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Metric Conversions

By Sharon Reichard

An Interactive Tutorial

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How To NavigateThis presentation is intended to be interactive. It is best to click on these buttons only. Please do not just click on the mouse to move you along. You may wind up somewhere you do not want to be! Click a button below to proceed. Have fun learning!

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Objectives

When you are finished this tutorial, you will be able to:

Identify the basic units in the metric system

Gain an understanding of why the metric system (SI units) is used in world of science

Manipulate the ladder to convert metric units

Demonstrate your ability to convert basic metric system problems

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Metric System Basics

The metric system provides a universal language for measurement that can be understood regardless of where you are from or what language you speak. It was designed to be easy to use.

The Metric System had its beginnings back in 1670 by a mathematician called Gabriel Mouton. The modern version, (since 1960) is correctly called "International System of Units" or "SI“.”

Not only is it used by scientists throughout the world, but most nations have adopted it as their standard of measurement.

The metric system is based on a base unit that corresponds to a certain kind of measurement. Each prefix that is added to the base unit is built on a power of 10.

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Base UnitsEach property of matter has a “root” word that is the “base” measurement for that property.

If you needed to measure length you would choose meter as your base unit. You can measure how long things are, or how tall, or how far apart they are. How tall are you? How long is a football field? How far is it to your school? How far is the earth from the sun? How big is that little paramecium you saw under the microscope in science class? All of these questions ask how long something is, but the answer in each case is very different.

If you needed to measure weight you would choose gram as your base unit. The gram is today the most widely used unit of measurement for non-liquid ingredients in cooking and grocery shopping worldwide.

If you needed to measure volume you would choose liter as your base unit. Liquids are measured in liters.

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Metric Prefixes…What’s the Value?

The metric system provides units of measurement for length, volume, mass, time, and temperature. It builds these units using a basic unit and a set of prefixes.

To change the value of the “root” (to make it bigger or to make it smaller) you add a prefix. To make it bigger, you will multiply by a factor of ten. To make it smaller, you will divide by a factor of ten.

For example, linking the prefix “kilo” to the basic unit meter gives you the kilometer, which means 1,000 meters. Similarly, linking the prefix “milli” to the basic unit liter gives you the milliliter, which means 0.001 (one thousandth) of a liter. These prefixes can be added to all the base units.

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You can use this simple drawing to convert any metric measurement to another metric measurement. Think of it as a set of stairs having 7 steps that go down in value from left to right.

Acronym to remember the order

King Henry Died By Drinking Chocolate Milk

How Do I Remember Them?

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Metric PrefixesThese prefixes are based on powers of 10. What does this mean?

From each prefix every “step” is either:10 times larger

or10 times smaller

For exampleCentimeters are 10 times larger than millimeters1 centimeter = 10 millimeters

1 cm

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40

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Follow these 4 simple steps and you will be converting in no time!

How Do I Convert?

Step 1 – Write down the number you want to convert

Step 2 – Determine the number of “steps” to the new measurement

Step 3 – Now move your decimal the same number of places and in the same direction you “stepped”

Step 4 – Rewrite your new number nice and neat

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For each “step” to right, you are multiplying by 10

For example, let’s go from something large to something small: base unit meter to “centi”

1 meter = 10 decimeters = 100 centimeters

1.00 meter = 10.0 decimeters = 100.0 centimetersOR

How Do I Convert?

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Now let’s go from something small to something large by trying our previous example from meters to kilometers:

16093 meters = 1609.3 decameters = 160.93 hectometers = 16.093 kilometers

So for every “step” from the base unit meter to “kilo”, we moved the decimal 1 place to the left the same direction as in the diagram below

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Watch This!

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Try these conversions, using the ladder method.

1) 2000 mg = _______ g 6) 5 L = _______ mL 11) 16 cm = _______ mm

2) 104 km = _______ m 7) 198 g = _______ kg 12) 2500 m = _______ km

3) 480 cm = _____ m 8) 75 mL = _____ L 13) 65 g = _____ mg

4) 5.6 kg = _____ g 9) 50 cm = _____ m 14) 46.3 cm = _____ mm

5) 8 mm = _____ cm 10) 5.6 m = _____ cm 15) 120 mg = _____ g

Your Turn…Practice Problems

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Answers

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1) 2 g

2) 104,000 m

3) .480 m

4) 5,600 g

5) .08 cm

6) 5,000 mL

7) .198 kg

8) .075 L

9) .50 m

10) 560 cm

11) 160 mm

12) 2.500 km

13) 65,000 mg

14) 463 mm

15) .120 g

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Congratulations!

You have successfully completed this interactive tutorial.

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