Measurement in Science:

What is the metric measurement system?

Why is it used in science?

The metric system is a standardized measurement system agreed upon by the international science community.

·Facilitates communications among scientists.·Mathematics based on multiples of 10 easier.·Prefixes used are the same regardless of base

What are base units?

What are prefixes?

Base units are the name of the unit used for certain types of measurements:

mass/weight length/distance volume time

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-

grams meters liters second

pounds, ounces, tons inches, feet, miles cup, pint second

means 1000 means 100 means 1000times bigger times smaller times smaller

Common items can help visiualize how big or small a metric unit is:

·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.·Rubber Avenue is about 2 1/2 kilometer long.

Length or distance: Base Unit: METER

Abbreviations: meter = m

centimeter = cm

millimeter = mm

kilometer = km

Common items can help visiualize how big or small a metric unit is:

·A nickel weighs 5.0 grams. A penny weighs 21/2g. ·A five pound bag of flour is about 2 1/4 kilograms.·A baby aspirin is about 50 milligrams.

Mass or weight: Base Unit: GRAM

Abbreviations: gram = g

centigram = cgmilligram = mg kilogram = kg

Common items can help visiualize how big or small a metric unit is:

·A large bottle of soda pop is 2 liters. ·A teaspoon is 5 milliliters.

Hospitals, pharmacies and medicines sometimes use cc or cm3 which is equal to 1 milliliter.

Volume: Base Unit: LITER

Abbreviations: liter = L

centiliter = cL

milliliter = mL kiloliter = kL

Windows(R) operating system and Mac OS X operating system software

Submitted by Candace Beaton

Converting Metric Measurements

Converting centimetres to millimetres

How tall is the sunflower in cm?

height of sunflower

10 =

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.

The sunflower's height is measured in centimetres (cm).

mmcm

What is the height of the sunflower in millimetres?

x

Converting centimetres to millimetres

The relationship between cm and mm is: 1 cm = 10

mmCan you convert the following cm to mm?

3 cm = ______mm

4 cm = ______mm

23 cm = ______mm

56 cm = ______mm

100 cm = ______mm

5.3 cm = ______mm

43.7 cm = ______mm

0.09 cm = ______mm

Converting millimetres to centimetres

How tall is the pencil in mm?

height of pencil

10 =

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.

The pencil's height is measured in millimetres (mm).

cmmm

What is the height of the sunflower in centimetres?

_..

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

2 mm = ______cm

34.5 mm = ______cm

87.42 mm = ______cm

0.20 mm = ______cm

0.5 mm = ______cm

200 mm = ______cm

6789 mm = ______cm

Converting centimetres to metresThe 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.

height of average boy

100= mcm _..

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

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.

height of average race horse

100= cmm x

What is the height of an race horse in centimetres?

Converting metres to 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.

0.4 cm 0.4 mm 2.1 cm 1.2 mm

156 cm 1.5 m 2 m 723 cm

Set 1

Set 2

Attachments