UNIT ONE
TOPIC:
Metric Prefixes and
Conversion Factors
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Metric Prefixes
 Increase or decrease basic unit by 10
 Form new units larger or smaller than the
basic units
 Indicate a numerical value
prefix
=
value
1 kilometer
=
1000 meters
1 kilogram
=
1000 grams
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Prefixes that Increase A Unit
Prefix
Symbol
Value
giga-
G
1 000 000 000
megakilo-
M
k
1 000 000
1 000
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Prefixes that Decrease A Unit
Prefix
Symbol
Value
decicentimillimicronano
d
c
m
 (mu)
n
0.1
0.01
0.001
0.000 001
0.000 000 0001
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Learning Check MP1
Match 1) length
2) mass 3) volume
____ A.
A bag of tomatoes is 4.6 kg.
____ B.
A person is 2.0 m tall.
____ C.
A medication contains 0.50 g Aspirin.
____ D.
A bottle contains 1.5 L of water.
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Solution MP1
Match 1) length
_2 A.
2) mass 3) volume
A bag of tomatoes is 4.6 kg.
_1_ B.
A person is 2.0 m tall.
_2_ C.
A medication contains 0.50 g Aspirin.
_3_ D.
A bottle contains 1.5 L of water.
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Learning Check MP2
Select the unit you would use to measure
A. Your height
1) millimeters
2) meters
3) kilometers
2) grams
3) kilograms
B. Your mass
1) milligrams
C. The distance between two cities
1) millimeters
2) meters
3) kilometers
D. The width of an artery
1) millimeters
2) meters
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3) kilometers
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Solution MP2
A. Your height
2) meters
B. Your mass
3) kilograms
C. The distance between two cities
3) kilometers
D. The width of an artery
1) millimeters
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Learning Check MP3
Indicate the prefix to use for
1. A mass that is 1000 times greater than 1 gram
1) kilogram 2) milligram
3) megagram
2. A length that is 1/100 of 1 meter?
1) decimeter 2) centimeter
3) millimeter
3. A unit of time that is 1/1000 of a second.
1) nanosecond 2) microsecond 3)millisecond
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Solution MP3
1. 1) kilogram
2. 2) centimeter
3. 3) millisecond
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Equalities
State the same measurement in two different
units
length
10.0 in.
25.4 cm
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Some Metric Equalities
Length
1m
=
100 cm
=
1000 g
=
1000 mL
Mass
1 kg
Volume
1L
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Learning Check MP4
A. 1000 m = 1 ___ 1) mm
2) km
3) dm
B.
0.001 g = 1 ___ 1) mg
2) kg
3) dg
C.
0.1 L = 1 ___ 1) mL
2) cL
3) dL
D.
0.01 m = 1 ___ 1) mm
2) cm
3) dm
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Solution MP4
A. 1000 m = 1 ___ 2) km
B.
0.001 g = 1 ___ 1) mg
C.
0.1 L = 1 ___ 3) dL
D.
0.01 m = 1 ___ 2) cm
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Learning Check MP5
Give the value of the following units:
A. 1 kg = ____ g
1) 10 g
2) 100 g
3) 1000 g
B. 1 mm = ____ m
1) 0.001 m 2) 0.01 m
3) 0.1 m
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Solution MP5
A. 1 kg
= ____ g
3) 1000 g
B. 1 mm = ____ m
1) 0.001 m
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Some American Equalities
1 ft
=
1 lb
=
1 quart
=
1 quart
=
inches
16 oz
pints
4 cups
Why are the quantities in each pair equal?
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Some American Equalities
1 ft
=
12 inches
1 lb
=
16
1 quart
=
2 pints
1 quart
=
4 cups
oz
The quantities in each pair give the same
measured amount in two different units.
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Some Metric-American Equalities
1 in.
=
2.54 cm
1 qt
=
946 mL
1L
=
1.06 qt
1 lb
=
454 g
1 kg
=
2.20 lb
Remember these for exams.
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Equalities given in a Problem
Example 1
At the store, the price of one pound of red
peppers is $2.39.
Equality: 1 lb red peppers
=
$2.39
Example 2
At the gas station, one gallon of gas is $1.34.
Equality: 1 gallon of gas
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=
$1.34
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Conversion Factors
Fractions in which the numerator and
denominator are quantities expressed in
an equality between those units
Example:
1 in. = 2.54 cm
Factors:
1 in.
2.54 cm
and
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2.54 cm
1 in.
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Learning Check MP6
Write conversion factors that relate each
of the following pairs of units:
A. Liters and mL
B. Hours and minutes
D. Meters and kilometers
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Solution MP6
A. quarts and mL
1L
and
1000 mL
1 L = 1000 mL
1000 mL
1L
B. hours and minutes
1 hr = 60 min
1 hr
and 60 min
60 min
1 hr
C. meters and kilometers 1 km = 1000 m
1 km and 1000 m
1000 m
1 km
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