).
Mass Practice
• What are the masses of each rock?
17 g
354.6 g
Density
• Density - This is a measure of the amount of
mass in a certain amount of space or how
closely packed the particles of matter are.
Density = mass
volume
M
V
Units are g/mL or g/cm3
• So you must know, or can be able to figure out
mass and volume to find out density.
Density Practice
• Find the density of an object with a mass of 18
grams and a volume of 2 cm3.
(D=M/V), so 18/2 = 9 g/cm3
• Water in a beaker reads 10 mL, add a rock and
the water read 24mL. Rock’s mass is 7 grams.
What is the density of the rock?
(D=M/V, but we need to find our volume 1st).
So, 24-10 = 14 mL (this is our volume). Then
can do M/V to find density. 7/14 = .5 g/mL
Finding Percent Error
• Percent Error equation is used to find how far
“off” your measurements were from the
actual measurements. This is your percent
error.
Finding Percent Error Practice
• What is your percent error if the correct value
was 6 g/mL and you calculated 5.4 g/mL?
(5.4 g/mL – 6 g/mL)
6 g/mL
X 100% = -10%
• Errors may include measuring/reading
incorrectly, water splashed out of beaker, etc.